If you haven't watched The Wire, please stop whatever it is you're doing this instant and watch it because it's one of the greatest TV shows ever made. All done? Great.
Roughly around Season 3 of The Wire, showrunner David Simon had an idea to create a spin-off show that would have put our own Aiden Gillen front and centre.
Gillen played Mayor (and then Governer) Tommy Carcetti and in a recent interview, Simon revealed that he had a ton of scripts written for a potential spin-off.
Unfortunately, the powers that be in HBO decided against it. "But HBO said, 'No, we only want one show that nobody is watching in Baltimore, not two!'", so says Simon.
Let's not forget that, on its TV run, The Wire had negligible ratings and would have more than likely be cancelled.
It was only when it was released on DVD that it gained any kind of following.
As for another series of The Wire? Not likely. Even a US Attorney General weighed in and "demanded" a sixth season.
How did David Simon respond? He said he would if the Attorney General ended the War on Drugs and decriminalised drug use. Remember that season when they created a drug free-zone and made it legal? Yeah, that.
