Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Wire: Mission ACCOMPLISHED

Just got word that HBO is going to announce a renewal for a fifth season of "The Wire" tomorrow morning. I'm both thrilled and stunned; this show has so thoroughly conditioned me to expect the worst in everything that I refused to believe HBO would pick it up, even after me and every other critic in the country spent the last several weeks beating the drums about how this is the Best. Show. Ever.

Can I get a few "Hell yeah!"s?

27 comments:

Alan Sepinwall said...

As Undercover Black Man pointed out on a few other threads, Broadcasting & Cable already has their official story up here.

Anonymous said...

Sheeeeeeeeeit, Alan, great news! :)

RP

Anonymous said...

All right! Sometimes we get a bit of justice.

Louis said...

HBO's evil plan to keep me hooked continues . . .

Anonymous said...

There is a god!

Matt Zoller Seitz said...

I didn't think it would happen, but it did. Truly excellent news.

Anonymous said...

Hell, yeah!!! This is most excellent news.

Cinemania said...

[wiping sweat from brow] Whew! [/wsfb]

Anonymous said...

Hot ding-dong-doodly damn.

OK, so: Simon said at press tour that season five would deal a lot with the media. Do we think that a) they'll all be chasing the story that results from the way this season ends? Or b) is there a scandal still to erupt from Stringer's money trail and the subpoenas? Or will the one get sacrificed for the other? Or something else entirely?

Can't freakin' wait.

Anonymous said...

This sorta makes up for hbo's cancellation of deadwood

Anonymous said...

I was looking for some good news this morning! This is excellent.

Anonymous said...

Hell, yeah! Thanks for the good news.

Anonymous said...

My faith in HBO has been renewed tenfold.

Unknown said...

Hell yeah! And an amen from the back.

Anonymous said...

Tremendous news. It will be a rare treat to watch a new season of the best show on television unfold without having to fear that Simon's vision will be truncated.

In the MTR Q&A on the Season 3 DVD, Simon mentioned that he had an idea in mind of what he'd like to cover in a (then-hypothetical) fifth season, but didn't elaborate. Due to his experience as a reporter and the show's pattern of delving into a new aspect of Baltimore each season, I wondered if he was thinking about examining the city's media institutions; lo and behold, it looks as if that's where we're headed. Can't wait.

Anonymous said...

I actually yelped with surprise - and joy - when I read this post. Do you think this early renewal is a reaction to the bungling of Deadwood's future - HBO not wanting to experience the same backlash if it didn't renew The Wire? Or a way of shoring up a diminishing slate of signature shows?

Anonymous said...

YES!!!!!
See, when Omar comes a-whislin' dangling that shotgun, the only thing the HBO suits CAN do is announce the 5th season.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Back at the end of season three, when the idea of a fourth season, let alone a fifth one, seemed remote at best, Simon told me a little about his plans for the two years. Without really giving anything away (because, frankly, I wish I didn't know as much as I know about year five), I can say this:

-While a number of this year's stories are self-contained to this season, at least as many were designed to be concluded next time. When I got to the end of episode 13 and realized there was a good possibility of certain things not being wrapped up, I practically screamed.

-The media angle, at least as Simon was explaining it a couple of years ago, doesn't jump off from any of this year's plots, but from something that will happen at the start of the new season.

I. Cannot. Wait.

Anonymous said...

Hell to the yeah, baby!! *does the Snoopy dance*

Anonymous said...

i love it, there is a god

Andrew Johnston said...

I'm guessing--given some of what Simon has said about his departure from the Sun--that some of the media stuff will involve corporate ownership of local press (either that or local papers ignoring parts of the community they don't see as a profitable demo--I recall Simon saying in "The Wire: Truth Be Told" that his bosses gave him endless grief when he insisted on writing an obituary for the real-life Bubbles, saying stuff like "Why should we give an obit to a homeless junkie", etc., even though the real Bubs had helped the police break a number of big cases and was therefore legitimately newsworthy). No matter what, it's sure to be fascinating--and fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Regarding media ownership, as we've recently seen in Santa Barbara, it's not just corporate ownership of a local paper that can go very wrong. A "local" owner (see Wendy McCaw) can be just as bad.

theBroadcaster said...

Hi Alan,

As a fan of the show, I thought you'd like to know about this:


We are a non-profit organization (theBroadcaster.com) hosting an
online auction since 1996 as a fundraiser.

We have just added:

* Set Visit to THE WIRE (Visit the set, meet the cast, take photos)

For more info, go to: www.HollywoodCharityAuction.com, or call us at
323/571-0766.

Thanks.
Michelle
www.theBroadcaster.com

Anonymous said...

Hell yeah the wire is back ladies

Anonymous said...

Season 5 kick'in ass

Anonymous said...

I'M SO GLAD THAT THEY DECIDED TO BRING THE SHOW BACK CAUSE THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT'S THE BEST SHOW THAT'S BEEN ON HBO BESIDES THE WEEDS. I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BRING IT BACK FOR A SIXTH AND SEVENTH SEASON.

Anonymous said...

episode 1 of season 5 was great along with 2 and 7 that I saw already...I wont spoil it for everyone...