Mark Wahlberg was in the running to play one of the leads in The Departed, but when he got the call from Scorsese that he would be playing the much smaller role of Dignam instead, he hung up on him. He later accepted the role under one condition: he'd be allowed to improvise his lines and harangue his co-stars - the same ones who got the parts he missed out on.
The finale of The Wire (2002) is perfect precisely since it refuses to offer real closure or redemption. The institutions keep moving, the corners stay the same, new faces replace the old ones, and the cycle just continues without sentimentality.
Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years. But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences and that was something he instigated with a conversation in his bus around how we each managed our racing teams. I was super eager for us to get on better terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible. We did some media together also to laugh through some of the things we put each other through many years ago. Most recently we had even been discussing him running my Late Model at Wilkesboro this summer. He seemed extremely happy and we had planned to meet up next Thursday to get his seat to the shop. He laughed over the idea of his fans and JRM fans having to cheer in unison during that race.
Kyle was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. No one can deny that. But he was also a father, a husband, brother, son, and a friend to many. My heart is broken for the Busch family. I will never be able to make sense of this loss but I am thankful that we had found a way to become friends.
Mike Ehrmantraut was never supposed to exist in Breaking Bad. Saul was originally meant to clean up the scene after Jane’s death, but Bob Odenkirk was busy filming How I Met Your Mother, so the writers created Mike instead. One scheduling problem gave us one of the best characters in TV history.
Rolling Stone ranks The Wire the second-best TV show ever made. Entertainment Weekly named it the best in 2013. The man who made it spent six years fighting HBO to keep it on the air. They were trying to cancel it after every single season.
The ratings never came. Season 2 peaked at 3.71 million viewers an episode. By the final season the average was under a million. The 2008 series finale pulled around 1 million, against The Sopranos finale's 11.9 million nine months earlier.
After Season 3, HBO was ready to end it. Two of the show's biggest characters had been killed off or sent to prison. To the network, that was a natural finish. David Simon disagreed. He spent two years pushing HBO to renew, which is why Season 4 didn't premiere until 21 months after Season 3 ended. He'd wanted Season 4 to cover immigration in Baltimore. By the time HBO finally said yes, there was no time to research it, so he switched to the public schools, where his writing partner Ed Burns had taught for years.
He also pitched HBO a spinoff about Tommy Carcetti, the politician character. Simon later said HBO boss Chris Albrecht looked at him like, "Dude, I'm trying to figure out how to cancel the one show."
Season 5 was supposed to be 13 episodes. HBO cut it to 10. The first episode of the shorter season is called "More with Less."
The casting almost fell apart for another reason. Idris Elba faked an American accent through four auditions to get Stringer Bell. He's from East London. The casting director coached him to lie. Dominic West, who played lead detective Jimmy McNulty, was also British, from Yorkshire. Simon didn't find out until the actors first read the script together. He'd specifically asked for Americans.
Carolyn Strauss, the HBO executive who approved The Wire (and The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under), also saved one of its main characters. Simon had written Detective Kima Greggs to die in Season 1, episode 10. Strauss told him no.
The awards did nothing for it. Two Emmy nominations across five seasons, both for writing. Zero wins. None of the actors were ever nominated, not even Idris Elba, Michael K. Williams, or Michael B. Jordan. Zero Golden Globe nominations either. One HBO executive said the network blamed the East Coast setting and the LA-based Emmy voters. The show that beat it every Sunday in the ratings was Desperate Housewives, originally pitched to HBO and turned down by Carolyn Strauss.
Two things kept The Wire alive. Simon refused to give up. The show built a reputation that only paid off after it had ended. People bought the DVDs and told their friends. The show that almost died five times became the one everyone said you had to watch. The greatest show in television history got five seasons out of a network trying to cancel it after every one.
❤️ ROSEMARY RUCKER ❤️
Lauren Rucker, wife of the late Wes Rucker, gave birth to their baby girl Rosemary on Saturday. 👶
In the comments I’ll be leaving links to their Meal Train as well as their GoFundMe!
Anything will help! 🙏
The Wire ended 18 yrs ago today. It’s been taught in Ivy League schools, law schools & film schools. David Simon was interviewed by a sitting president about its lasting impact. Cited in a State Supreme Court ruling. Often hailed by critics as the best ever. Never won an Emmy.
Can’t believe the Wes Rucker news. Thinking of & praying for his family today.
11 years ago I was doing a local show hardly anybody watched…I begged for guests and never got a response most of the time.
Wes Rucker was the first “yes” and would stay up until 11p to join me live weekly. Even today it’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
Will miss you Wes 🫡
I'm about to go celebrate my son's fourth birthday, and I thank God every day – but especially today – for the people @EastTNChildrens who made days like this possible.
Happy Holidays to the heroes who put on capes every day they walk into that building. Y'all saved our world.
Wes Rucker gave his life to covering Tennessee sports.
Rest in peace Wes, I hope you get to watch the games up there man. Thank you for all the effort you spent making my fan experience richer.
VFL