If you want gritty, street-level drama, David Simon is the person with whom to start.

After all, Simon was a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 13 years. His book, “Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets,” was the basis for NBC’s critically acclaimed if underwatched drama “Homicide: Life on the Street.”

The suits at HBO didn’t need to be sold on Simon. After all, his poignant portrait of inner-city life, “The Corner,” won three Emmys for the premium channel.

Also, HBO, known for such hard-edged dramas as “Oz” and “The Sopranos,” was a natural home for Simon’s new series, “The Wire,” which debuts at 10 p.m. Sunday.

Developed by Simon and Edward Burns, a retired Baltimore homicide detective, “The Wire” looks at the institution of the war on drugs, from the perspectives of both law enforcement officers and drug dealers.

At the heart of “The Wire” is James McNulty (Dominic West), a homicide detective who tells a judge about a string of murders that has gone unpunished because drug gang members have intimidated witnesses. The judge blasts McNulty’s superiors, who blame him for opening his mouth in the first place. He gets reassigned to a ragtag detail of detectives whose mission is to build a case against the drug gang.

McNulty is one of the few assigned to the detail that gives a damn. Another is Shakima Greggs (Sonja Sohn), a narcotics detective. They work to gain the support of their supervisor, Lt. Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick), a political animal who doesn’t want to trip up his chances for promotion.

The main focus on the other side is young midlevel dealer D’Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard, Jr.), who beat a murder rap with the help of the crew headed by his uncle Avon (Wood Harris). He finds that he must prove himself all over again, aided by advice from Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), Avon’s able lieutenant.

All the players find themselves laboring against bureaucracy, and offering that age-old lament: You can’t find good help. “The Wire” details the futile little skirmishes in an unwinnable battle, and casts light on the casualties of that grim conflict.

Simon’s “The Wire” continues HBO’s tradition of strong drama. It isn’t pretty, but it sure is a scathing indictment of a political war.