Two Years Before The Wire, David Simon's The Corner Set the Stage

Two years before The Wire premiered, David Simon brought a six-episode miniseries to HBO. The Corner, based on a book by Simon and Ed Burns, aired on HBO in 2000 and established many of the themes and textures that would define his later work. The story follows Gary McCullough (T.K.

Carter), his ex-wife Fran Boyd (Khandi Alexander), and their son DeAndre (Sean Nelson), whose lives have crumbled after his parents succumb to drug addiction. DeAndre must navigate the perils of West Baltimore as his pursuit of education and family stability is compromised by the quicker cash of dealing drugs.

The Corner shares familiar faces with The Wire—Clarke Peters, Lance Reddick, Corey Parker Robinson, Robert F. Chew, and Delaney Williams—and every episode is directed by Charles S. Dutton. The series won an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries and is notable for its grainy visuals, refusal of sentimentality, and the journalistic restraint Simon and Burns brought to the material.

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