The Wire

*The Wire*
The Wire
Genre	Crime drama; Police procedural; Serial drama; Political drama; Tragedy;
Created by	David Simon
Showrunner	David Simon
Starring	Dominic West; John Doman; Idris Elba; Frankie Faison; Lawrence Gilliard Jr.; Wood Harris; Deirdre Lovejoy; Wendell Pierce; Lance Reddick; Andre Royo; Sonja Sohn; Chris Bauer; Paul Ben-Victor; Clarke Peters; Amy Ryan; Aidan Gillen; Jim True-Frost; Robert Wisdom; Seth Gilliam; Domenick Lombardozzi; J. D. Williams; Michael K. Williams; Corey Parker Robinson; Reg E. Cathey; Chad L. Coleman; Jamie Hector; Glynn Turman; Clark Johnson; Tom McCarthy; Gbenga Akinnagbe; Neal Huff; Jermaine Crawford; Tristan Wilds; Michael Kostroff; Michelle Paress; Isiah Whitlock Jr.;
Theme music composer	Tom Waits
Opening theme	"Way Down in the Hole" by The Blind Boys of Alabama (season 1); Tom Waits (season 2); The Neville Brothers (season 3); DoMaJe (season 4); Steve Earle (season 5);
Ending theme	"The Fall" by Blake Leyh
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	60 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David Simon; Robert F. Colesberry; Nina Kostroff Noble;
Producers	Karen L. Thorson; Ed Burns; Joe Chappelle; George Pelecanos; Eric Overmyer;
Production locations	Baltimore, Maryland
Running time	55–93 minutes
Production companies	Blown Deadline Productions; HBO Entertainment;
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	June 2, 2002 –; March 9, 2008
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The Wire is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of Simon's writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective and public school teacher.

Set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. The five subjects are, in chronological order: the illegal drug trade; the port system; the city government and bureaucracy; education and schools; and the print news medium. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city.

When the series first aired, the large cast consisted mainly of actors who were unknown to television audiences, as well as numerous real-life Baltimore and Maryland figures in guest and recurring roles. Simon has said that despite its framing as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed".

Lauded for high quality scripting and an uncommonly accurate exploration of society, politics and urban life, the series received average ratings and failed to win any major television awards when originally broadcast. Subsequently, the show gained a cult following, and is now widely considered one of the greatest television series of all time.