The serialized television series we love are seemingly destined to break our hearts. Because of the open-ended nature of U.S. television shows, series are usually destined to last for as long as they’re successful, regardless of where the ...

It’s sometimes easy to talk about The Wire as a cynical show—cynical about institutional malaise, cynical about the motivations of city leaders and other important decision-makers, cynical about how society’s ills perpetuate themselves ad infinitum. But never ...

There’s so much going on in The Wire every week that I determined early on that I couldn’t cover everything in a given episode, or else these recaps would grow more long-winded than they already are. But I ...

Let’s start with the ending.

Stylistically, The Wire has never been particularly flashy or self-conscious, which owes something to its roots in no-nonsense, unembellished journalism. Its creators openly resent the “purple prose” of Scott Templeton-types who favor empty style ...

Two big cliffhangers from last week: How in the world did Omar survive that three-story fall from the Chris/Snoop/Michael ambush? And what was that strange interference on Marlo’s cell phone tap?

First, Omar: With Marlo’s crew ...

And the plot thickens…

It was only a matter of time before the fantasies of Jimmy McNulty and Scott Templeton would collide, but for now their as-yet-unnamed homeless-biting, red-ribbon-tying phony serial killer isn’t a tragic blight on their respective ...

“Ain’t easy civilizing this motherfucker,” said a weary Proposition Joe about Marlo last week, when the steely young dealer came seeking counsel about what to do with all his money. It was a funny line then, because Marlo isn ...

Sopranos creator David Chase and Wire creator David Simon have always been conflated in my mind, not just because they’re the two Davids responsible for two of the finest TV dramas ever, but also because they’re running neck-and-neck ...

The great advantage of serialized television is that the characters have a history and that history enriches the present in ways that no episodic, Law And Order-type show could possibly do. Perhaps to their detriment in the ratings department ...

Before getting started, a couple of notes:

1. New episodes of The Wire are available on HBO On Demand a week before they’re officially broadcast. This means that some or many of you will be privy to information in ...