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- 2022
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2022
- TV-MA
- HBO
Summary The limited series co-created by David Simon and George Pelecanos centers on members of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force that robbed and extorted citizens for several years before a federal investigation uncovered their crimes in this adaptation of Justin Fenton's non-fiction book.
- 2022
- TV-MA
- HBO
- 2022
- TV-MA
- HBO
We Own This City
Season 1 Premiere: 2022
5.8
Where to Watch
Summary The limited series co-created by David Simon and George Pelecanos centers on members of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force that robbed and extorted citizens for several years before a federal investigation uncovered their crimes in this adaptation of Justin Fenton's non-fiction book.
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Guided by recurring snapshots of Jenkins’ police logs and buoyed by a sterling cast that includes a number of The Wire alums, the series deftly tackles its saga from a variety of captivating angles. Best of all, We Own This City boasts the sort of comprehensive detail that’s the hallmark of truly great storytelling. From the minutia of BPD protocol and the strategic tactics of Jenkins and his criminal minions, to the competing priorities of different government factions, Simon energizes every incident, argument and skirmish with a depth of knowledge about how, from top to bottom, the system works.
Hector becomes another stellar example of how this cast allows just enough suppressed emotion to simmer at the surface. ... Even if the show didn’t use the device of police logs to explain when each vignette of Jenkins’ misdeeds occurred, Bernthal is also doing sharp work to help situate each stop along the timeline. Jenkins’ arc isn’t simply an evolution from clean-shaven academy grad to chin-bearded petty tyrant. There’s a full-bodied shift, however gradual.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 60 User Ratings
5.8
57% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
13% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
30% Negative
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 60 User Ratings
5.8
57% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
13% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
30% Negative
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
Incredibly insightful, dramatic, and educational telling of a true story. Some reviewers seemed to get their feelings hurt by the stark realities of policing and implementation of the law. This is an incredibly intelligent and well crafted police procedural. Don't be deterred by haters giving it a super low rating.
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Only one episode in and this already feels like a new season of The Wire, David Simon once again taps into his past experience in Baltimore law enforecement to create multiple story lines that intertwine and keep the viewer guessing. The cast includes a few familiar faces from The Wire which is great to see. If you are a fan of The Wire I am sure you are gonna love We Own This City.
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The engrossing HBO series manages to structure itself like a self-aware procedural that constantly asks us to question what we think we know about how criminality is conceived by and within police departments all over the country.
We Own This City throws a lot of information out there, from acronyms to procedural terms to shifting timelines, via a web of loosely connected characters. But this horrifying story will more than reward you, once you tune in to its beat.
Provocative, powerful, and with first-rate performances, We Own This City is the next generation of The Wire fans have long craved.
The imperative to take a rhetorical stance on this historic case has perhaps led Simon to eschew some of the richness and complexity that enlivened his earlier work, but at its best, We Own This City still possesses a thrilling urgency.
“City” is based on a nonfiction book by Justin Fenton and somewhat weighed down by its solemn intent. It doesn’t have time for humor and it doesn’t have the space for subtlety. Too many scenes are plain explanatory and grim business simply leads to more grim business. Still, Simon has always excelled at capturing specific cultures and their contradictions.
Amazing show. The true story of the Baltimore GTTF is not something that should be skipped because it portrays the truth in all its horror. Don’t let anyone make you think this is “woke-culture” made or anything of the kind, it’s reality without all the glamor.
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I’m a big fan of nearly all David Simon’s HBO series (The Wire and Show me a Hero in particular). The acting and dialogue in We Own this City save for a few is so unbelievably dry. Whereas in older works the viewer had to try to keep up as the characters grew, everything in WOTS is so explicitly spelled out that it feels like a book report.
I really don’t understand where the positive professional reviews are coming from.
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Could have been a 10/10 without the constant migraine inducing socialist virtue signaling. Lazy writing on the "C(ivil)ommie Rights" side of the story. Repulsed and disappointed at what TV is turning into. Love Jon Bernthal for staying neutral and delivering another amazing performance. Be better HBO.
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The Wire is my favorite show and has been for the better part of 20 years, so hearing this was a "spiritual successor" to the Wire I came into this with high expectations. To say I was disappointed to see this show be just another vehicle to push leftist propaganda is an understatement. Save your time and just give the Wire a re-watch.
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An endless smothering of woke propaganda and agenda driven writing. Impossible to enjoy with laughable heavy handed lectures of leftist talking points and absurd awkward insertions of "stats on racism" and "police brutality". Garbage.
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Production Company:
- Crime Story Media
- Home Box Office (HBO)
Initial Release Date: 2022
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Black Reel Awards for Television
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards
• 4 Nominations
Pena de Prata
• 4 Nominations
