The Corner

For other uses, seeCorner.

The Corner
The CornerDVD cover
Genre	Drama
Based on	The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood byDavid Simon Ed Burns
Written by	David Simon David Mills
Directed by	Charles S. Dutton
Starring	T. K. Carter Khandi Alexander Sean Nelson
Theme music composer	Corey Harris
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of episodes	6
Production
Producers	Robert F. Colesberry David Mills David Simon Nina Kostroff Noble
Production location	Baltimore, Maryland
Cinematography	Ivan Strasburg
Running time	59–73 minutes
Production companies	Blown Deadline Productions HBO Films Knee Deep Productions
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	April 16(2000-04-16)– May 21, 2000(2000-05-21)

The Corneris a 2000HBOdramatelevision miniseriesbased on the nonfiction bookThe Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood(1997) byDavid SimonandEd Burns,and adapted for television by David Simon andDavid Mills.It premiered on HBO in the United States on April 16, 2000, and concluded its six-part run on May 21, 2000. The series was released on DVD on July 22, 2003.It won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseriesin 2000.

The Cornerchronicles the life of a family living inpovertyamid the open-airdrug marketsofWest Baltimore."The corner" is the junction of West Fayette Street and North Monroe Street (U.S. Route 1) (39.289372°N 76.646848°W/39.289372; -76.646848).

Cast and characters

• T. K. Carteras Gary McCullough, a drug addict; DeAndre's father, and Fran's ex-husband. He dropped out of college when Fran became pregnant and became addicted to drugs after their marriage ended.
• Khandi AlexanderasDenise Francine "Fran" Boyd,a drug addict; DeAndre McCullough and DeRodd Hearns'mother, and Gary's ex-wife. She lives in the "Dew Drop Inn" with her sisters, Bunchie and Sharry, brother Stevie, and his son.
• Sean Nelsonas DeAndre "Black" McCullough, a 15-year-old drug dealer; Gary McCullough and Francine "Fran" Boyd's son.
• Clarke Petersas Fat Curt
• Glenn Plummeras George "Blue" Epps
• Toy Connor as Tyreeka Freamon
• Maria Broom as Bunchie Boyd
• Sylvester Lee Kirk as DeRodd, DeAndre's younger brother
• Corey Parker Robinsonas R.C.
• Reg E. Catheyas Scalio
• Rodney Scottas Little DeAndre

Many actors fromThe Cornerhad also appeared inHomicide: Life on the Street(1993–1999), which was adapted from Simon's book,Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets(1991). Similarly, many actors who appeared inThe Cornerlater appeared in Simon's next television series,The Wire(2002–2008), often playing contrasting characters, e.g., Clarke Peters, Maria Broom, Corey Parker Robinson, Reg E. Cathey,Clayton LeBouef,Donnell Rawlings,Tootsie Duvall,Robert F. Chew,Lance Reddick,Delaney Williams,and DeAndre McCullough (as an assistant toBrother Mouzone). Additionally, Alexander and Peters later starred in Simon's television seriesTreme(2010–2013), and DeAndre McCullough (who also played a bit role inThe Corner,as a policeman who arrested 15-year-old DeAndre) briefly worked for the show in set construction and on the security crew.

Episodes

Each episode starts and ends with a documentary style interview, wherein a lead character answers questions posed by the director,Charles S. Dutton.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Gary's Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Simon&David Mills	April 16, 2000(2000-04-16)
Thirty-four year-old Gary McCullough has seen four years of drug addiction strip him of his money, his career, and his family. Now he has one mission: to get his next drug fix. When he's not shooting up with his girlfriend Ronnie - a ruthless, scheming addict who even steals from Gary when he isn't looking - he scours the neighborhood for heroin or spare cigarettes, and scrounges for money sellingscrap metaland stolen appliances.
2	"DeAndre's Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Simon & David Mills	April 23, 2000(2000-04-23)
DeAndre spends his life walking a fine line between childhood and maturity - a very fine line, since both of his parents are addicts, and he's been dealing drugs since he was 13 years old. DeAndre hangs out with his girlfriend Tyreeka while struggling to attend school so he can achieve a promotion from 9th to 10th grade. After getting into a fight with his mother, Fran, he leaves to stay with his father, Gary, who ends up stealing some of his drugs.
3	"Fran's Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Mills	April 30, 2000(2000-04-30)
Fran has her own drug habit but 15-year-old DeAndre helps support her and his younger half brother De'Rodd by selling cocaine on the corner. Fran's admonitions to her son against selling drugs continue to go unheeded, and DeAndre gets busted again. This time, to teach him a lesson, Fran makes no effort to get him out, and he is transferred to "Boy's Village", where he gets a wake-up call. The real Fran Boyd makes a cameo appearance in this episode, as a receptionist.
4	"Dope Fiend Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Simon	May 7, 2000(2000-05-07)
Attempting to go straight, Gary gets a seasonal job at the crab market where he worked in his youth. When an addict gets shot, a local artist named Blue realizes the time to clean up his life is now or never. DeAndre has a new girlfriend, not knowing that Tyreeka, whom he's been ignoring, is pregnant with his child. With his mother in rehab, DeAndre turns to Gary for some money to feed the family. The real DeAndre McCullough makes a cameo appearance in this episode, as the police officer arresting Blue; the real Tyreeka Freamon makes a cameo appearance in this episode, as a Checkers employee; and the real George "Blue" Epps makes a cameo appearance in this episode, as a counselor.
5	"Corner Boy Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Simon & David Mills	May 14, 2000(2000-05-14)
Things are going well for Fran, who proudly moves the family into a new home, but not so well for Gary, who loses his job as the crab season ends. With a baby on the way, DeAndre attempts to walk a straight line, taking a job at a fast food restaurant while still earning off the corner and agreeing to a midnight curfew imposed by Fran. Drugs are starting to take their toll on the aging corner seller, Curt, who collapses and ends up in the hospital.
6	"Everyman's Blues"	Charles S. Dutton	David Simon & David Mills	May 21, 2000(2000-05-21)
The entire Boyd family gathers for Thanksgiving, a celebration that also marks the birth of DeAndre's son. It is a happy time for all, but it is to be short-lived as old addictions are revisited and new ones are born. DeAndre himself falls into a life of drug use.

Reception

Critical response

Thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoesreported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 10/10, based on 14 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Powerfully performed and authentically written,The Corneris an unwavering depiction of life under the thumb of addiction and poverty. "Metacritic,which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 90 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

A review by Hugh K. David ofDVD TimespraisedThe Corneras "raw, gritty, uncompromising, realistic, smartly directed, supremely well-acted, compulsively watchable, but harrowing and with little light at the end of the tunnel", comparing it to the television equivalent of such films asLast Exit to Brooklyn(1989) andRequiem for a Dream(2000; also adapted from novels), with elements in common with bothLa Haine(1995) andCity of God(2002).

Awards

The miniseries received three Emmy awards at the52nd Primetime Emmy Awards.It won forOutstanding Miniseries;Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special(Charles S. Dutton); andOutstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie(David SimonandDavid Mills);and was nominated forOutstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.It also won aPeabody Awardin 2000.

Related media

• Simon, Scott; Simon, David (October 6, 2011)."A Return to The Corner".Need to Know.PBS."Fifteen years after David Simon and Ed Burns spent a year chronicling an inner city neighborhood in Baltimore in the book and HBO miniseries" The Corner, "Need to Knowreturns to see how life has changed for one of the main characters they profiled. "
• Simon, Scott; Simon, David (March 15, 2012)."The Corner, Revisited".Need to Know.PBS."Scott Simon returns to the inner city community in Baltimore that he first visited last fall to see if recent improvements in the economy are improving the lot of chronically under-employed and unemployed young African-American men there."

Further reading

• Simon, David (September 15, 1997)."Murder, I Wrote".The New Republic.Boo was fatally shot by a 16-year-old female hanger-on with the Vincent Street crew. Dinky was fatally shot by the Terrace boys, at age 17; he is buried at Mount Zion, in Baltimore.

External links

• The CorneratIMDb
• The CorneratRotten Tomatoes