See Jon Bernthal As A Corrupt Cop In Controversial New Series Teaser
Bernthal looks fierce!
In the upcoming HBO miniseries We Own This City, Jon Bernthal — best known as the Marvel Netflix version of Frank Castle aka the Punisher — plays Sgt. Wayne Jenkins. His character is a member of the Baltimore Police Department, a part of the department’s Gun Trace Task Force, and by the look of the recently released teaser trailer, he’s as corrupt as they come. You can watch the teaser below.
If you’re thinking, “Baltimore police? HBO series? That sounds familiar,” don’t worry — it isn’t your imagination. The new Jon Bernthal miniseries is co-created by David Simon and George Pelecanos. Simon created HBO’s The Wire — arguably the best television show ever — and Pelecanos was a producer on the series. Along with giving viewers a thoughtful, affecting, timely crime drama, it introduced many of its viewers to the boundless talents of Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, and the late Michael K Williams. We Own This City will feature a number of actors familiar to The Wire fans, including Delaney Williams (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Tray Chaney (We Need to Talk), Domenick Lombardozzi (The Family), and Darrell Britt-Gibson (Keanu).
The miniseries is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the same guy who directed last year’s Will Smith-led sports biopic King Richard about Richard Williams, father of tennis pros Serena and Venus Williams. Jon Bernthal also starred in King Richard as tennis coach Rick Macci, which could have a lot to do with how Bernthal was picked for the role of the corrupt Wayne Jenkins. The story is based on the recently released nonfiction book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption by Justin Fenton, a Baltimore Sun reporter.
Whether or not the casting choice is coincidental or not, Jon Bernthal is an intriguing pick for the role. Not only does he evoke the inherent fierceness the part seems to require, but it’s tough to not think of his most famous role and the controversy surrounding it. As recalled by Comic Book, in 2019 it became clear that the trademark skull of the Punisher’s logo was being used by alt-right groups, January 6 insurrectionists, and police officers opposing Black Lives Matters and other groups complaining of alleged police brutality and other crimes. It’s gotten to the point that Marvel has actually completely redesigned the logo in the comics to keep clear of the controversy.
Jon Bernthal himself hasn’t been completely quiet about the controversy either. In a tweet from last January, the actor agreed with a fan who said people using the logo didn’t understand what Punisher was all about. “If they did,” the fan wrote, “they wouldn’t wear it.” Bernthal retweeted the message and agreed with it, calling the police and others sporting the logo for reasons other than fandom “misguided, lost, and afraid.” You can see that post below.
For Jon Bernthal — the guy who became famous for wearing a logo that, for better or worse, has come to represent a lot of ugly ideals including a system seen to protect allegedly racist, violent police officers — to play a corrupt cop is going to hit in an interesting way. It’s too soon to tell exactly how it’s going to hit, but it’s going to hit. Specifically, it will hit on screens Monday, April 25 on HBO Max.
