‘Lovecraft Country’ Alum Wunmi Mosaku Joins HBO Miniseries ‘We Own This City’ From ‘The Wire’ Team

EXCLUSIVE: Wunmi Mosaku is set to join the growing ensemble of HBO’s We Own This City limited series, from The Wire’s EP David Simon and producer George Pelecanos. Jon Bernthal, Josh Charles and Jamie Hector are also on board. Reinaldo Marcus Green is set to direct and executive produce the series, based on Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption. Production is set to begin in July.

The six-hour limited series chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force — and the corruption and moral collapse that befell an American city in which the policies of drug prohibition and mass arrest were championed at the expense of actual police work.

More from Deadline

• 'Rosaline': Isabela Merced To Play Juliet In 20th Century's Revisionist 'Romeo & Juliet' Tale Starring Kaitlyn Dever

• 'We Own This City': Darrell Britt-Gibson, Rob Brown, McKinley Belcher III & Larry Mitchell Join HBO Limited Series

• It Starts On The Page: Read Misha Green's Series Premiere Script For 'Lovecraft Country'

Mosaku will play an attorney assigned to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, which was investigating policing practices in Baltimore prior to the Gun Trace Task Force criminal investigation. Focused on creating a voluntary, monitored federal consent decree aimed at reform, Steele’s work centers on the systemic reasons police corruption and bad behavior are excused by Baltimore City prosecutors, judges and the police department itself.

Simon and Pelecanos write the series, with The Wire scribes Ed Burns and Bill Zorzi. Simon, Pelecanos and Burns also executive produce with HBO’s former President of Miniseries Kary Antholis, Nina K. Noble and Green. Zorzi is co-executive producer. Dwight Watkins also serves as writer.

Mosaku has been on a roll as of late, appearing in two recent hits on television, starting with the HBO series Lovecraft Country playing Ruby, the sister of Jurnee Smollett. She earned rave reviews for the role and followed that up with Marvel’s Loki, which is currently setting records on Disney+.

Other notable television credits include Luther, opposite Idris Elba, and the award-winning television drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy. She is repped by Gersh, Scott Marshall Partners in the UK, Principal Entertainment LA and Ziffren Bittenham.

Best of Deadline

• U.S. Covid-19 Update: More Transmissible Delta Variant Now 20% Of New Cases; Kids Most At Risk

• Broadway Returns: A Complete Roster Of Opening Dates, Venues And How To Buy Tickets

• Summer Premiere Dates For New & Returning TV Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.