---
name: "David Simon"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-simon"
fi1m_id: "david-simon"
imdb_id: "nm0800108"
tmdb_id: 1218279
wikidata_id: "Q720435"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "9 February 1960"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 9
updated: "2026-09-17T17:06:43.868698+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Simon

## Identity

David Simon

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-simon
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-simon
- **IMDb ID:** nm0800108
- **TMDB ID:** 1218279
- **Wikidata ID:** Q720435
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q720435, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800108/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1218279

Writer and producer. Born 9 February 1960 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 9 February 1960, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- **Active:** 1993–present
- **Also known as:** David Judah Simon, 데이비드 시몬, 데이빗 시먼, 데이비드 시먼, 데이빗 시몬
- **Frequently works with:** [David Mills](https://film.one/person/david-mills.md), [Ed Burns](https://film.one/person/ed-burns.md), [George Pelecanos](https://film.one/person/george-pelecanos.md), [Brad Anderson](https://film.one/person/brad-anderson.md), [Clark Johnson](https://film.one/person/clark-johnson.md), [Eric Overmyer](https://film.one/person/eric-overmyer.md), [Ernest Dickerson](https://film.one/person/ernest-r-dickerson.md), [William F. Zorzi](https://film.one/person/william-f-zorzi.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as writer, over 9 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 86 (2), 2000s 87 (2), 2010s 81 (3), 2020s 76 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 81 across 9 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 9, Crime 5, War & Politics 2, Action & Adventure 1, Mystery 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q720435, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800108/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1218279

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Wire*](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md) (90), [*The Deuce*](https://film.one/tv/the-deuce.md) (84), [*Generation Kill*](https://film.one/tv/generation-kill.md) (84), [*Treme*](https://film.one/tv/treme.md) (82), [*The Plot Against America*](https://film.one/tv/the-plot-against-america.md) (76), [*We Own This City*](https://film.one/tv/we-own-this-city.md) (75)
- **Hulu:** [*Show Me a Hero*](https://film.one/tv/show-me-a-hero.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on David Simon

> David Simon makes the routines of work absorbing, giving professional loyalties and compromised decisions the attention usually reserved for gunfire. We rate him highly, though the repeated failures can wear us down.

In *The Wire* (2002), getting something done means finding out who can authorise it and who would rather it quietly went away. David Simon and Ed Burns make that business absorbing because the people involved have jobs and ambitions we can understand, on either side of the law. We recommend it even to those who have little patience for police dramas. It asks us to learn how the work is done, and uses that knowledge to make each obstruction matter.

Simon’s reporting supplied the material for his early television work on *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), based on his book. By *The Wire*, he was writing about Baltimore’s ports, schools and media as well as its police and drug trade. That appetite for detail gives the characters convincing reasons to accept arrangements they know are bad. Across five series, though, their repeated compromises sometimes leave too little room for surprise. We occasionally sense the futility before the people in a scene have had a chance to struggle against it.

*Generation Kill* (2008), adapted with Burns from Evan Wright’s book, brings the same attention to Marines during the early invasion of Iraq. We laughed at their banter and then felt uneasy, because the jokes had made their closeness appealing without making the ugly language any less ugly. Alexander Skarsgård’s restrained Brad Colbert gives us someone to follow through the talk, while James Ransone’s Josh Ray Person is allowed to be funny and irritating. Directors Susanna White and Simon Cellan Jones let boredom, fear and camaraderie coexist without signalling every shift. The military language is tiring, and the narrow view cannot explain the whole invasion, but the time spent on boredom and routine makes these men worth following.

With Eric Overmyer, *Treme* (2010) takes his interest in working communities to the musicians of post-Katrina New Orleans. Later collaborations include *We Own This City* (2022), with George Pelecanos, continuing a career built around ensembles and shared writing. Start with *The Wire*, but choose an evening when nobody needs to keep checking their phone.

## Biography

David Judah Simon is an American author, journalist, screenwriter and producer. He worked for the Baltimore Sun city desk for twelve years from 1982 to 1995. He wrote the non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (1991) and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (1997) with Ed Burns.

Simon adapted the former into the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999), on which he served as writer and producer. He adapted the latter into the HBO mini-series The Corner (2000). He is the creator, executive producer, head writer and showrunner of the HBO series The Wire (2002–2008).

Simon adapted Generation Kill into an HBO mini-series (2008) and created the HBO series Treme with Eric Overmyer (2010–2013). He wrote the HBO mini-series Show Me a Hero (2015) with William F. Zorzi and created The Deuce (2017–2019) with George Pelecanos. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.*

## On Fi1m (9)

- *We Own This City* (2022), Fi1m 75, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/we-own-this-city.md)
- *The Plot Against America* (2020), Fi1m 76, Executive Producer, Teleplay, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-plot-against-america.md)
- *The Deuce* (2017), Fi1m 84, Creator, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-deuce.md)
- *Show Me a Hero* (2015), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/show-me-a-hero.md)
- *Treme* (2010), Fi1m 82, Creator, Story, Teleplay, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/treme.md)
- *Generation Kill* (2008), Fi1m 84, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/generation-kill.md)
- *The Wire* (2002), Fi1m 90, Story, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), Fi1m 89, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), Fi1m 82, Teleplay, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)

## Complete filmography (14)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *We Own This City* (2022), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/we-own-this-city.md)
- *Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain* (2021), Thanks
- *The Plot Against America* (2020), series, Executive Producer, Teleplay, Creator — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-plot-against-america.md)
- *The Deuce* (2017), series, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-deuce.md)
- *Show Me a Hero* (2015), series, Writer, Story, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/show-me-a-hero.md)
- *Iddarammayilatho* (2013), Lyricist
- *Treme* (2010), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Story, Teleplay, Creator — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/treme.md)
- *Generation Kill* (2008), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/generation-kill.md)
- *Wintergasten* (2007), series, Actor
- *The Wire* (2002), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Story, Creator — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *The Corner* (2000), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Book
- *Kirk* (1995), series, Writer
- *NYPD Blue* (1993), series, Story, Teleplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/nypd-blue.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, Writer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)

## Gallery

- ![David Simon](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-189af7e05eb2.jpg) David Simon — Lori Matsumoto ("stutefish" on flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/DavidSimon2007-crop.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004)](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-46854e1a6da6.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%281%29.jpg/1280px-Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%281%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004)](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-3db0655f26b2.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%282%29.jpg/1280px-Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%282%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004)](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-0988f1ec1685.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Horace Newcomb, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at t (2004) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%283%29.jpg/1280px-Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Horace_Newcomb%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%283%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at the 63rd Annual P (2004)](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-7980ccef6946.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at the 63rd Annual P (2004) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%284%29.jpg/1280px-Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%284%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at the 63rd Annual P (2004)](https://film.one/media/person/60996/gallery-b72a2504e434.jpg) PHOTO CREDIT: ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS L to R: Chris Bauer, David Simon, Nina K. Noble, Karen L. Thorson and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. at the 63rd Annual P (2004) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%285%29.jpg/1280px-Chris_Bauer%2C_David_Simon%2C_Nina_K._Noble%2C_Karen_L._Thorson_and_Lawrence_Gilliard%2C_Jr.%2C_May_2004_%285%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 3 won

- MacArthur Fellows Program 2010: MacArthur Fellows Program (won)
- Anthony Award 1992: Anthony Award (won), for *Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets*
- Edgar Awards 1992: Edgar Awards (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-simon