Getting yarn renewal has always been an uphill battle

Wendell Pierce never received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland, but he's revered by "The Wire" fans. If there is a soul to the series, maybe this is it. Bunk is a principled cop who puts his head down and does the thankless job of investigating cases that have little hope of solving. His partner, McNulty (Dominic West), is a constant source of annoyance, largely because he's an anti-authoritarian drunk who hates losing an argument.

It's a fun dynamic, and we've been lucky enough to have five seasons of it. As Pierce told the Washington Post, it's a miracle we even had more than one:

"Almost every year we had to wait to see if we were renewed. I remember one particular year, David [Simon, creator, writer and executive producer] had to turn in six spec scripts before giving his approval. When we first saw it, it was so new and innovative in the way it told stories that I distinctly remember telling Sonja Sohn and Andre Royo - we were watching it together - Save your money. Because it's not going anywhere."< /p>