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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
From The Wire‘s George Pelecanos and David Simon comes a new HBO crime drama series, We Own This City. Starring Jon Bernthal and Wunmi Mosaku, this project will run over the course of six episodes. We Own This City is based on the novel of the same name by Justin Fenton. You can read more details on this limited series here.
The premiere episode is titled, “Part One”. It is written by George Pelecanos & David Simon and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.
In this review, I will be discussing We Own This City Episode 1. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia, here is the logline for We Own This City Episode 1.
Momodu Gondo (McKinley Belcher III) finds himself in an interrogation. A detective in a nearby county traces a string of overdoses to Baltimore.
WarnerMedia
Discussion
At 58 minutes and 19 seconds, this first episode of We Own This City shows promise. “Part One” takes place during two time periods: in 2015 and in February/ March 2017; and while there is so much going on, I want to focus on a key theme present in the episode.
Information
The first theme that “Part One” covers is information. According to Jenkins’s (Jon Bernthal) character, information is a major key to getting good cases. There are different means of obtaining those cases, and sometimes it involves brutality. It is important to note some of the music that plays in the background of the show; one example is 50 Cent’s “Many Men (Wish Death)”. In the case of some police characters, they do not care that they could be breaking the law, but it does give them a sense of power as someone who enforces the law.
One thing that another character tells some officers that he’s learned is, “What you know is everything”. What they mean by this is that knowledge is power and with certain information, you can find yourself inside certain groups or affairs. It should also be noted that the series takes place before and after Donald Trump’s then-election in office as the President of the United States.
With information comes this concept of the inclusion of plague, as I have discussed in some other past reviews. According to French philosopher Michel Foucault, individuals have their personal information put into records so that they could be closely watched by figures of authority. Once they know who you are, they can easily find you; and this is where tracking devices play a role in some parts of the episode.
The Crew of We Own This City
We Own This City is developed by George Pelecanos and David Simon.
Reena Rexrode and John Mabry serve as the producers of the series, while William F. Zorzi serves as the co-executive producer. Ed Burns, Kary Antholis, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Nina K. Noble, Pelecanos, and Simon serve as the executive producers.
Joshua Raymond Lee serves as the editor of the premiere episode, while Devon Halliday is the assistant editor. Yaron Orbach is the director of photography.
Blake Leyh serves as the music supervisor. Kris Bowers composes the music.
Valeria de Felice serves as the production designer. Dona Adrian Gibson serves as the costume designer. Nhu-Anh Le serves as the assistant costume designer.
Miles K. Michael and Chris Potter serve as the art directors; Lamoh Hicks, Grant M. Guilliams, Lance Mitchell, and Tiffani Sydnor serve as the assistant art directors. Paige Mitchell serves as the set decorator, while Deanna Simmons serves as the assistant set decorator.
Janice Kinigopoulos serves as the head of the hair department. Lydia Benaim serves as the key hairstylist, while Frank R. Crosby III serves as the key barber. Adris Cohen and Adele Thorpe are additional hairstylists.
Debi Young serves as the head of the make-up department. Sandra Linn is the key make-up artist, while Ngozi Young is the make-up artist. Gina Bateman and Tiffany Nate Bullock serve as additional make-up artists.
Alexa L. Fogel serves as the casting director. Elizabeth Berra serves as the casting associate. Pat Moran is the Baltimore casting director, while Emily Sienicki is the Baltimore casting associate. Chuck Yeaton is the Baltimore casting assistant.
The Cast of We Own This City
Jon Bernthal stars as Baltimore Police Department Sargeant Wayne Jenkins; meanwhile, Wunmi Mosaku plays Nicole Steele, an attorney assigned to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
Jamie Hector plays Sean M. Suiter, Josh Charles plays Daniel Hersl, McKinley Belcher III plays Momodu “G Money” Gondo.
Darrell Britt-Gibson plays Jemell Rayam. Rob Brown plays Maurice Ward, David Corenswet plays David McDougall, Dagmara Dominczyk plays Erika Jensen, Don Harvey plays Jon Sieracki, Larry Mitchell plays Scott Kilpatrick, Gabrielle Carteris plays Andrea Smith, Ian Duff plays Ahmed Jackson, Tray Chaney plays Gordon Hawk, and Delaney Williams plays Kevin Davis.
Other appearances include Ham Mukasa, Robert Harley, Curt Morlaye, Celeste Oliva, Chris Clanton, Bobby J. Brown, Susan Rome, Ken Arnold, Anwan Glover, Joe Medina, Victor Dobro, Sylvester Kirk, Chris Anderson, James Lewis, Paige Carter, Jesse Milliner, Dwayne Alistair Thomas, Terri O’Neill, Dave Johnson, Dornell Johnson, Lorenzo D. Mathis, Maurice Philogene, Marcellus Shepard, Nick Scalise, Levar Lewis Jr., Scott Kilpatrick, Dawn A. Douglas, David McDougall, Chris Toland, Louis E. Davis, Brandon Bolt, Dominic Jackson, Daniel Martin, Lyon Beckwith, Andres Severino, Mark M. Neptune, and Steven Jamal Williams.
Performances
Jon Bernthal is not in the premiere episode as much as others, and I’d be afraid to say that he is outacted by his co-stars. However, when he is on-screen, such as in the introductory scene, he does excellently on his own. I am curious as to what larger role he plays in the investigation, but we’ll save that for maybe next week’s second episode.
Mosaku’s Steele is also a terrific individual. She will be led to Daniel Hersl (Josh Charles), a police officer known for breaking the law by either excessive force or civil rights violations. What I like about Steele is she really wants to get the job done, and we see her going around and asking about Hersl. With the officer, on the other hand, Hersl is insensitive and brutal; but that’s just how he obtains his information. He tends to go out of line and escalate a situation rather than de-escalate — the supposed job of an officer. This is a tough character to watch, but Charles delivers such a mighty fine performance.
Final Thoughts on The We Own This City Premiere
“Part One” has a lot going for it but Lee and Halliday manage to edit every scene so well. We Own This City‘s introductory title sequence is well-done; I like what they’ve got going for it. I can’t say much without revealing plot details but this is something that I want to learn more about and invest my time in watching. Be mindful of the pacing, as the show tends to bounce back and forth between multiple perspectives.
We Own This City premieres via HBO on April 25th!
Will you be seeing this miniseries? If so, what are you hoping will happen? Let us know! For more crime drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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