21. The Show Was Inspired By David Simons Previous Miniseries
Again, big fans of The Wire and HBO more generally will already be aware of this but many do not know that David Simon based the show upon a critically lauded miniseries that he wrote in 2000 called The Corner. Covering similar themes to the first season of The Wire in particular, it highlighted the lives of a family living in the midst of the drug trafficking of Baltimores streets. Interestingly, it won that years Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries thus making it more critically decorated than its famous successor. Many actors that would star in The Wire appeared in entirely different roles, including cop Lester Freamons Clarke Peters as drug addict Fat Curt, political aide Norman Wilsons Reg E. Cathey as drug addict Scalio, and cop Leander Sydnors Corey Parker Robinson as drug dealer R.C.
