The Wire is a police/crime television drama shown by the HBO cable network in the United States.

The Wire is set in a fictionalized version of the mid-Atlantic American city of Baltimore, Maryland. It depicts the ongoing struggle of a unit of police officers against a drug gang in the housing projects of the city's west side. The narrative is told from both sides.

The show was created by writer David Simon, whose true-crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets was the inspiration for the acclaimed police drama Homicide: Life on the Street (both of which were also set in Baltimore). Many of the creative team behind the Wire are alumni of Homicide as well as other related shows such as HBO's prison series Oz.

The cast is large and the plot is very complex, requiring a good deal of attention and work from the viewer. Many important events (murders, etc.) occur off-camera and there is no artificial exposition. Thus, the viewer needs to follow every conversation closely in order to figure out what's going on and who's who. Each season of the show forms a single narrative, and individual episodes would be confusing and probably unsatisfying viewing if seen in isolation. The seasons are twelve or thirteen full-hour episodes in length.

Many of the characters defy expectations and stereotypes; some of the criminals are intelligent, sympathetic characters while some of those on the side of the law are incompetent, morally corrupt or brutal.

The show's creators are also willing to kill off major characters, so that the viewer is unable to assume that any given character will survive simply because they have a starring role or are popular on the show. In response to a question on why a popular character had to die, David Simon has said:

"I can only add that we are not selling hope, or audience gratification, or cheap victories with this show. THE WIRE is making an argument about what institutions -- bureaucracies, criminal enterprises, the cultures of addiction, raw capitalism even -- do to individuals. It is not designed purely as an entertainment. It is, I'm afraid, a somewhat angry show."

The show began airing in 2002 and has received rave reviews from many sources and critics, many stating that it is better than HBO's other, better-known "flagship" drama series such as the Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Despite the critical acclaim the show has received poor ratings.

The second season of the show, along with its ongoing examination of the drug problem and its effect on the urban poor, examined the plight of the blue-collar urban working class as exemplified by stevedores (longshoremen) in the city port, as some of them get caught up in smuggling and drug trafficking.

In the third season, the action focused back on the street but expanded the scope to include the political scene.

The Wire has been renewed for a fourth season, which is expected to tackle the education system.

Cast

• John Doman as Maj. William A. Rawls (later Deputy Commissioner)
• Idris Elba as Russell "Stringer" Bell
• Frankie R. Faison as Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (later Commissioner)
• Peter Gerety as Judge Phelan
• Aidan Gillen as Councilman Thomas "Tommy" Carcetti
• Seth Gilliam as Det. Ellis Carver
• Larry Gilliard, Jr. as D'Angelo Barksdale
• Wood Harris as Avon Barksdale
• Hassan Johnson as Wee-Bey
• Domenick Lombardozzi as Det. Thomas "Herc" Hauk
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Ass't State's Att'y Rhonda Perlman
• Clark Peters as Det. Lester Freamon
• Wendell Pierce as Det. William "Bunk" Moreland
• Lance Reddic as Lt. Cedric Daniels
• Corey Parker Robinson as Det. Leander Sydnor
• Andre Royo as Bubbles
• Sonja Sohn as Det. Shakima "Kima" Greggs
• Jim True-Frost as Det. Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
• Dominic West as Det. James "Jimmy" McNulty
• J.D. Williams as Bodie
• Michael K. Williams as Omar Little
• Robert Wisdom as Maj. Howard "Bunny" Colvin

External link

• Official HBO site