David Simon Doubles Down

One thing’s for certain about David Simon, creator of (among other things) the now departed The Wire and the very much still with us Treme: he doesn’t mince words (via).

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder appeared with several actors from The Wire on a panel devoted to dealing with the effects of drugs on children. Along the way, Holder had this to say:

I want to speak directly to Mr. Burns and Mr. Simon: Do another season of The Wire. That’s actually at a minimum.… If you don’t do a season, do a movie. We’ve done HBO movies. This is a series that deserves a movie. I want another season or I want a movie. I have a lot of power Mr. Burns and Mr. Simon.

It’s hard to tell from the article if Holder was serious (a lot of people would welcome more of The Wire, after all), joking, or just kissing entertainment-industry ass. Regardless, Simon responded to Holder’s request with one of his own:

The Attorney-General's kind remarks are noted and appreciated. I've spoken to Ed Burns and we are prepared to go to work on season six of The Wire if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanising drug prohibition.

In other words, The Wire is as dead as Omar. Expect a new season about the same time Hell freezes over.