Twenty years of The Wire: How HBO show put America's crime underbelly on pop culture map

For someone scanning through the multiverse of OTT platforms, police shows or series about drug abuse on streets might come across as common. But in 2002, when HBO dropped The Wire, a TV show that looked at the inner city corruption, rot and regularity of drug abuse in a real-life setting, this was not as common or accepted on television back then.

Twenty years on, The Wire remains relevant and engaging. The show lived on for five seasons but its appeal grew over time. Consider this, former US president Barack Obama interviewed its creator David Simon. He invited every African-American actor in the cast to the White House for a photo-op. Amusingly, he left out Dominic West, a British white star who plays detective Jimmy McNulty.

But The Wire was used by politicians and policymakers in the US to launch people-friendly governmental measures for a better part of a decade. So much so that Simon actually hit back at Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American appointee to this powerful position by President Obama, when he asked for a sixth season. Simon, along with co-writer Ed Burns, threw this PR move back at Holder, stating that he would welcome the sixth season if the US government would ease off on no tolerance, and tough drug laws that imprison young people and mark them with a felony for life. Despite the spotlight being on them, the creators of the show stuck to its message: People commit crime because sometimes, life compels them to do so.  

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The Wire was not an instant hit. In 2002-2005, US shows like CSI, NCIS, 24, The West Wing, and Desperate Housewives were globally watched. But its makers did not alter the plot or build characters to fit into a format. Instead, Simon and Burns, non-television writers by profession, built an immersive world that existed in Baltimore, without sets or lighting. The Wire is shot on location for the most part. Extras in its drug-buying, drug-peddling, and drug-abuse scenes were sourced from NA [Narcotics Anonymous] meetings, while people from the ‘projects’ — low-cost housing units with bigger African American populations — were used in the background.

Authenticity stands out in every frame of this series, as does its ability to surprise. When you least expect it, characters would die. Deaths and drama are usually left for the near climactic or climactic moments in shows. Here, deaths marked tragedy. It pointed towards the potential of a life snuffed out.  

David Simon was a reporter tracking drug crime for The Baltimore Sun newspaper. Ed Burns had worked as a police detective in Baltimore, working inner-city patrols frequently. Their point of view added authenticity, and made the non-moralizing tone of this story convincing because it rang true.  

The Wire demonstrated that a series dominated by African-American actors could succeed.

In most contemporary American shows, minority actors were perfunctory and limited in utility. Its drug dealers are not messed up blood-thirsty criminals. They are careful, ruthless, and calculating — almost like a small company. Police officers, judges, and lawyers do not behave along pre-conceived racial standards; instead, they are either focused on getting the job done or focused on getting their own careers fast-tracked. Idris Elba and Micheal B Jordan are some actors that this show launched into the stratosphere.  

But its biggest achievement has to be the direct tone and uncompromising focus on the flaws in America’s law and order system and class divide. It never takes a moral stand, rather highlighting the tragedy of addiction. It shows the accepted compromises that Black people make in the US just to exist. That poverty passes down from generation to generation amongst working classes is highlighted through the journeys of its characters. Jobs disappear, homes are lost, lives are lost, and families are broken — but the state does not have a mechanism to remedy these issues permanently. In fact, the inherent bias that skin colour can bring in police behaviour is touched upon in this show; a reality that came to life on the streets of America when people protested nationwide in 2020. At a time when cops were almost always fighting the good battle against evil drug lords and street criminals, The Wire showed what it all really looked like.  

This series has influenced writers and storytellers across television and OTT. Snowfall, Line of Duty, Ozark, Breaking Bad, and the film Moonlight are examples that extend themes introduced on The Wire. Its writers David Simon and Ed Burns have individually created and written shows like The Plot Against America, Treme, and The Deuce. While none can be marked as super popular hits, each brings us a solid story and characters we care for. As for The Wire, it tells us stories and brings us characters that we would always love to revisit.

Archita Kashyap is an experienced journalist and writer on film, music, and pop culture. She has handled entertainment content for broadcast news and digital platforms over 15 years.