Emmy-winning producer David Simon is again focusing on the streets of Baltimore, in the new drama We Own This City. The series follows the real story of corruption that took place in the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force and also marks the reunion between Simon and HBO.
Fans of the hit HBO series The Wire know this isn’t Simon’s first time shining a light on crime in what is affectionately known as Charm City. Simon, also having been a former reporter for The Baltimore Sun for more than 12 years, grew quite the affinity for the city during his time there. Since his days in journalism, he has built a widely celebrated career in television. He's even earned two Emmys for his work on HBO’s The Corner.
Here’s what we know about We Own This City.
When is the next We Own This City episode?
We Own This City is an HBO Original series and can be viewed in the US by tuning into HBO on-demand via a preferred cable/satellite provider, or by streaming it using HBO Max.
The series began airing in the UK on June 7 via Sky TV and NOW.
By the way, we've provided an episode guide for the limited series and links to our assessments as to what was fact and fiction in each part of the season.
Part One
"Momodu Gondo finds himself in an interrogation. A detective in a nearby county traces a string of overdoses to Baltimore."
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 1
Part Two
"Jenkins learns stark truths about policing as a new officer. Rayam opens up about the GTTF. Suiter is assigned to a new murder case."
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 2
Part Three
"Despite numerous complaints, Hersl is placed on the GTTF. Jensen monitors Gondo's calls. Jenkins brings Suiter along on a raid."
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 3
Part Four
"Maurice Ward recounts how Jenkins remained unscathed despite a series of illegal incidents. Baltimore is rocked by the Freddie Gray protests."
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 4
Part Five
"Suiter faces distrust of the police at a crime scene. The GTTF officers provide additional damning evidence. The Feds prepare charges."
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 5
Part Six
The series concludes with GTTF turning on each other. Suiter's involvement in the previous false arrest of a Baltimore man comes into question.
Fact or Fiction We Own This City episode 6
We Own This City plot
HBO states the following in regards to the We Own This City plot:
"Based on the book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, We Own This City chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force and the corruption and moral collapse that befell an American city in which the policies of drug prohibition and mass arrest were championed at the expense of actual police work."
For those not as familiar with the Gun Trace Task Force scandal, it involves nine officers employed by the Baltimore Police Department who spent three years terrorizing the city’s residents according to the Baltimore Sun. As Vox describes it, the cops were supposed to be getting guns and violent criminals off the city streets. Instead, they actually committed robberies, conducted baseless searches, clocked in overtime with the city and even carried fake guns to plant in case they shot unarmed people.
The former officers in question usually targeted suspected criminals thinking their words wouldn’t carry much weight if the already accused attempted to report this police corruption. Furthermore, the disgraced officers committed their crimes all in an effort to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We Own This City cast
Playing Wayne Jenkins, the ring leader of the task force at the heart of the scandal in We Own This City, is Jon Bernthal. Bernthal has made quite a name for himself playing tough, menacing characters onscreen. Fans of his work will recall he was Frank Castle in Marvel’s The Punisher and Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead. He’ll also be playing Julian Kaye, a convicted murderer, in the Showtime series American Gigolo.
Joining Bernthal as a part of the We Own This City main cast are:
- Wunmi Mosaku as Nicole Steele
- Jamie Hector as Sean M. Suiter
- McKinley Belcher III as Momodu "G Money" Gondo
- Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jemell Rayam
- Josh Charles as Daniel Hersl
- Dagmara Domińczyk as Erika Jensen
- Rob Brown as Maurice Ward
- Don Harvey as John Sieracki
- David Corenswet as David McDougall
- Larry Mitchell as Scott Kilpatrick
- Ian Duff as Ahmed Jackson
- Delaney Williams as Kevin Davis
- Lucas Van Engen as Leo Wise
Treat Williams is also slated to appear as a guest star on the show.
It’s worth noting that the director of We Own This City is Reinaldo Marcus Green. Green has recently garnered a lot of attention for directing King Richard.
We Own This City trailer
The We Own This City trailer serves as a harsh reminder that sometimes the line between hero and villain can be razor-thin.
HBO was also kind enough to release an official teaser.
How to watch We Own This City
We Own This City is an HBO original and can be seen in the US on HBO on-demand or on HBO Max. For UK viewers, the series started airing on Sky TV and NOW as of June 7.
