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HBO's 'The Wire' Lives On

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Michael K. Williams, who plays Omar Little, on the HBO cable television series, "The Wire." (AP/HBO)
Michael K. Williams, who plays Omar Little, on the HBO cable television series, "The Wire." (AP/HBO)

The HBO street drama "The Wire" has been off air for three years, but buzz still surrounds the show. For instance, open Friday's Boston Globe and there's an opinion piece entitled "The Wire: Why It Still Matters," and across the country universities are using The Wire to teach about race, justice and crime.

The show was written by former police reporter David Simon and portrayed police corruption, gang violence and dysfunctional schools in inner city Baltimore. It's been lauded by many for its deep look at inner cities, but critics say it glorifies gang violence and stereotypes inner cities.

We revisit a conversation with actor Michael Williams, who played the character Omar Little, and Donnie Andrews, who was the inspiration for that character. We met them at Harvard Law School as a classroom panel about “The Wire” was breaking up.

This segment originally aired in April, 2011.

Guests:

  • Donnie Andrews, actor and inspiration for the character of Omar Little on HBO's "The Wire"
  • Michael K. Williams, actor who played Omar Little on "The Wire"

This segment aired on October 14, 2011.

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