The HBO series The Wire and its gripping, grim portrait of inner-city Baltimore has come to an end. The 60th and final episode was broadcast Sunday.
The show chronicled life — and death — in Baltimore's toughest neighborhoods and focused on the failure of its major civic institutions, including the police, the school system and the news media.
"It's been six years of storytelling, and we've put in a lot of effort to create this universe, so to say goodbye is certainly bittersweet," says Wire creator David Simon. "But we got to say what we wanted to say, and it's time to tell other stories."
Simon, a 13-year veteran of the Baltimore Sun newspaper, wrote Homicide and The Corner, which inspired hit series by the same names. Wire co-producer Ed Burns, a former Baltimore police detective who also taught in the city's public schools, drew from his own experiences to co-author The Corner with Simon.
As the series comes to a close, Simon and Burns talk with guest host Rob Smith about the process of creating a dark portrait of a troubled city.
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