'Wire' creator awarded 'genius' grant

Creator of The Wire and Treme David Simon has received a "genius" grant.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chicago's John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded Simon and 22 other recipients the $500,000 grants.

The stipends will be paid to recipients over the next five years.

"With the nuance and scope of novels, Simon's recent series have explored the constraints that poverty, corruption and broken social systems place on the lives of a compelling cast of characters, each vividly realised with complicated motives, frailties and strengths," the foundation said about Simon's work.

Other winners included a stone carver and a scientist working to rescue threatened bees.