As we first reported in July, The Wire’s David Simon is returning to HBO with the 6-part miniseries Show Me a Hero, which will study (once again, as is his wont) the frayed fabric of the American city. In this case, it’s Yonkers, NY, in the 1960s. Race, inequality, and the desire to do something good inside of a deeply broken system are all familiar ground for Simon (from The Wire to Treme to his most underrated project, Generation Kill), and he will be joined by Crash director Paul Haggis on this new project. (Also familiar: the sentiment of grinding blues in the trailer’s music, which is courtesy of Jamie N Commons).
The cast includes Catherine Keener, Alfred Molina, Bon Balaban, Jon Bernthal, Winona Ryder, James Belushi and more. Show Me A Hero premieres on HBO Sunday, August 16th. “For the first time in my life I am on the right side of something, and I am all alone,” Isaac’s character says. And as a later retort, “it’s the American way, right?”
Check out the new trailer (that is very similar to the previous one, and has since been removed from HBO's site), plus the synopsis and photos from the series below. Also don't forget to check out our HBO giveaway:
From creator David Simon (HBO’s “Treme” and “The Wire”) and director Paul Haggis (“Crash”), and based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin, this six-part miniseries explores notions of home, race and community through the lives of elected officials, bureaucrats, activists and ordinary citizens in Yonkers, NY. In an America generations removed from the greatest civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the young mayor (Oscar Isaac) of a mid-sized American city is faced with a federal court order that says he must build a small number of low-income housing units in the white neighborhoods of his town. His attempt to do so tears the entire city apart, paralyzes the municipal government and, ultimately, destroys the mayor and his political future.
