David Simon

Some exciting news from HBO today, especially for fans of The Wire. The network has picked up the New Orleans-set series Treme, which was created by The Wire boss David Simon and includes two of that show's cast members in its ensemble.

HBO is eying a Fall premiere date for the show, which chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of musicians. Though Simon himself doesn't live in New Orleans, his co-creator (Eric Overmyer, a former Homicide writer) does, and cast member Wendell Pierce (The Wire's Bunk, pictured here) is a native of the city — all of which I'm hoping will give the show the same authenticity that The Wire had for Simon's hometown of Baltimore. Other cast members include Clarke Peters, Melissa Leo, Steve Zahn, and Khandi Alexander. Comparing the show to The Wire, Simon said:

This is not a Wire redo with a New Orleans soundtrack. It's more of a character study looking at people trying to reconstruct their lives after their city has been destroyed and at a city that a living, breathing organism.

Also today, the network moved forward with a pilot based on the fantasy novels Songs of Fire and Ice called Game of Thrones. Two key people from the film The Station Agent have signed on, with Peter Dinklage playing a key role and his Station Agent director, Tom McCarthy, on board to direct the pilot.

Do either of these sound like shows that could make your viewing schedule?

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From the network that brought you John Adams — and the writers who brought you urban strife — comes this: HBO is developing a miniseries about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the hunt for his killer, to be written by David Simon of The Wire and Tom Fontana of Oz.

The miniseries is based on the best-selling book Manhunt, about the Lincoln shooting and the 12-day hunt for his assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Simon and Fontana are writing the script together.

Fontana is reportedly something of a Lincoln assassination buff, with "hundreds of books" about the shooting. Simon, too, is fascinated with the shooting. According to Broadcasting & Cable, they intend to explore it through the eyes of lesser-known players. The book was originally optioned for an action movie starring Harrison Ford, but the option expired and HBO snapped up the rights. Don't expect this miniseries to have the same tone a big-screen adaptation would have: "I don't do action," Simon told B&C.

Have any of you history/Lincoln buffs read this book? Do you think it's a story made for an HBO miniseries?

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In a Summer where HBO is lacking any of its signature series, the network's hopes must be sky-high for Generation Kill. The seven-episode miniseries from The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns premieres Sunday night, and from the early reviews, it seems like it's everything I'd expect from a Simon/Burns project.

What that means: On the plus side, it's well-written, in-depth, and revealing. This review called it "rewarding in its complexity," not unlike The Wire. That, of course, comes with an inherent minus: The series is complex and not always easy to watch — or even tell who's who, especially in the first episode or two.

Personally, I'm planning to watch with a glossary, a chain of command chart, and a map at the ready; they're all available over here. Even if it is confusing at first, I have confidence that it will pay off in the end. (Also, special note for Wire fans: James Ransone, who played Ziggy in season two, has a major role.)

Will you be tuning in? To watch a preview (which has some profanity; you've been warned) and a "making of" video, just read more

Just a few minutes ago, the HBO session at the TCA press tour kicked off — but news has been dribbling out all day about some of the network's upcoming projects and big premieres. I'm watching for even more scoop from the sessions, but here's what we know so far:

• Entourage will be back for its fifth season in September. Its Sept. 7 premiere date makes it the first of HBO's series to return to the air after the writers' strike prompted something of a Summer drought. We've already heard that Leighton Meester and Jeffrey Tambor would be guest-starring; now we can add Giovanni Ribisi and Fran Drescher to the list.
• Also coming in September: True Blood, Alan Ball's vampire series starring Anna Paquin, which will also premiere Sept. 7, and Little Britain USA, a sketch comedy show that kicks off Sept. 28. I've read mixed reviews about True Blood thus far, so I'm very curious to see how it's received at HBO's panel.

To hear about a new series that has Forest Whitaker on its team, just read more

• The Wire's David Simon has told Broadcasting & Cable that he wants to make a movie about Donnie Andrews, the real-life Omar who robbed drug dealers.
• Reuters reports that Bill Clinton will be among the first guests on Elvis Costello's talk/music show.
• The Osbournes are headed to Fox for a new variety show that might be paired with American Idol next year, TV Week reports.
• According to Billboard, the Flaming Lips are showing their Christmas movie, Christmas on Mars, at the festivals they're playing up until the movie is released on DVD later this year.
• E! reports that Jamie-Lynn Sigler will join the cast of Entourage for a few episodes, playing herself.
• The Hollywood Reporter has the news that the Sundance Institute has established a submission deadline for the 2009 festival: September 8, 2008.
• Spike Lee is on board to film performances of the Broadway show Passing Strange, writes Variety.
• 90210 has added two new members to its cast, Zap2it reports — including the actress currently best known for modeling Case 24 on Deal or No Deal.

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HBO may not have any series on its schedule for the Summer, but it does have Generation Kill, a seven-part miniseries about the new face of the American military.

The miniseries, written by The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns, is based on a book of the same name by Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright. In 2003, Wright was embedded with a Marine Corps special operations unit with the motto "Swift, Silent, Deadly." The book painted a portrait of the soldiers in his unit as they lived on the front lines of a war that was then just beginning.

Though Simon and Burns don't know the military nearly as well as they knew Baltimore, Generation Kill seems like a logical step after The Wire nonetheless. The stories of rank-and-file soldiers confronting a military bureaucracy probably have something in common with those of rank-and-file police officers, dock workers, and teachers confronting a machine much larger than themselves. Plus, Simon and Burns have experience bringing a certain dark humor to even the most grim and gritty situation.

Generation Kill will run for seven Sundays beginning July 13. Want to get a taste of what it's about? You can check out the trailer and a clip from the scene where Wright meets the troops for the first time if you read more

I still haven't stopped thinking about Sunday's finale of The Wire. It wasn't a fade-to-black talker of an ending, Tony Soprano-style, but I did think it was a fitting conclusion to five years of examining the rise and fall of the police, union workers, drug lords, government officials, school teachers, and newspaper reporters of Baltimore.

Specifically, I've been playing the show's final montage over and over — both in my head and in real life. The Wire is known for ending every season with a montage showing what comes next for various characters and stories, and I'm so glad that tradition continued for the final episode. So, as a final farewell to the show, I've gathered up all five montages from The Wire's five seasons. Note that there's some violence and spicy language (we are talking about hoppers, bangers, and poh-leese, after all), but if you want to check them out, just read more

After five relentlessly gritty seasons of exposing the highs and lows of Baltimore and exploring creator David Simon's thesis that people today matter less than ever, HBO's great series The Wire comes to a close tonight. I tore through all the previous seasons on DVD this Fall so I could be here tonight, watching the finale live alongside the show's other fans. But, as I wrote when I asked about your favorite series finales the other day, now that the moment's arrived, I'm feeling overwhelmingly ambivalent. Fact is, I'm just not ready to let Bunk, McNulty, Kima, Lester, Bubbles, Carcetti, and even Marlo go. And I can only imagine how fans who watched and dissected each season over the past five years must feel.

There are so many plot threads still unraveling, and so many stories yet to be connected, that I doubt there's any way tonight's 95-minute finale can tie them all up. Will Lester's shining drug bust end up falling apart? Will Scott's lies grow bigger? Will McNulty recover from his latest downward spiral? I think I may leave the show with as many questions as answers. But in a way, that's exactly how a sprawling series like The Wire should end: messy and complicated, just like it's always been.

HBO has been putting episodes On Demand a week early all season, but the network held the final episode back (and yes, it leaked online — no spoilers in the comments, please!) so fans would watch together. As a result, a very funny preview aired On Demand, featuring Clay Davis and his signature catchphrase: "Sheeeeeeeit." You can watch it, plus the promo for the final episode, if you just read more

It's hard for me to believe there are just three episodes left before The Wire goes off the air for good. But is the show's March finale really it forever?

In a recent interview with the LA Times, Dominic West (Jimmy McNulty) said he and some of the show's other main actors are trying to persuade creator David Simon to continue exploring Baltimore through a Wire movie. He said:

There’s just so much material and so many plot lines to go on, and I think Wendell [Barry, who plays Bunk] thought, why not make a movie? There’s a ready-made audience, and I think a lot of us feel it will be a long time before we get to act such great writing and with people we like as much as we all like each other.

West also said Simon "doesn't need persuading" to make a movie, but he does need a story — and he's apparently said it would need to be a prequel, which just makes me even more curious to see how the series ends.

It seems a little far-fetched; if Simon had five strong seasons planned out for The Wire, I'd hate to see him go messing with it by adding on. Then again, the prequel idea is interesting, and there were those back story videos made to promote this season, which revealed there's a lot more to these characters than what Simon has let us see on screen up till now. Could you imagine The Wire continuing in film form? Or do you think it's best to just leave the series be when it reaches its planned end?

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• Several entertainment bloggers have launched an Adopt a Writer site, which will feature interviews with striking writers.
• Cinematical ponders the possibility of a third Fantastic Four movie. Would this be necessary at all?
• In honor of the Price is Right getting six primetime episodes, TV Squad has a list of the six worst prizes you can win on the show.
• Stereogum has posted video of Lisa Loeb playing inside an Ikea store.
• TV with MeeVee wonders whether David Simon is too angry for his own good on this season of The Wire.
• Hypeful helpfully puts together Rob's party mix from Cloverfield.
• Meanwhile, Popwatch hails the return of Erykah Badu.