There are series that have ended up marking time over time, even without really being phenomenal at the time. Series whose greatness has been praised to exhaustion, with almost no room for questioning or really questioning their applause. But of course, then you get to them and you realize that everything was true. It was that good.
No matter the moment, no matter the situation, it is always appropriate to return (or discover) to what is one of the best series in history. But Now that 20 years have passed since its premiere, it becomes even more essential highlight ‘The Wire (Under listening)’, that jewel of television that we have available through HBO Max.
The devil in every corner
We owe it all to David Simon, the great showrunner who shaped this unique exploration of the inhabitants of a complex and even hostile location. He established a model that has made subsequent brilliant projects like ‘Treme’, ‘The Deuce’, ‘Show Me a Hero’ or the most recent ‘The city is ours’. But ‘The Wire’ will always be special.
Throughout five essential seasons we see explored every corner of Baltimore, from the lowest strata to the highest spheres. The streets where drugs are trafficked, the police officers who watch over them to unravel the network, the port workers, the educational system, the political gears, the newsrooms.
Everything is covered with enormous rigor and authenticity, creating some wonderful and interesting characters along the way. Even being a series with a realistic tone, it manages to create its own ecosystem that only seems to exist in Simon’s series, full of color and life thanks to the individuals who populate it and the relationships they establish.
‘The Wire (Bass listening’): essential
Thanks to that great work in creation, it is easy to feel attracted by the dark worlds that it tries to tell. The danger in every corner, the corruption in the institutions, the feeling that everything can go to shit in a moment. The feeling is heartbreaking but exquisite, as well as constant throughout its several excellent seasons.
His way of telling characters morally full of gray, without judging at any time, remains exemplary for other series that have wanted to explore cities corrupted to the root. An outstanding piece that never stops having things to tell, and to be relevant to the moment in which we live. In short, it is a must-see series.