David Simon, creator of The Wire, and George Pelecanos, who wrote for The Wire and co-created The Deuce with Simon, are developing a new HBO limited series set in Baltimore called We Own This City, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series is based on the book of the same name from journalist Justin Fenton.
We Own This City, set in 2015 Baltimore, tracks the Gun Trace Task Force. After massive civil unrest following the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody, a criminal conspiracy within Baltimore’s police department is uncovered. After a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation, eight members of the Gun Trace Task Force are indicted.
Simon and Pelecanos will write and executive produce the series. Kary Antholis, HBO’s former president of miniseries, will also executive produce through his own Crime Story Media.
As far back as October 2019, Pelecanos told Deadline that he and Simon’s “next project is set in Baltimore. We rounded up the old crew from The Wire.”
Simon is a former Baltimore Sun reporter whose book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets formed the base for NBC’s show Homicide. Before he worked on The Wire, another book of his called The Corner was developed as a miniseries for HBO.
Outside of his work with Simon, Pelecanos was a writer and co-producer on The Pacific, in addition to writing over 20 novels, according to The Hollywood Reporter.