David Simon is a writer.
David Judah Simon ( born February 9 , 1960 ) is an American author , journalist , writer , and producer . He was the creator , executive producer , head writer , and show runner for all five seasons of the HBO television series The Wire ( 2002 -- 2008 ) . Following Treme , Simon wrote the HBO mini-series Show Me a Hero with journalist William F. Zorzi , a colleague at The Baltimore Sun , and on The Wire .