TV Bits: Watch 'The Wire: The Musical', 'Community' Leads Critics' Choice Noms
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of HBO's The Wire, which naturally means it's about time for a remake. Enter The Wire: The Musical, a stage show that retains all of the original series' thoughtful examinations of weighty sociopolitical issues and unflinching sense of realism, only with more twirls, high kicks, and showstopping solos.
... All right, so it's a Funny or Die video, not a real production. But it does feature several of the real stars, including Michael K. Williams (Omar), Sonja Sohn (Kima), Larry Gillard Jr. (D'Angelo), Andre Royo (Bubbles), and Felicia Pearson (Snoop).
After the jump, watch a video for The Wire: The Musical and read about Community's six nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Awards.
Amusingly, it actually is David Simon-approved. Really. For a more serious take on the show, check out Maxim's great oral history of the full five-season series. [via Pajiba]
Community may not get its due respect from mainstream audiences, but the reviewers who comprise the Broadcast Television Journalists Association apparently have no trouble appreciating its weird, wonderful charms. The NBC sitcom has earned some six Critics' Choice Television Awards nods, making it the most-nominated series of the year.
The rest of the list is a mix of universally acclaimed titles like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Modern Family, along with some lesser known cult favorites like Happy Endings, Awkward., and Bob's Burgers. The bad, and kind of surprising, news? FX's revered Louie still only managed to nab one nomination, for Best Actor. Here's the list, via Variety:
Drama series
"Breaking Bad" (AMC)
"Downton Abbey" (PBS)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"The Good Wife" (CBS)
"Homeland" (Showtime)
"Mad Men" (AMC)
Drama actor
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" (AMC)
Kelsey Grammer, "Boss" (Starz)
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" (AMC)
Charlie Hunnam, "Sons of Anarchy" (FX)
Damian Lewis, "Homeland" (Showtime)
Timothy Olyphant, "Justified" (FX)
Drama actress
Claire Danes, "Homeland" (Showtime)
Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey" (PBS)
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife" (CBS)
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men" (AMC)
Emmy Rossum, "Shameless" (Showtime)
Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy" (FX)
Drama supporting actor
Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" (HBO)
Giancarlo Esposito, "Breaking Bad" (AMC)
Neal McDonough, "Justified" (FX)
John Noble, "Fringe" (Fox)
Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad" (AMC)
John Slattery, "Mad Men" (AMC)
Drama supporting actress
Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife" (CBS)
Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad" (AMC)
Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men" (AMC)
Regina King, "Southland" (TNT)
Kelly Macdonald, "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)
Maggie Siff, "Sons of Anarchy" (FX)
Drama guest performer
Dylan Baker, "Damages" (DirecTV)
Jere Burns, "Justified" (FX)
Loretta Devine, "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
Lucy Liu, "Southland" (TNT)
Carrie Preston, "The Good Wife" (CBS)
Chloe Webb, "Shameless" (Showtime)
Comedy series
"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
"Community" (NBC)
"Girls" (HBO)
"Modern Family" (ABC)
"New Girl" (Fox)
"Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
Comedy actor
Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" (Showtime)
Louis C.K., "Louie" (FX)
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)
Garret Dillahunt, "Raising Hope" (Fox)
Joel McHale, "Community" (NBC)
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
Comedy actress
Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl" (Fox)
Lena Dunham, "Girls" (HBO)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" (HBO)
Martha Plimpton, "Raising Hope" (Fox)
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
Ashley Rickards, "Awkward" (MTV)
Comedy supporting actor
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family" (ABC)
Max Greenfield, "New Girl" (Fox)
Nick Offerman, "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
Danny Pudi, "Community" (NBC)
Jim Rash, "Community" (NBC)
Damon Wayans Jr., "Happy Endings" (ABC)
Comedy supporting actress
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family" (ABC)
Alison Brie, "Community" (NBC)
Cheryl Hines, "Suburgatory" (ABC)
Gillian Jacobs, "Community" (NBC)
Eden Sher, "The Middle" (ABC)
Casey Wilson, "Happy Endings" (ABC)
Comedy guest performer
Becky Ann Baker, "Girls" (HBO)
Bobby Cannavale, "Modern Family" (ABC)
Kathryn Hahn, "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
Justin Long, "New Girl" (Fox)
Paul Rudd, "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
Peter Scolari, "Girls" (HBO)
Animated series
"Archer" (FX)
"Adventure Time" (Cartoon Network)
"Bob's Burgers" (Fox)
"Family Guy" (Fox)
"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Cartoon Network)
Movie/Miniseries
"American Horror Story" (FX)
"Game Change" (HBO)
"The Hour" (BBC America)
"Luther" (BBC America)
"Page Eight" (PBS)
"Sherlock" (PBS)
Movie/Miniseries actor
Kevin Costner, "Hatfields & McCoys" (History)
Benedict Cumberbatch, "Sherlock" (PBS)
Idris Elba, "Luther" (BBC America)
Woody Harrelson, "Game Change" (HBO)
Bill Nighy, "Page Eight" (PBS)
Dominic West, "The Hour" (BBC America)
Movie/Miniseries actress
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story" (FX)
Gillian Anderson, "Great Expectations" (PBS)
Julianne Moore, "Game Change" (HBO)
Patricia Clarkson, "Five" (Lifetime)
Lara Pulver, "Sherlock" (PBS)
Emily Watson, "Appropriate Adult" (Sundance Channel)
Reality series
"Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" (Travel Channel)
"Hoarders" (A&E)
"Sister Wives" (TLC)
"Kitchen Nightmares" (Fox)
"Pawn Stars" (History)
"Undercover Boss" (CBS)
Reality series (competition)
"The Pitch" (AMC)
"Shark Tank" (ABC)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"The Voice" (NBC)
"Chopped" (Food)
"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
Reality host
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
Nick Cannon, "America's Got Talent" (NBC)Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
Phil Keoghan, "The Amazing Race" (CBS)
RuPaul, "RuPaul's Drag Race" (Logo)
Talkshow
"Conan" (TBS)
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)
"The View" (ABC)