Screenwriter/producer of ‘The Wire,’ ‘Homicide’ to speak Sept. 26

David Simon, screenwriter and producer of the TV series “The Wire” and “Homicide: Life of the Street,” will speak Sept. 26 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Simon will discuss “The End of the American Century and the Triumph of Capital Over Labor” at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall. The lecture is free to the public.

Simon comes to campus for the Frank Porter Graham Lecture, sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence and Honors Carolina in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Simon is perhaps best known for his work on several critically acclaimed television series including “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993-1999) on NBC and “The Wire” (2002-2008) on HBO.

His current HBO series, Treme,” debuted in 2010. Tremé takes its name from a neighborhood in New Orleans, and the drama focuses on residents rebuilding their lives after Hurricane Katrina.

Simon is a Baltimore-based author and journalist who draws from his background as a crime beat reporter to craft narratives about urban America. He regularly writes for The New Yorker, Esquire and The Washington Post.

He was a 2010 John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation Fellow.

The Frank Porter Graham Lecture series honors the late U.S. senator and president of the University of North Carolina, who was a champion of freedom, democracy and the disadvantaged. It is made possible by a gift from alumnus Taylor McMillan ’60.

For more information, visit http://www.johnstoncenter.unc.edu, or call (919) 966-5110.