Show Me a Hero

The story is set between 1987 and 1994{{cite news|last1=Friedlander|first1=Whitney|title=Watch: Oscar Isaac Stands Strong in David Simon's HBO Miniseries 'Show Me a Hero'|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/show-me-a-hero-trailer-oscar-isaac-hbo-1201539940/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Variety|date=July 14, 2015}} in Yonkers, New York, a city north of New York City in Westchester County, and focuses on efforts to desegregate public housing.{{cite web|last1=Simon|first1=David|title=In Development|url=http://davidsimon.com/in-development/|website=The Audacity of Despair|access-date=July 15, 2015}} Federal judge Leonard B. Sand ruled against Yonkers and issued a desegregation order,{{cite news|last1=Goldman|first1=John J.|title=Soft-Spoken Judge at Hub of Bitter Controversy|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-09-mn-245-story.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 9, 1988}} mandating that public housing for 200 units—possibly scattered-site public housing ("SSPH"), which became the example of new public housing—be built on the middle-class, mostly white, east side of Yonkers.{{cite web|last1=Sand (OPINION)|first1=District Judge|title= U.S. v. City of Yonkers No. 80 Civ. 6761|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19951092880FSupp212_11069.xml/U.S.v.%20CITY%20OF%20YONKERS|website=United States District Court Southern District of New York|access-date=July 15, 2015|date=March 27, 1995}}{{cite web|title=Henry G. SPALLONE v. UNITED STATES et al. No. A-172. Nicholas LONGO and Edward Fagan v. UNITED STATES et al. No. A-173. Peter CHEMA v. UNITED STATES et al. No. A-174. CITY OF YONKERS v. UNITED STATES et al. No. A-175.|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/487/1251|website=LII Collection: US Supreme Court decisions: Cornell University Law School|access-date=August 25, 2015|date=September 1, 1988}}{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Lena|title=The Talk of Yonkers; Yonkers, in Midst of a Decline, Struggles to Recapture its Past|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/27/nyregion/talk-yonkers-yonkers-midst-decline-struggles-recapture-its-past.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=November 27, 1985}} By 1988, the city had already spent $11 million in legal fees fighting against the order, including a failed effort to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. The case and resulting politics resulted in national focus on issues of race, class, and housing.{{cite news|last1=Rimer|first1=Sara|title=Yonkers Anguish: Black and White in 2 Worlds|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/22/nyregion/yonkers-anguish-black-and-white-in-2-worlds.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 22, 1987}} Mayor Nick Wasicsko ran on the platform opposing the judge's order, but before taking office, in the face of the issue being supported by a federal appeals court, became an advocate for desegregation in Yonkers. Wasicsko and the city councillors who supported him worked out a plan to meet the court order, using the SSPH system to build the 200 homes at eight different sites of only 25 homes each, spread across a city with more than 10,000 homes.

Despite this, four councillors{{snd}}a majority{{snd}}refused to vote to uphold the law, consistently opposing any limited desegregation.{{cite news|last1=Barshad|first1=Amos|title=David Simon Does Not Care What You Think Is Cool About His TV Shows|url=http://grantland.com/features/david-simon-show-me-a-hero-hbo-the-wire-treme/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Grantland|date=January 26, 2015}} For refusing to follow the court order, the city of Yonkers was crippled by heavy, possibly bankrupting fines—estimated to be close to $1 million a day from a compounded charge that started at $100 a day.{{cite news|last1=Hundley|first1=Tom|title=Yonkers Ready To Go Broke Holding That Racial Line|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/08/07/yonkers-ready-to-go-broke-holding-that-racial-line/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Chicago Tribune|date=August 7, 1988}} Basic services stopped, and parks and libraries were shuttered, with 630 city workers facing mandatory layoffs in order to maintain enough money for police and fire services. There were ongoing protests, including Wasicsko and others receiving death threats, such as envelopes containing bullets, at least once with a note that “You won’t see the next one.” Wasicsko was forced to comply. The suit was finally settled in May 2007.{{cite news|last1=Pastore Jr.|first1=Joseph M.|title=In Yonkers We Trust|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/opinion/nyregionopinions/20WEpastore.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=May 20, 2007}}

In addition to the Yonkers City Council members and other local politicians, two groups took opposing sides on the issue: Save Yonkers Federation, led by Jack O'Toole, who were anti-desegregation and voted to defy the federal order, and the Citizens and Neighbors Organized to Protect Yonkers ("Canopy"), who supported the court order, wanting to end the crippling fines.{{cite news|last1=Foderaro|first1=Lisa W.|title=New Yonkers Group Opposes Council|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/28/nyregion/new-yonkers-group-opposes-council.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=August 28, 1988}} New York Secretary of State Gail Shaffer was appointed by then governor Mario Cuomo as the chair of the Yonkers Emergency Financial Control Board, which was in charge of the city's finances in 1988{{cite news|last1=Post Staff Report|title=A nation gone Yonkers|url=https://nypost.com/2012/09/16/a-nation-gone-yonkers/|access-date=August 25, 2015|work=New York Post|date=September 16, 2012}} as the fines reduced all city services and the city became bankrupt.{{cite news|title=State Takes Control of Finances in Yonkers, Threatens Charges|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-09-mn-382-story.html|access-date=August 25, 2015|agency=Associated Press|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 9, 1988}}{{cite news|last1=Aig|first1=Marlene|title=Gail Shaffer Urges Yonkers Officials To 'Purge City of Contempt' of Courtt|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19880806&id=z9FKAAAAIBAJ&pg=1008,1752299|access-date=August 25, 2015|work=Schenectady Gazette|date=August 6, 1988}} The Housing Education Relocation Enterprise (H.E.R.E.) was a community-based organization that supported the tenants moving into the scattered-site public housing.{{cite news|last1=Gan|first1=Vicky|title='Show Me a Hero' Is 'More Resonant Today Than When I Wrote It'|url=http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/08/qa-with-lisa-belkin-author-of-show-me-a-hero/401444/|access-date=August 31, 2015|work=CityLab|date=August 17, 2015}}

Yonkers hired city planner Oscar Newman, originator of the defensible space theory, to work with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on the housing plan. Newman's theories emphasized the value of small groups of townhouses with yards, rather than multi-story apartment blocks, to provide a sense of ownership for the low-income residents, while being immersed in the activities and culture of middle-class neighborhoods. The challenges of the existing projects were shown through the lives of a number of families living there.

• Oscar Isaac as Nick Wasicsko,{{cite web|title=Tribute to Nicholas C. Wasicsko (Senate – November 04, 1993)|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:S04NO3-130:|website=Congressional Record 103rd Congress (1993–1994)|access-date=July 15, 2015|date=November 4, 1993}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} former police officer, then Yonkers City Council member running for election to be mayor of Yonkers, eventually the youngest big-city mayor (1987–89) in the nation{{cite news|title=James Belushi, Terry Kinney & Michael Stahl-David Join HBO's 'Show Me A Hero'|url=https://deadline.com/2014/08/james-belushi-terry-kinney-michael-stahl-david-hbo-show-me-a-hero-819851/|access-date=August 15, 2014|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=August 15, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Fitz-Gibbon|first1=Jorge|title=True Yonkers: Stars join HBO miniseries on '80s desegregation saga|url=http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2014/08/29/yonkers-desegregation-david-simon-show-hero-hbo-belushi/14829353/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Journal News|date=September 2, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Liz Shannon|title='Show Me A Hero': David Simon and Paul Haggis Might Have Made This Year's Most Important Miniseries|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-and-paul-haggis-might-have-made-this-years-most-important-miniseries-20150812|access-date=August 30, 2015|work=Indiewire|date=August 12, 2015}}
• Carla Quevedo as Nay Noe Wasicsko, City Hall staffer, Mayor Wasicsko's wife{{cite news|last1=Fitz-Gibbon|first1=Jorge|title=Filming of HBO series 'surreal' at Yonkers City Hall|url=http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2014/11/14/hbo-films-yonkers-desegregation-miniseries-david-simon/19033011/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Journal News|date=November 17, 2014}}
• Peter Riegert as architect and city planner Oscar Newman, originator of the defensible space theory
• Jim Belushi as Angelo R. Martinelli, a six-term Mayor of Yonkers who is Wasicsko's opponent in the election to be mayor of Yonkers{{cite news|last1=Lascala|first1=Marisa|title=Yonkers' Desegregation Focus Of New Show From The Wire's David Simon|url=http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Show-Me-A-Hero-David-Simon-Yonkers/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Westchester Magazine|date=2015}}
• Alfred Molina as Henry J. "Hank" Spallone, Yonkers City Council member who was passionately anti-housing, who became mayor of Yonkers based on his refusal to follow the desegregation order{{cite news|last1=Feron|first1=James|title=Yonkers Result Could Affect Desegregation Case|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/14/nyregion/yonkers-result-could-affect-desegregation-case.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=September 14, 1991}}{{cite news|last1=Zadrozny|first1=Brandy|author-link1=Brandy Zadrozny|title=David Simon's New Political Thriller For HBO|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/22/david-simon-s-new-political-thriller-for-hbo.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Daily Beast|date=February 22, 2015}}
• Winona Ryder as Vinni Restiano, Yonkers City Council president who advocated for integration
• Bob Balaban as Judge Leonard B. Sand, who ordered desegregation{{cite web|first=Tirdad|last=Derakhshani|url=http://articles.philly.com/2015-08-17/news/65525564_1_david-simon-city-council-meetings-yonkersl|title=HBO's 'Show Me a Hero': Intelligent but hardly heroic|work=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=August 16, 2015|access-date=August 23, 2015}}{{dead link|date=October 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• Jim Bracchitta as Nicholas Longo, Yonkers City Council member who was outspoken in his criticism of the federal ruling
• Allan Steele as Edward Fagan, Yonkers City Council member who was outspoken in his criticism of the federal ruling
• Terry Kinney as Peter Smith, the Yonkers Housing Authority director
• Jon Bernthal as Michael H. Sussman, civil rights attorney and former federal prosecutor; represents the local NAACP chapter
• Michael Stahl-David as James Surdoval, Wasicsko's political consultant
• Catherine Keener as Mary Dorman, an East Yonkers homeowner who was part of the Save Yonkers Federation
• Bruce Altman as Buddy Dorman, Mary's husband
• Ilfenesh Hadera as Carmen "Alma" Febles, a single mother from the Dominican Republic{{cite news|title=Oscar Isaac & Cast Shine In New Mini-Series 'Show Me A Hero'|url=http://thesource.com/2015/08/16/oscar-isaac-cast-shine-in-new-mini-series-show-me-a-hero/|access-date=August 25, 2015|work=The Source|date=August 16, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Stuever|first1=Hank|title='Show Me a Hero': How one mayor won (and lost) the ugliest fight in Yonkers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/show-me-a-hero-how-one-mayor-won-and-lost-the-ugliest-fight-in-yonkers/2015/08/13/d82ca65a-3d3a-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html|access-date=August 25, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 14, 2015}}
• LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Norma O'Neal, a home health aid living in the projects, who is struggling with losing her sight{{cite news|last1=The Deadline Team|title=HBO Miniseries 'Show Me A Hero' Adds Cast|url=https://deadline.com/2014/09/show-me-a-hero-hbo-latanya-richardson-jackson-natalie-paul-clarke-peters-daniel-stern-cast-827868/|access-date=July 15, 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=September 2, 2014}}
• McKinley Belcher III as Dwayne Meeks, Norma O'Neal's son and a minivan manufacturer{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/03/show-me-a-hero-review-a-symphonic-mini-series-from-david-simon|title=Show Me a Hero review – a symphonic mini-series from David Simon|last=Raeside|first=Julia|date=August 3, 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 3, 2017|issn=0261-3077}}
• Natalie Paul as Doreen Henderson, a young woman born in public housing but raised in the suburbs, who is drawn back to the housing projects where her life spirals out of control just as the crack epidemic intensifies
• Dominique Fishback as Billie Rowan, a troubled teenager who lives in the projects and gets involved with a local petty criminal
• Melanie Nicholls-King as Janet Rowan, Billie Rowan's mother
• Clarke Peters as Robert Mayhawk, neighborhood consultant who runs the Housing Education Relocation Enterprise (H.E.R.E.), to assist with the integration of scattered-site public housing
• Jenna Stern as Gail Shaffer, Secretary of State of New York, chairs the Yonkers Emergency Financial Control Board

Simon said that Gail Mutrux (who runs the production company Pretty Pictures), a producer Simon knew from working with her on Homicide, had sent him a copy of Belkin's book.{{cite news|last1=Kimmelman|first1=Michael|title=David Simon and Cory Booker on 'Show Me a Hero' and the Future of Cities|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/arts/television/david-simon-and-cory-booker-on-show-me-a-hero-and-the-future-of-cities.html|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=August 12, 2015}} In 2001, Simon sent Zorzi, who at that time was assistant city editor at The Baltimore Sun, a copy of the book, which he was taking to HBO as a potential project. In 2002, Zorzi quit his job at The Sun and began working on this miniseries, on what became a long-term project.{{cite news|last1=Zurawik|first1=David|title='Show Me a Hero' shows how to make compelling, socially relevant, great TV|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bs-ae-zontv-hero-20150807-story.html|access-date=August 15, 2015|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=August 14, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Radish|first1=Christina|title='Show Me a Hero' Writers David Simon and William F. Zorzi on Lengthy Development, HBO, and More|url=https://collider.com/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-william-zorzi-interview/|access-date=August 15, 2015|work=Collider|date=August 15, 2015}}

The story was in development for over a decade, with co-writer Zorzi working on the passion project during that time, even as he and Simon were working on The Wire.{{cite news|last1=Friedlander|first1=Whitney|title=Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener to Star in David Simon's Civil Rights Miniseries for HBO|url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/david-simon-civil-rights-oscar-isaac-1201272222/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Variety|date=July 30, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Doyle|first1=Rachel B.|title='Wire' Creator Takes on Yonkers' Biggest Desegregation Battle|url=http://curbed.com/archives/2015/01/28/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-yonkers.php|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Curbed|date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=January 29, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150129045423/http://curbed.com/archives/2015/01/28/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-yonkers.php|url-status=dead}} HBO had an option on the book, but it spent years in script re-writes with Zorzi as Simon and Zorzi were both busy working on other projects.

Simon says that Mayor Nick Wasicsko's story is what drives the narrative, and that if the character's arc wasn't right, the series would fail. Simon calls Isaac the key to making it work.{{cite news|last1=Rose|first1=Charlie|title=A conversation about the HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero" with actor Oscar Isaac and creator David Simon|url=http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60603570|access-date=August 15, 2015|work=Charlie Rose|date=August 11, 2015|archive-date=August 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817135948/http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60603570|url-status=dead}} Wasicsko's wife, Nay Wasicsko-McLaughlin, who worked at City Hall during the time of the conflict, was a consultant on the show. Wasicsko-McLaughlin met with Isaac, which Isaac said was vital to the story.

Simon refers to Yonkers as one of the first locations of the birth and growth of scattered site housing and the integration of architect and city planner Oscar Newman's work on defensible space theory and his 1972 work "Creating Defensible Space,"{{cite web|last1=Newman|first1=Oscar|title=Creating Defensible Space|url=http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/def.pdf|website=U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development|access-date=August 15, 2015|date=1972}} and that this story went on to impact methods of public housing programs on a national scale. Yonkers was the very public staging ground.

Director Paul Haggis states that when he heard about Simon's project, he told his agents to agree his participation, even without him reading the script. Once he had read it, he asked to direct not one or two episodes, as requested, but the entire series. This was the first time that Haggis, who typically both writes and directs his pieces, didn't write the material himself. He said he did this because it was so important to him to work with Simon.{{cite news|last1=Sepinwall|first1=Alan|title='Show Me a Hero' director Paul Haggis on Oscars, TV, and his love of 'The Wire'|url=http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/show-me-a-hero-director-paul-haggis-on-oscars-tv-and-his-love-of-the-wire/single-page|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=HitFix|date=August 11, 2015}}

The miniseries began shooting on October 1, 2014,{{cite news|last1=Zurawik|first1=David|title=HBO picks up six-hour miniseries on race from David Simon|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2014/07/30/hbo-picks-up-six-hour-miniseries-on-race-from-david-simon/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=July 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721102928/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-07-30/entertainment/bal-hbo-miniseries-david-simon-show-me-hero-20140730_1_david-simon-generation-kill-series-treme|url-status=live}} and wrapped shooting on location January 25, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Stern|first1=Pamela|title='Show Me A Hero' Wraps Up Filming In Yonkers|url=http://yonkers.dailyvoice.com/news/show-me-hero-wraps-filming-yonkers-0|access-date=July 19, 2015|work=Yonkers Daily Voice|date=January 26, 2015}} Show Me a Hero made use of primary locations in Yonkers, New York, including the William A. Schlobohm Houses public housing projects, which was the subject of a July 2012 FBI investigation of drugs and firearm trafficking by a gang called the Strip Boyz. The Schlobohm Houses were one of the examples of a 1980 federal case{{cite journal|title=837 F. 2d 1181 – United States v. Yonkers Board of Education |volume=F2d|issue=837|pages=1181|url=http://openjurist.org/837/f2d/1181/united-states-v-yonkers-board-of-education|website=OpenJurist|access-date=July 15, 2015|date=December 28, 1987|last1=Second Circuit}} – initially started in 1979 by the Carter Justice Department – then brought as a friend of the court case by a local NAACP chapter{{cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Amy|title=Two Separate Americas: David Simon's New Mini-Series Looks at "Hypersegregation" in Public Housing|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2015/8/26/two_separate_americas_david_simons_new|access-date=August 27, 2015|work=Democracy Now!|date=August 26, 2015|quote=video interview that includes full transcript}} who sued the city of Yonkers with claims of segregation by the city, where the poorest residents were forced into living in the western part of town.{{cite web|last1=Adames|first1=Hannah|title=Analysis of Public Housing in Yonkers, New York: The Location|url=http://www.uncoveringyonkers.com/the-location.html|website=Uncovering Yonkers|access-date=July 15, 2015}} The claim was that out of a city of almost 200,000 people with an area of approximately 21 square miles, that almost all non-white residents lived in 7,000 units of low income housing within the space of 1 square mile,{{cite web|title=Brick by Brick: a Civil Rights Story|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhOfHaBwybM|website=California Newsreel| date=December 2008 |access-date=July 16, 2015}} in public housing that was located on the west side of Saw Mill River Parkway. The high concentration was the result of years of concentrated 40+ year old racial covenants prohibiting non-whites from living east of the Parkway.

Another Yonkers location was The Grinton I. Will branch{{cite web|title=Grinton I. Will Library|url=http://ypl.org/grinton|website=Yonkers Public Library|access-date=July 15, 2015}} of the Yonkers Public Library, where scenes of town gatherings were shot.{{cite news|last1=Aris|first1=Hezi|title=Yonkers Public Library to be Featured in HBO Series|url=http://www.yonkerstribune.com/2014/12/yonkers-public-library-to-be-featured-in-hbo-series|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Yonkers Tribune|date=December 10, 2014}} The Cottage Place Gardens was used to substitute for the garden-style Mulford Gardens public housing project, as it has since been torn down. Some scenes were also shot at the Yonkers City Hall, within the Yonkers City Council Chambers where those actual events took place. Additionally, Haggis said that Mary Dorman's house was the actual location. Additional Yonkers locations used were The Department of Buildings at 87 Nepperhan Avenue and Oakland Cemetery.{{cite news|last1=Muchnick|first1=Jeanne|title=Yonkers Is Locale For New HBO Series, 'Show Me A Hero'|url=http://yonkers.dailyvoice.com/lifestyle/new-hbo-series-show-me-hero-uses-westchester-its-backdrop|access-date=August 17, 2015|work=Yonkers Daily Voice|date=August 5, 2015}} Scenes portraying the Dominican Republic were shot in Puerto Rico.

Working with the show's art department, graffiti artist Chris Capuozzo, with assistance of his photographer wife Denise Ranallo Capuozzo, who documented the graffiti in Yonkers during the time of the show, created temporary reproductions of period graffiti at the Schlobohm Houses and on Palisade Avenue.{{cite news|last1=Kramer|first1=Peter D.|title=HBO's graffiti artist turns back clock in Yonkers|url=http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2014/10/06/hbo-david-simon-yonkers/16820803/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Journal News|date=October 7, 2014}}

The show makes an extensive use of Bruce Springsteen music, with Springsteen's music often appearing during scenes that feature Wasicsko. The scenes in the housing projects incorporate period hip hop and rap by acts like Digable Planets and Public Enemy.{{cite news|last1=Sepinwall|first1=Alan|last2=Fienberg|first2=Dan|title=Listen: Firewall & Iceberg Podcast No. 295 – 'True Detective' finale & 'Show Me a Hero'|url=http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/listen-firewall-iceberg-podcast-no-295-true-detective-finale-show-me-a-hero/|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=HitFix|date=August 11, 2015}} Steve Earle's song, "When The People Find Out," from his 1990 album The Hard Way, is used in the closing credits. In most of Simon's other works, he has made use of diegetic sound – music that is incorporated within the scenes in a practical way (i.e., musicians playing music, boom boxes playing). In Show Me a Hero, Simon used music to cue the main character Wasicsko with a protagonist's aural identity that has elements of emotion conveyed by Springsteen's early music.{{cite news|last1=Ryan|first1=Chris|title=Show Me a Boss: The Use of Bruce Springsteen in 'Show Me a Hero'|url=http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/show-me-a-boss-the-use-of-bruce-springsteen-in-show-me-a-hero/|access-date=August 30, 2015|work=Grantland|date=August 26, 2015}} The show used a total of 12 tracks by Springsteen.

Creator Simon said the appeal of the story was a focus on the disintegration of American politics and its corrosive dysfunctional nature in urban cities.{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Ellin|title=David Simon on Cities, the Police, and His Next Show|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/10/24/david_simon_interview_show_me_a_hero_like_the_wire_is_about_the_city_and.html|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=Slate|date=October 24, 2014}} Simon wrote that the series "...addresses class and racial segregation in our society, is more about our calcified political processes than directly relevant to the core grievances underlying current events."{{cite web|last1=Simon|first1=David|title=A Maryland Film Festival panel slated|url=http://davidsimon.com/a-maryland-film-festival-panel-slated/|website=The Audacity of Despair|access-date=July 15, 2015|date=May 4, 2015}} Simon said that the show depicts a city that is paralyzed by both fear (of integration) and money (valuations of real estate properties).{{cite news|last1=Fitz-Gibbon|first1=Jorge|title=HBO filmmakers transform Yonkers for series on '80s deseg case|url=http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/yonkers/2014/10/01/hbo-david-simon-bill-zorzi-yonkers-desegregation-schlobohm-show-hero/16569869/|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Journal News|date=October 2, 2014}} He saw the story as allegorical of current America with refusal to share and the collapse of civilized behavior (with rage and fury quickly fracturing a city) due to the hyper-segregation of the poor in large WWII era high rise housing projects — ironically not the proposed scattered-site town houses that were actually being mandated.{{cite news|last1=Simon|first1=David|title=Observer Ideas: David Simon on why he created The Wire|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYXNdELqCe4|access-date=July 15, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=October 22, 2014|quote=Simon talks about Show Me a Hero at 21:00}}

Regarding the impetus for the choice of the shows he makes: in an interview on Slate, Simon referred to the concept of reportorial instinct, which comes from the efforts by journalists to create new discussion points that are centered upon issues of societal friction; with Show Me a Hero, Simon's methodical instinct is to focus on these.{{cite news|last1=Chotiner|first1=Isaac|title=Everything Is Not The Wire|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/08/david_simon_interview_the_wire_creator_on_his_new_series_freddie_gray_ta.single.html|access-date=August 13, 2015|work=Slate|date=August 12, 2015}} The idea is not part of a larger whole, a bigger picture, with each of his shows taking up real estate within that vision; it is both disparate and less organized than a global overview. He is not trying to duplicate The Wire, he's trying to tell a new story here.

The miniseries premiered in Canada on HBO Canada on August 16, 2015 – airing concurrently with the American broadcast.{{cite press release|url=http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/from-david-simon-and-canadian-director-paul-haggis-hbos-six-part-miniseries-show-me-a-hero-premieres-august-16-on-hbo-canada/|title=From David Simon and Canadian Director Paul Haggis, HBO's Six-Part Miniseries SHOW ME A HERO Premieres August 16 on HBO Canada|work=Bell Media|date=July 20, 2015 |access-date=August 16, 2015}} It premiered in Australia and the United Kingdom on August 17, 2015, on Showcase and Sky Atlantic, respectively.{{cite web|first=Charles|last=Purcell|url=http://community.foxtel.com.au/t5/Foxtel-Blog/New-This-Week-Aug-17-Texas-Rising-Show-Me-A-Hero-America-s-Next/ba-p/87515|title=New This Week (Aug 17): Texas Rising, Show Me A Hero, America's Next Top Model, WAGS and live sport|date=August 13, 2015|work=Foxtel|access-date=August 13, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Hooton|first1=Christopher|title=Show Me a Hero season 1 UK air date: The Wire creator's new HBO series is 'a whole new level of excellence'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-wire-creators-new-hbo-series-show-me-a-hero-is-a-whole-new-level-of-excellence-10458572.html|access-date=August 17, 2015|work=The Independent|date=August 17, 2015}} The miniseries was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 2, 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.cleveland.com/movies/index.ssf/2016/02/show_me_a_hero_starring_oscar.html |title='Show Me a Hero,' starring Oscar Isaac, now on DVD and Blu-ray (review) |work=The Plain Dealer |first=Chris |last=Ball |date=February 5, 2016 |access-date=February 5, 2016}}

In the United States, HBO broadcast the miniseries in 2-hour blocks on consecutive Sunday nights.

{{Episode table |background=#9C2329 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |viewers= |country=U.S. |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 1–2

|Title = Parts 1 & 2

|DirectedBy = Paul Haggis

|WrittenBy = William F. Zorzi & David Simon

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|8|16}}

|Viewers = 0.443{{cite web|url=http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-16-2015.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820000453/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-16-2015.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 20, 2015|title=SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Sunday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.16.2015|work=Showbuzz Daily|first=Mitch|last=Metcalf|date=August 18, 2015|access-date=August 18, 2015}}

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 3–4

|Title = Parts 3 & 4

|DirectedBy = Paul Haggis

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=William F. Zorzi & David Simon|t=William F. Zorzi}}

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|8|23}}

|Viewers = 0.397{{cite web|url=http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-23-2015.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826205543/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-23-2015.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2015|title=SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Sunday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.23.2015|work=Showbuzz Daily|first=Mitch|last=Metcalf|date=August 25, 2015|access-date=August 25, 2015}}

|ShortSummary =

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 5–6

|Title = Parts 5 & 6

|DirectedBy = Paul Haggis

|WrittenBy = William F. Zorzi & David Simon

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|8|30}}

|Viewers = 0.426{{cite web|url=http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-30-2015.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901145205/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-sunday-cable-originals-8-30-2015.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 1, 2015|title=SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Sunday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.30.2015|work=Showbuzz Daily|first=Mitch|last=Metcalf|date=September 1, 2015|access-date=September 1, 2015}}

|ShortSummary =

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}}

Show Me a Hero received critical acclaim from reviewers{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Paul|title=Show Me a Hero: is the HBO mini-series David Simon's return to form?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/aug/10/show-me-a-hero-david-simon-return-to-form|access-date=August 11, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=August 11, 2015}} although U.S. cable original programming viewership was low. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8.6/10 based on 54 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Show Me a Hero is an impressively crafted period drama whose timely themes prove as absorbing as its engaging, compassionately drawn characters."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/show-me-a-hero/s01/ |title=Show Me a Hero (2015) |work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 15, 2015}} On Metacritic, it has a score of 85 out of 100 based on 33 reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/show-me-a-hero|title=Show Me a Hero|work=Metacritic|access-date=August 14, 2015}} Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter cited the strong storytelling as making the unsexy story rewarding, with a commendably even focus on both racism as well as the problems of systemic bias of public housing systems.{{cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Tim|title='Show Me a Hero': TV Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/show-me-a-hero-tv-813151|access-date=August 11, 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=August 5, 2015}} Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times focused on the relevance to current day issues of race and economics.{{cite news|last1=Bellafante|first1=Ginia|title=Lessons of Yonkers From David Simon's 'Show Me a Hero'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/nyregion/a-yonkers-education.html|access-date=August 11, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=August 7, 2015}}

Oscar Isaac received universal praise. Alan Sepinwall from HitFix cited his performance as being especially strong, describing him as compulsively watchable even during long scenes with a lot of dialogue, while Daniel Fienberg of The Fien Print said Isaac is the key to the story and is compelling, inhabiting his character fully.{{cite news|last1=Sepinwall|first1=Alan|title=Review: Oscar Isaac shines in David Simon's 'Show Me a Hero'|url=http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-oscar-isaac-shines-in-david-simons-show-me-a-hero|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=HitFix|date=August 13, 2015}} Sepinwall also said the writers did an excellent job of illustrating the conflict, which in its essence is not compelling, but in this depiction, becomes great. Fienberg cites the somewhat dry nature of the source material, and laughingly embraced what he called the "perversely uncommercial" nature of the show. Brian Lowry from Variety also commended Isaac's central role.{{cite news|last1=Lowry|first1=Brian|title=TV Review: 'Show Me a Hero'|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/reviews/show-me-a-hero-review-david-simon-miniseries-hbo-1201559373/|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=Variety|date=August 12, 2015}} Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker calls Isaac's "a star performance agile enough to elevate scenes that might veer into agitprop."{{cite news|last1=Nussbaum|first1=Emily|title=Little Boxes: Home truths on "Show Me a Hero" and "Orange Is the New Black."|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/31/little-boxes|access-date=August 25, 2015|magazine=The New Yorker|date=August 31, 2015}}

Of the supporting cast, Catherine Keener drew critics' attention most positively. David Wiegand wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, "Keener makes Dorman the touchstone of the story, as she constructs an ordinary woman whose values and beliefs are largely unexamined and derive from a lack of exposure to alternative ways of thinking. At heart, she is not an evil person, just fearful of what she doesn’t know. Her moment of enlightenment is so beautifully written and performed, the scene should be preserved as an example of absolute perfection ... Keener’s is only one of the truly great performances that make 'Hero' compelling".{{cite news|last1=Wiegand|first1=David|title='Wire' Creator Shows Us 'A Hero' on HBO|url=http://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/Wire-creator-shows-us-A-Hero-on-HBO-6436015.php|access-date=August 31, 2015|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=August 11, 2015}} Nussbaum also praised Keener's performance, writing that she plays her with "warm humility", while for The Wrap Mark Peikert said that "Keener brings every scene she’s in to life".{{cite news|last1=Peikert|first1=Mark|title='Show Me a Hero' Review: Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener Stand Out in Political Drama|url=https://www.thewrap.com/show-me-a-hero-review-oscar-isaac-catherine-keener-stand-out-in-political-drama/|access-date=August 31, 2015|work=The Wrap|date=August 16, 2015}}

Jacqueline Cutler of the New York Daily News cited the portrayals of the four women who are the focal points of the story, noting the strength of LaTanya Richardson Jackson's performance.{{cite news|last1=Cutler|first1=Jacqueline|title='Show Me a Hero' miniseries shows Yonkers' fierce battle over housing|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/show-hero-miniseries-shows-yonkers-housing-battle-article-1.2314900|access-date=August 11, 2015|work=New York Daily News|date=August 9, 2015}} Matt Zoller Seitz from Vulture opined that the supporting characters are the heart of the story and establish the resonance that careful viewers of Simon's show will find rewarding.{{cite news|last1=Zoller Seitz|first1=Matt|title=The Radical Humanism of David Simon|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/08/david-simons-radical-humanism.html|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=Vulture|date=August 13, 2015}} NPR's David Bianculli calls the show nuanced, requiring focus and attention but worth the effort.{{cite news|last1=Bianculli|first1=David|title='Show Me A Hero' Offers A Nuanced Take On Public Housing Discrimination|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/14/432226514/show-me-a-hero-offers-a-nuanced-take-on-public-housing-discrimination|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=Fresh Air|date=August 14, 2015}} Andy Greenwald from Grantland notes Simon has created a show that is both brilliant and vibrant despite being absurdly uncommercial. In comparison to the last two Simon produced shows, that had more of a downbeat feel, Greenwald sees this show being a return to form, as being both powerfully compelling as well as great entertainment. Greenwald also commends Haggis for his excellent direction throughout.{{cite news|last1=Greenwald|first1=Andy|title='Show Me' a Comeback: David Simon's Return to Form on HBO|url=http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/show-me-a-comeback-david-simons-return-to-form-on-hbo/|access-date=August 14, 2015|work=Grantland|date=August 13, 2015}}

Detractors included Jeff Simon (no relation) of The Buffalo News, who cited Peter Riegert's facial hair choice – comparing it unfavorably to Horace Greeley – and leveling complaints of the choice of actors who are known for chewing the scenery. Other issues were the tone of the piece as well as the lack of drama. This critic acknowledged that he hadn't watched all episodes that were provided to critics before air dates.{{cite news|last1=Simon|first1=Jeff|title=Jeff Simon: 'David Simon is no hero to me'|url=http://www.buffalonews.com/columns/jeff-simon/jeff-simon-david-simon-is-no-hero-to-me-20150816|access-date=August 19, 2015|work=The Buffalo News|date=August 16, 2015}} NPR TV critic Eric Deggans felt the show was too long, and called it slow.{{cite news|last1=Deggans|first1=Eric|title=HBO's 'Hero' Tells A Slow Story In Too Many Hours|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/15/432356650/hbos-hero-tells-a-slow-story-in-too-many-hours|access-date=August 19, 2015|work=Weekend Edition|publisher=NPR|date=August 15, 2015}}

The New York Times featured a discussion between Simon and Senator Cory Booker, drawing parallels between Booker's family's experience growing up in New Jersey where his family was the only black family – and had to take difficult measures to buy their house – and the situation in Yonkers, as well as comparable historical and current scenarios today [2015]. In 1969, to move into town, Booker's family went to Harrington Park, New Jersey's Fair Housing Council represented by a Caucasian couple to break the social covenants of the town housing market.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Belkin, Lisa. Show Me a Hero: A Tale of Murder, Suicide, Race, and Redemption. Boston: Little, Brown, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0-316-08805-3}}. {{OCLC|39811925}}. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/belkin-hero.html First chapter of Belkin's book].
• De Souza Briggs, Xavier N., and Joe T. Darden. Effects of Scattered-Site Public Housing on Neighboring Property Values in Yonkers, New York. Cambridge, Mass.: Joint Center for Housing Studies, Graduate School of Design [and] John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1996. {{OCLC|36022169}}.
• De Souza Briggs, Xavier N., Joe T. Darden, Angela Aidala. [http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/wake.pdf In the Wake of Desegregation: Early Impacts of Scattered-Site Public Housing on Neighborhoods in Yonkers, New York] APA Journal. Chicago: Journal of American Planning Association. Vol. 65, No. 1. Winter 1999. {{ISSN|1939-0130}}.
• Haynes, Bruce D. Red Lines, Black Spaces The Politics of Race and Space in a Black Middle-Class Suburb. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-300-12986-1}}. {{OCLC|123178697}}.
• Heyward, Andrew, et al. "Not On My Street." 48 Hours. New York: CBS, Inc, 1988. September 29, 1998 TV news feature. {{OCLC|28030477}}.
• Kavanagh, Bill, Linda Porto, Donna Bailey, Sylke Froechtenigt, Peter Stein, and Miki Navazio. Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Story [http://www.brick-by-brick.com/ (website)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829220044/http://www.brick-by-brick.com/ |date=August 29, 2015 }}. New York: Kavanagh Productions Inc, 2007. Documentary. {{OCLC|174148966}}
• Newman, Oscar. [http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/def.pdf Creating Defensible Space]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-788-14528-5}}. {{OCLC|741373683}}.

• {{Official website|http://www.hbo.com/show-me-a-hero}}
• {{IMDb title|2492296}}
• {{Letterboxd title|show-me-a-hero}}

{{HBONetwork Shows}}

{{David Simon}}

{{Paul Haggis}}

Category:2010s American drama television miniseries

Category:2015 American television series debuts

Category:2015 American television series endings

Category:2010s American political television series

Category:American biographical series

Category:American English-language television shows

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Category:Television series set in 1987

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Category:Television shows filmed in New York (state)

Category:Television shows set in New York (state)

Category:Television shows written by David Simon

Category:Works by Paul Haggis