The Slow Hustle: Release Date, Cast, And More

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In 2017, filmmaker and "The Wire" alum Sonja Sohn directed the documentary "Baltimore Rising," which focused on the protests, riots, prosecution, and the continued efforts to radically alter policing in the wake of the Freddie Gray killing in Baltimore. In a statement that reflects the lack of progress made on this front in the intervening years, Sohn is now returning for a follow-up to that powerful film with "The Slow Hustle." The documentary is similarly focused on the corruption and systemic issues involved in the Baltimore police department, this time revolving around the death of police officer Detective Sean Suiter. Sohn's key acting role throughout "The Wire" and her subsequent community work in the Baltimore area afterwards has obviously led to a passion for this subject, with Sohn crossing over to the other side of the camera to tell this story. Read on for everything you need to know about "The Slow Hustle" below.

"The Slow Hustle" is scheduled for release on December 7, 2021. As an HBO documentary, it will premiere on HBO at 8:00 P.M. (EST) that evening before being made available on the HBO Max streaming service soon afterwards. "The Slow Hustle" first debuted at AFI Docs this past summer, which is the non-fiction film festival held annually in the Washington, D.C. area every June.

Sonja Sohn's "The Slow Hustle" serves as a follow-up to her previous documentary, "Baltimore Rising." After focusing predominantly on the events surrounding Freddie Gray's death at the hands of police in 2015 and the failure to prosecute the police involved, "The Slow Hustle" takes an in-depth look at the mysterious death of a Baltimore detective, Sean Suiter, who died under suspicious circumstances when he was set to serve as a key witness at a trial. Sohn uses this as a jumping-off point to explore an entire series of corruption scandals lobbied against the Baltimore police department, as well as the activists speaking out against these systemic issues.

As a documentary, "The Slow Hustle" features several of the real-life figures involved throughout the events covered in the film. It's directed by Sonja Sohn, who portrayed Baltimore police detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs throughout all five seasons of "The Wire" and made her directing debut with 2017's "Baltimore Rising." "The Slow Hustle" will be her second directorial effort, staying thematically relevant to many of the same issues that "The Wire" creator (and Baltimore-raised) David Simon explored in his groundbreaking series — particularly through Sohn's character. 

At a time when police departments throughout the U.S. are under fire, the Baltimore Police Department may be in a league of its own. The questions surrounding the BPD finally exploded in 2017 when veteran Police Detective Sean Suiter was killed in the line of duty. Was it murder? Did Suiter commit suicide? Or, could it have been a "hit" ordered from within the department itself? Sonja Sohn, who starred in the beloved HBO crime drama series THE WIRE, set and produced in Baltimore, follows up her acclaimed feature directorial debut BALTIMORE RISING with a gripping story of dirty cops, cover-ups and a failed political establishment. The plot twists may be high drama, but, for Suiter's family and the citizens of Baltimore, the stakes couldn't be more real.