TV is firmly in its reboot, revival, and reunion era. Shows such as Frasier and Sex and the City have been revisited, with varying degrees of success. Some of these exploits, like the newsmaking Fresh Prince reunion, have added valuable perspective to the original show. But with all the nostalgia floating around Hollywood, it’s surprising that HBO’s The Wire, a prescient, innovative chronicle of urban blight in America, told through intersecting characters in Baltimore, hasn’t had a large-scale reunion. In the 23 years since the show’s debut, seemingly every American institution has cratered in a way that showrunner David Simon and co-writers Ed Burns, George Pelecanos, and Nina Noble foretold during its initial 2002-2008 run.
Now, the 43-year-old (Tray) Chaney (“Poot”) is on a mission to feed those fans with his The Wire Reunion movement, which includes YouTube interviews, public engagements, and Instagram Live sessions with Wire cast members. He also offers conversations with certain Wire actors on his ChaneyWay website. And last year, he released several videos under the title “Live From the Pit” on his YouTube channel, which were spliced from conversations he had with several Wire actors during a photoshoot in Baltimore’s McCulloh Homes, one of the show’s key locations. It’s Chaney’s goal to expand the concept into an ongoing series where he interviews every living Wire character in that setting. In January, he posted an open letter on social media asking HBO to help facilitate and air the episodes.