BBC2 to screen acclaimed drama The Wire
Critically lauded crime series The Wire to be shown on BBC2
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Thursday, 12, Mar 2009 04:35
Critically lauded crime series The Wire is to be shown on BBC2, it has been confirmed.
The Baltimore-set show, created by David Simon, is one of the most acclaimed dramas in television history but has never been aired on terrestrial television.
However, millions of viewers will now be able to immerse themselves in the exploits of Officer Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) and other citizens of the Maryland city, including police, drug dealers, politicians and journalists.
All 60 episodes of the show's five seasons will be screened on BBC2, with the series stripped across the week.
Transmission dates have not yet been announced.
"We are delighted to offer terrestrial viewers the opportunity to watch this ground-breaking series; it's a wonderful chance for everyone to see what the critics have been raving about for so long," said Sue Deeks, BBC Television's head of series and programme acquisitions.
Janice Hadlow, BBC2's controller said The Wire is an "exceptional" show which will "complement the range of distinctive and original UK drama" on the channel.
Former journalist Simon, who wrote and produced new military drama Generation Kill, described The Wire as a "dystopic" series concerned with "the part of America that got left behind".
"We are a society with some dramatic schisms and it's a drama wholly set in a part of the country that has been economically, socially and politically isolated for generations now," he told the Times.