La ville nous appartient

Sometimes you just know a show is going to be great. 5 minutes in, the dialogue rings clear, and you just know the cast has it. I had high expectations from this series and it did not disappoint.

I absolutely loved We Own This City! It was so much better than I expected it to be. It's about the corruption inside one of the Baltimore police forces departments called the Gun Trace Task Force. You will get so invested in the story and what's going to happen next that it will keep you glued to your tv. The real standout in this show is the incredibly talented Jon Bernthal. He should be nominated for an Emmy for his work in this. David Simon is one of the creators and writers of this show, he's known for his work on such shows as The Wire, The Deuce, Treme, etc. This has that same realistic, gritty feel as those shows did. I highly recommend this show to everyone!

It's 2017 Baltimore. The Freddie Gray killing has put police brutality on the front pages. The Gun Trace Task Force has been using questionable tactics to take out guns and drugs. Most of all, they are stealing from criminals and regular folks alike. Sgt. Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal) is a central figure in the ensuing scandal.

It's another Baltimore crime drama from David Simon. This one is really ripped from the headlines. It's a little more contained than The Wire. It's only six episodes long. As always, it is an interconnected story with the reality of the world. This is a must-see for fans of The Wire.

The shadow of "The Wire" looms large on this 2022 miniseries both in setting and in terms of creative and casting crossover. David Simon produces the series, based on the book by journalist Justin Fenton.

Two FBI agents, John Sieracki (Don Harvey) and Ericka Jensen (Dagmara Dominczyk) launch in investigations into the actions of the Gun Trace Task Force, a lauded Baltimore unit that is given wide remit to take guns and drugs off the street. The task force is led by Wayne Jenkins (Jon Bernthal) a charismatic officer, and who believes firmly that his success rate will cover any sins. Faith in the Baltimore police department is at an all-time low, following the killing of Freddie Gray. Nicole Steele (Wunmi Mosaku) an attorney in the civil rights division tries to instigate change within the department as a whole and, though she finds support, comes up against a system seemingly designed to maintain the status quo.

Excellent, if mortally depressing, series with a number of fabulous performances, but anchored but a truly great one from Jon Bernthal. Jenkins is another in TV's long line of charismatic villains, whose insecurities push him to commit greater and greater crimes, whilst the overall corruption of the department, the legal system and the conflicting priorities of politicians empower him, as his arrest rate is so good. Two of the many "The Wire" alumni also give strong performances, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Jamie Hector play two cops, caught up in the investigation, to various degrees.

The time jumping and the conceit of the computer screen being filled out to explain when we are, can prove a little confusing at first but if you just let the wash over you in the first couple of episodes, by the end the timeline is laid out for you again and scenes are revisited and, for me, everything made sense.

It's not light-hearted escapism. It's hard not to come away with the idea that, Baltimore at least, is broken beyond repair and its not a unique story but it terms of quality, of performance and story, it's excellent stuff.

Though the non-linear aspects aren't that well handled, with this terrible time sheet thing being used, for some reason-the rest of it is rock solid, I think. Absolutely a spiritual successor of The Wire; even some of the same actors appearing, writers, producers, etc.. It delivers. And what's more, it actually feels quite nice to have the write be on cops. What a terrifyingly corrupt organization the Baltimore police are. If it weren't based on a nonfiction book, I'd have absolutely thought it was fiction. Scary. Excellent. Tight, at 6 episodes. Great plotting, good information, fantastic acting.

No reason not to give it a go.