The Wire: Realism at its Peak

 HBO the television giant is known for recent shows such as world wide phenomenon Game of Thrones and more recently Euphoria. But, before the inception of those shows, HBO already had a host of really great shows and the one I will be discussing  today is the cult classic "The Wire" which I had the honor of seeing during the course of my stay at home during this COVID pandemic.

  The Wire can be technically described as a crime show but in my opinion it's way deeper than that. The HBO show has no true protagonist or antagonist and instead decides to focus on the different elements that operate within the United States city of Baltimore. The premise of the first season that follows through the entirety of the series is the investigation of criminal organizations through the use of government approved wire taps and as basic as that may sound on paper, the show goes ahead to introduce us to the city and it's very interesting citizens who are good, bad, and straight up just hustling.

 During the course of these past few months I've been really bored and found solace in watching one piece, listening to music and watching TV shows. I finished the first season of the wire in months not because it was boring but slow but I got back into it and easily binged everything including its ten episode fifth season. I love the show for so many reasons but I'll try to talk about the major reasons below.

STORY

 The Wire's story had no obligation to be so good. It's honestly perfect in my opinion because, it tells the story of Baltimore's system; Cops trying to do their jobs and catch "criminals", the criminals trying to hustle and survive no matter what and everything else in between. The setting in the city of Baltimore as well as the way different story arcs intertwine is something masterful and excellent to watch. It's a crime show with so much layers of depth and richness and the way it flows keeps you glued to the screen wondering what would happen next. I remember watching the second season which was a drastic change in terms of focus compared to the first and wondering what exactly was going on and why I wasn't seeing characters I was familiar with. But then, I started liking the new characters and shortly after, saw where the show runners were going in terms of connectivity to the already established lore. The way they did it made it feel like a crossover but like within the same show and they also made sure there was little to no fan service and made sure it was very grounded. 

REALISM

 I think what truly sets the wire apart from other shows with similar premise is it's dedication to authenticity of realism. They are details on the show that if you  notice will honestly blow your mind because you'd feel as though they didn't need to go that far while still appreciating the show runners level of care and dedication to the critically acclaimed series. When I say realism, I'm talking things happening in the background of a scene, no character being safe, no cliché tropes, no overusing of fan favorite characters and picking subtlety instead of more extravagant approach to story telling. 

CHARACTERS

 After seeing all five seasons of the wire, I took a while to really think about the show and I found it crazy how some of the most beloved characters on the show have very limited screen time compared to fan favorite characters from other shows. I think this is because of the way they're written on the show. The characters of the wire are all interesting and most of them grow quite significantly through out the course of the series. I remember feeling extremely gutted by the death of a certain character during one of its latter seasons. It was crazy because this was a character that honestly pissed me off so much initially but then, there I was feeling incredibly sad for their passing. If you watch this show, you'll have a host of favorite characters and I won't be shocked if yours are completely different from mine that's because I think they all are written extremely well and can connect to audiences differently. There are a host of great characters in the forefront of the series as well as the background characters as well. 

All in all, the wire is one of the greatest shows I have watched and arguably one of the greatest of all time. It's extremely well written, smart, and focused on showing you the full unedited picture that is the city of Baltimore. I highly recommend you watch it if you're a fan of well written, mature shows and I hope you enjoy it like I did if you do. 

                                    

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