The Wire (2002-2008) TV Series

Stars	User	Rating
5	Alex Watkins	6 _98th
In its breadth, depth, and scope, an unparalleled accomplishment in American political art. Equal turns heartbreaking, infuriating, and entertaining, deftly criticizing the ineffectual nature of bureaucracy and the pitfalls of political accountability while giving us more great characters and storylines than any one show ever has.
5	KasperL	99 _99th
Easily lives up to many people, myself included, calling it "the best TV show of all time". Favorite season: S4 - Favorite characters: Omar and Snoop - Favorite scene: Snoop buys a nail gun - Favorite intro music: S1 (The Blind Boys of Alabama) - What pulls it down from 100 to 99, you ask? S5 is good, not great.
5	CosmicMonkey	95 _98th
This is the singularly most important piece of narrative fiction made in the 21st Century, it transcends the medium, being not just a television show, but a sociological survey on the paralyzing effects of poverty in America; a neo-Dickensian novel about the state of the 21st century city; an ancient Greek tragedy where, instead of Gods, our epicurian protagonists are pitted against the bureaucratic institutions that make up contemporary society. It's goes above and beyond anything else on TV.
5	GordonBombay	100 _99th
Despite a somewhat weak 5th season, which is still miles ahead of almost anything out there have you, The Wire is the king, and when you come at the king you best not miss. Nothing I've seen before or after has come close to The Wire. A multi layered story about a city and a society on the brink of failure. Where it's hard to tell the cops from the criminals. No black and white, but all grey areas. All the while doing this making us care for each and every character. A masterpiece of tv history.
4	Ocelot	90 _97th
This is likely the best TV show ever made, and the fact that I can't give it a perfect score is a testament to the problem with not splitting into individual seasons. Season three is the most intelligent handling of difficult subject matter I've ever seen, TV or otherwise. One is good, two is great, four is just below three, and five is better than people give it credit for. But it's not perfect, because perfect TV is a dragon that has been chased for nearly a century, and remains uncaught.
4	hellboy76	97 _99th
An incredibly achievement of layered storytelling from all points of view. Rarely does one see this level of detail surrounding what one thinks is a singular problem, that branches out into all it touches. For new viewers it is definitely a bit of a slow burn for the first half of season one, but so , so rewarding if you stick it out.
3	DMCrimson	93 _99th
I'll hear out an opinion that this isn't the best or most entertaining series but disregard someone who doesn't consider this TV's finest example. The Wire expects you to be an intelligent, introspective, and active viewer to a degree you'd never expect from modern storytelling, much less anything else on TV. The next Voyager probe should launch with Seasons 1, 3, and 4.
3	djross	74 _83rd
Good sociological fiction that often imagines some highly improbable idealistic project as a means of exposing the systemic deficiencies of various institutions. In so doing, it is concerned to explode not just obvious myths such as the war on drugs or the virtue of unfettered markets, but some of the myths of sociology too. Characterisation is generally superior for television, as is the complexity and cohesiveness of the narrative across a long span of running time. Cannot fault the ambition.
3	Dean Franz	100 _98th
This is, in fact, The Wire.
3	FrederikA	100 _99th
Not only the best show ever made (tm), but probably one of the few cultural products to come out of America in resent years, to be remembered through the ages.
3	BlakeEngel	10 _93rd
This rating is for the sum total achievement of the series. Seasons 1, 3 and 4 are the best, 5 is OK, 2 is mostly boring. But come on - this is a true ACHIEVEMENT. This is more than TV, this is the promise of serialized storytelling. All characters, flesh and bone, living their own lives, brought together by a boring job that happens to involve murder and suffering. Feels like real insight into an overlooked world. Endlessly rewatchable. Uncountable lessons within.
2	Pickpocket	3 _28th
The most overrated TV show of all time. There's seasons that are terrible and people agree they are terrible and yet people still discuss this as the greatest show of all time. I don't get it man. The message at the end was not profound or eye opening at all. Has some admittedly cool scenes but they are few and far between.
2	Suture Self	10 _96th
On America, protectionism, inequality, the drug war, and why things stay the same. There are the kings with voice and capital, and then there are the dispensable pawns. And since the pawns are untrained, disconnected bodies that are useless to the economy, the question becomes: How do we monetize them? Well, we expand prisons, we prosecute offenders, we remove them from the job market. West Baltimore doesn't need policing; it's occupied territory.
2	martryn	90 _93rd
The standard by which all law enforcement shows should strive. Some seasons are clearly better than others, but the narrative that stretches through this series is an absolute masterpiece.
2	td888	90 _95th
An excellent series where each season has a different setting/viewpoint. Recommended.
2	kgbelliveau	95 _91st
One of the most compelling and realistic cop dramas of all time because the scope was much wider than most shows of the same nature. This is a story of both sides, the ones avoiding the law and the low key slow burn approach to build a solid case. The acting is terrific over the course of the 5 season run as each character weaves a poignant and gritty narrative of life of law and crime on the streets of Baltimore.
2	CMonster	99 _99th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNm3nE-o6ro Perfectly encapsulates The Wire for me. David Simon's time in Baltimore as a crime reporter gives the show a depth of realism buried in the fiction rarely seen, even in a biopic.
2	mattorama12	95 _99th
There's no better way to understand America's poverty problem than watching The Wire. Undoubtedly the best achievement in television drama.
2	deep_green	85 _94th
Seasons 2 and 5 seem a bit weaker than the rest, but that doesn't say much. There is a profound dedication to honestly portraying the complex social dynamics that rest at the core of every narrative arc, but even more impressive is the dedication to addressing the problems with equal complexity and with a moral rigour that surpasses anything I've encountered before. A truly remarkable effort and I've hardly begun to tackle all of this show's many qualities.
1	Ytadel	9 _98th
I mean... it's one of the best ever, no? Trust me, I truly love being contrarian and shitting on acclaimed stuff. If The Wire didn't measure up for me, I'd be giddy to say so. But it really is all that and a bag of chips. Omar, Stringer, the Bunk, Lt. Daniels, Lester, Prez, Clay "Sheeeiiit" Davis, Dukie, Wallace... so many great characters, so raw and gripping and insightful and well-plotted and, yes, just plain exciting. Point off because I didn't care too much about S5 newspaper storyline.
1	Tomhet	10 _98th
I've often berated myself for saying things like "The Wire is the most all-inclusive, agonizing depiction of the 21st century human condition, and better than any TV show you've ever seen" after a fifth of whiskey and a 6-pack at parties, but it's true.
1	walkearth	85 _98th
Phenomenal. Just phenomenal.
1	nauru	99 _99th
The first half of season 1 took some patience but once I started to understand what was happening I was drawn right in. The writing just has so many layers. So many characters, yet all of them are distinct, memorable and make you care what happens to them. I generally refuse to watch police shows but this one is not like the others.
1	wigwam_uk	98 _98th
I avoided this for a while as I am so tired of American gang and drug culture dramas, then I heard George Pelecanos was involved and a buzz was generating. It was at the point I was genuinely worried for a drug dealer that I realised the writing was intelligently non judgemental - I was hooked and this was very very special indeed.
1	redacted	97 _98th
One of the broadest scoped series you will find. It dives into various industries/circles/institutions of society and making the most of its fictional nature, tries to incorporate a radical element of operation within each. Case in point, the whole Hamsterdam plot line. The dialogue across the various cultures is on the mark to boot. I watched this over a decade after it first aired and it still came across as refreshing.
1	babaracus	10 _96th
ok then, I ain't all that humble.
1	hajikarimi	98 _98th
1505: very realistic. bitter sweet
1	Bagger	95 _99th
Insert quote from show here. Insert anecdote about everyone bugging me to see this show, me having very low expectations, and it totally living up to the hype. My relationship to this show is nothing if not cliched.
1	Calabria	91 _98th
If this were a site for rating TV shows I'd give it a 101. It's ruined everything that has come since.
1	thehynes	86 _98th
Undoubtedly some of the finest tv ever made. Most def.
1	qmiller32	99 _95th
While the characters are rich and the writing phenomenal, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the show is its ability to convey the soul of a city. David Simon peels back the layers of Baltimore and leaves us staring in amazement, and at times horror, at its too often rotten core.
1	JSchlansky	100 _99th
The best television show ever made as far as I'm concerned. Video essay analyzing the opening credits: https://youtu.be/DJGbHRaJhYA
1	BadFurDay	10 _99th
The best TV series of all time. Raw and real. If you haven't watched it, watch it. Omar comin', yo.
1	Armilio	95 _99th
The perfection. The Wire show what tv series can be and can do. Basically, what films cannot: build a world, or show you a world, as only books could, without needs to cut any focus on details. The season 5 is a mocking, satirical end that left me a bit puzzled during the season, but in the end makes completely sense. HBO: less soft-porn, more of this thanks. Less production values, more great scripts. If i want to see special effects and fireworks i watch a movie.
1	dardan	80 _86th
Traces the gambling of kids down the street corner to the poverty of the parents, to the drug dealer, to the cop and teacher, to the police chief, to the judge, to the mayor, to the board rooms.
1	Boxcars	10 _97th
Wholly deserving of its reputation as arguably the finest piece of modern television; 'The Wire' is a profound and brilliantly constructed window into the world of Baltimore and the lives of its inhabitants. When it comes to its exploration of the good and evil on both sides of the law, and the social impact on and every facet of society, few other shows can even begin to compare. Must-see television from a societal and entertainment point of view.
1	Monisit	100 _98th
If there was anything that lived up to the hype as the "Greatest - Ever" this would be it.
1	Arberwaticus	97 _83rd
One of the best written and acted series ever made. Its reputation as one of the best series ever made stands up.
1	ATiM2	90 _81st
The most realistic thing ever put on television by significant margin, The Wire might not be thrilling the way television so often is, but it is bold, dripping with quality, and utterly incredible.
1	deepdoop	100 _96th
Best TV show ever. While the fifth season is a little lesser than the rest, it's still better than most shows. But you can't beat the other 4; there are so many characters and they're all memorable; the writing is razor sharp, interesting and witty, along with having excellent social commentary. It's a weird show to try to sell because it's not like other cop shows, but the slow pacing is incredibly rewarding.

Average Percentile 88.18% from 1610 Ratings