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Kima Greggs was shot during the tenth episode of The Wire. Thanks to the quick work of the doctors and paramedics, Greggs recovered after spending a few episodes in critical condition. However, according to The Wire showrunner David Simon, her real savior was an HBO executive. As Simon explains to Greggs actress Sonja Sohn, someone upstairs at the network really wanted her to pull through.

“I’ll tell you now Sonja that the person who really did the most talking, who saved your character was Carolyn Strauss at HBO,” Simon explains at a 2014 PaleyFest panel. “Carolyn Strauss knew the storyline. It wasn’t actually episode five, it was later in the run, but when you got shot, originally, we conceived of it as you would be killed, and Carolyn got to episode six watching cuts of the show. I don’t think we quite aired yet, maybe it was about episode five.”

“She said, ‘Don’t be killing Kima. Do you want to have a show?’ She didn’t say that, but she loved the character, she loved what you did with it, and she was like, ‘That’s a mistake,’” Simon recounts.

By the end of The Wire season one, Greggs recovered and continued to be a regular character on the show until its 2008 finale. It just goes to show you that some network executive notes work out for the better.

The Wire's David Simon talks about his return to life on the streets with Homicide spin-off graphic novel with Philippe Squarzoni.