Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of Marlon Wallace and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WBOC.
Likely, this series is for fans of HBO’s The Wire (2002), which is now 20-years-old. That series, created by former Baltimore Sun police reporter, David Simon, is considered one of the best cop shows or crime dramas ever put on television and one of the most realistic depictions of Baltimore that has ever been made. It was critically-acclaimed and people talked about it with such reverence, but it was mostly overlooked by awards organizations, specifically the Primetime Emmys.
Arguably, it was overshadowed by HBO shows like The Sopranos (1999) or other cop shows like The Shield (2002), which focused on a group of corrupt police officers, engaging in criminal activity and getting away with it, mostly due to their own, individual machinations. It’s interesting that 20 years later, Simon would do his version of The Shield, but instead of highlighting a particular group of corrupt police officers, Simon provides a wider picture of institutional failures or even systemic problems that allow bad cops to flourish.
Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead and King Richard) stars as Wayne Jenkins, a sergeant in the Baltimore Police Department. The series jumps around in time, but the series covers about a 15-year time period. The earliest is the summer of 2003 when Wayne first starts working for the police and is just an officer in training, going out for his first arrest. The latest is the spring of 2017 when Wayne himself is arrested. The series is mainly a depiction of his rise and fall, centering on how a cop could be corrupted and why. We basically see how he could be pulled to the dark side.
The series though is an ensemble piece, much like The Wire. Bernthal is very much the star and is given the most opportunity to shine and be a kind of centerpiece. Yes, he does some scenery chewing, but his performance is very much Emmy worthy. Unfortunately, he was completely overlooked. However, an argument could be made for a couple of the other actors who get close to centerpiece treatment.
Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country and Loki) plays Nicole Steele, an employee of the U.S. Department of Justice, or the DOJ. She’s a federal agent, basically. She works in the DOJ’s civil rights office. She visits Baltimore in 2015, specifically after April 2015. This date is important because it’s when Freddie Gray died while in police custody. At the time, it was one of the most egregious examples of the Black Lives Matter cases. It resulted in protests, which eventually broke out into riots on the streets of Charm City. The DOJ issued a consent decree, which is a court order to make certain reforms and changes to better the Baltimore police. Nicole’s job is to lead the investigation that will determine what the consent decree will be and how it will be implemented.
Nicole interviews African-Americans who have been mistreated by the police. She also meets with the police chief and even the mayor. Through her, we learn what the difficulties are with trying to reform the police of a major U.S. city and crack down on issues, especially the racial issues. Nicole learns the complaints on both sides, from those within the police and those outside of it. The series brilliantly but rather simply and straightforward presents those complaints as to make Nicole’s job nearly impossible.
Jaime Hector (Bosch and The Wire) plays Sean Suiter, a homicide detective who in 2015 is investigating a shooting that happened in an alley. However, the series also jumps back to 2007 to reveal that he worked with Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, as part of the Gun Trace Task Force, the aforementioned group of corrupt police officers. Sean becomes aware that the FBI is investigating Wayne and the GTTF, so there is a growing dread that he’ll be implicated in some way.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard and Monsters and Men) helms all the episodes of this miniseries. Green doesn’t dazzle with visual flourishes as he did with his films. He basically adopts the same style as we got with The Wire. What Green accomplishes though is that he gives space for the main actors of Bernthal, Mosaku and Hector to really put us in their heads. He’s also good at conveying certain emotions with each character. We get emotions such as arrogance, indignation and guilt, which I think are perfect for what the various situations are.
Rated TV-MA-LSV.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 6 eps.
Available on HBO
