A new series from HBO’s The Wire creators has found its leads. According to Deadline, Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Many Saints of Newark), Josh Charles (The Good Wife, Away), and Jamie Hector (Bosch, Queen of the South) will play three corrupt police officers in We Own This City. The limited series is based on Baltimore Sun journalist Justin Fenton’s investigative book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption.
According to Deadline, the six-episode series will detail the underbelly of corruption that eroded the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) Gun Trace Task Force. Once a pillar of justice, the task force infamously imploded as its members targeted both citizens and criminals in erroneous vigilante law. The show will examine the dire consequences experienced when mass incarceration is prioritized above actual safe and smart police work.
Hector will play Sean M. Suiter, via Deadline. Suiter was a homicide detective who found himself stuck in the tempestuous aroma of corruption within the task force. Despite his earnest efforts, he was never able to atone for his sins. Charles will portray Daniel Hersl, an officer known for his notorious brutality against Baltimore citizens within his custody. A history of excessive force complaints fell short of handing him a pink slip. Instead, he was transferred to serve on the task force. Bernthal will play Wayne Jenkins, sergeant and head of the BPD at the time of the mass corruption.
According to Deadline, the series will be written and executive produced by David Simon (The Plot Against America, The Deuce), George Pelecanos (King Suckerpunch, The Night Gardener), and Ed Burns (The Culture High, The Wire). Additional executive producers include Kary Antholis (The Shadow of Hate, Elvis Presley: The Searcher), and Nina K. Noble (The Deuce, Shot in the Heart). Bill Zorzi (The Wire, Show Me A Hero) will serve as co-executive producer with Dwight Watkins (The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir) writing. The series will be directed by executive producer Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, King Richard).