“The Wire‘s” Felicia Pearson and Ed Burns are teaming up to develop a limited series based on Pearson’s life, Variety has learned exclusively.
The show is currently titled “A.K.A. Snoop” and would delve into the hardship Pearson endured growing up in Baltimore. Burns and Pearson are co-writing the series. Burns will executive produce along with Philip Michelson of Moondog Films. No network or streaming service is currently attached.
Born three months premature to a crack addicted mother, Pearson was given little chance of survival at birth. She ultimately grew up as a gay Black woman in a foster home in a neighborhood plagued by drugs and violence. She dealt drugs as a teenager before being convicted of second degree murder and spending over six years in prison.
After her release, she met “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams, who brought her to the set. She was subsequently written into the show, with her character sharing her name — Felicia “Snoop” Pearson. On the show, Snoop was a feared enforcer for Marlo Stanfield who carried out numerous murders. She appeared in Seasons 3, 4, and 5. The role earned Pearson considerable praise and led to an acting career that includes multiple films with Spike Lee and an appearance on the CBS drama “Blue Bloods.”
Burns was instrumental in the creation of “The Wire,” with his experience as a Baltimore detective and later as a Baltimore public school teacher serving as the basis for many of the show’s most well-known storylines. He served as a writer and producer on the series throughout its run.
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He and “The Wire’s” David Simon previously collaborated on the book “The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood,” which became the basis for the HBO miniseries “The Corner” in 2000 prior to “The Wire.” The pair would later work together to co-create the shows “The Plot Against America” and “Generation Kill” for HBO.
Burns is also currently working with Simon and George Pelecanos on the HBO series “We Own This City.” The drama takes them back to the streets of Baltimore, telling the story of the Baltimore Police Department’s infamous Gun Trace Task Force. The plainclothes unit went completely rogue and began hunting and robbing citizens and drug dealers alike as decades of a relentless drug war and mass incarceration in Baltimore spun wildly out of control.
