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Wire, The
Season 4
SERIES: HBO, Sunday 10:00p (60 minutes)


9.7

based on 21 reviews
read critic reviews
how did we calculate this?

based on 314 votes
read user comments
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Get more information on this show at TV.com.

Official Show Site

Starring Dominic West, Aidan Gillen, Deirdre Lovejoy, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Andre Royo, and Sonja Sohn

One of the most heralded and unique dramas on television, David Simon's Baltimore-set crime show turns its focus on that city's public school system (and education in general) for its 13-episode fourth season.

GENRE(S):	Drama
CREATED BY:	David Simon
FIRST AIR DATE:	September 10, 2006

Each episode available on HBO On Demand 6 days prior to broadcast.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart

To me, what allows “The Wire” to surpass “The Sopranos” in the pantheon of greatest American TV shows is its ambition and its anger.

100

TV Guide Matt Roush

This is TV as great modern literature, a shattering and heartbreaking urban epic about a city (Baltimore) rotting from within.

100

Newsday Verne Gay

A critic for this paper once declared "The Wire" "the greatest dramatic series ever produced for television" and as the fourth season gets under way Sunday night, there's no reason to quibble with that assessment.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Tim Goodman

The breadth and ambition of "The Wire" are unrivaled and that taken cumulatively over the course of a season -- any season -- it's an astonishing display of writing, acting and storytelling that must be considered alongside the best literature and filmmaking in the modern era.

100

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

If you have only one hour a week for television, give it to "The Wire."

100

Philadelphia Daily News Ellen Gray

The best show on television.

100

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland

If there ever was a series that makes HBO a necessity, "The Wire" is it.

100

USA Today Robert Bianco

Brilliant, scathing, sprawling, The Wire has turned our indifference to urban decay into a TV achievement of the highest order.

100

Variety Brian Lowry

When television history is written, little else will rival "The Wire," a series of such extraordinary depth and ambition that it is, perhaps inevitably, savored only by an appreciative few.

100

Entertainment Weekly Gillian Flynn

The best series on TV, period. [15 Sep 2006, p.63]

100

New York Post Adam Buckman

One of the finest TV shows ever made.

100

The New York Times Virginia Heffernan

This season of “The Wire” will knock the breath out of you.

100

San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum

If you stick with it, you will be rewarded with some of the most compelling, provocative drama ever produced for television.

100

Washington Post Tom Shales

So is "The Wire" as good as ever? Perhaps even better.

100

Slant Magazine Keith Uhlich

David Simon and his writers... aren't out to change the world; the slippery slope of civilization is already in place on The Wire and Simon is just out to document how each and every person survives. Or doesn't, as this season quite devastatingly proves.

100

LA Weekly Robert Abele

A vibrant, masterful work of art, HBO’s novelistic urban saga The Wire is the best show on television.

100

Salon Heather Havrilesky

Yes, it's tough to trace the relationships between various ranks within the police department and the city and state governments, but that doesn't mean this is an incredibly serious drama it takes a degree in literature to understand. "The Wire" is funny and odd and sad and, above all, engrossing.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tony Norman

"The Wire" is as complex a picaresque as one is likely to find this side of Dickens.

Time James Poniewozik

They have done what many well-intentioned socially minded writers have tried and failed at: written a story that is about social systems, in all their complexity, yet made it human, funny and most important of all, rivetingly entertaining.

New York Daily News David Hinckley

It just might be the kids, the ones who grow up too soon in the hard world of "The Wire," who steal opening night.

Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman

Despite high praise, there are two serious problems: (a) The first new episode is crazy confusing, and (b) over the course of the first batch of episodes, the story lines don't develop quickly enough.

The average user rating for this tv show is 9.7 (out of 10) based on 314 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

cee j gave it a10:
Most intense TV season ever. So, so heavy. Heaviest of all the seasons--drags you down, down into a place better than heaven. I might have an ulcer, but the compassion and education I've gained makes it worth it.

Daniel P gave it a10:
Brilliant.

Heman gave it a10:
Literature, journalism and poetry all come together in a show that is layered in its message, fierce in its plot and portrayal and reeks of realism that is devoid in Hollywood. This type of gripping and profoundly educational entertainment is rare!

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
This is my all time favorite show, without a shadow of a doubt. Perfection.

Abhinav R gave it a10:
After watching every season of The Wire, Season 4 has to be my favourite. Although it started out a bit slow, by the "2.5th" episode, I was captivated. I didn't have high hopes for this season because of the lack of Barksdale characters but the introduction of the school system and political campaigning was enough to make this the best season of any show ever. If somebody could only watch one TV show, I would highly recommend The Wire.

Matthias W gave it a10:
The hype doesn't do it justice. "The Wire" is not only the best thing on television, but an amazing, heartbreaking work of art.

Esgo G gave it a9:
Controversy incarnated. Everything you do not approve of, you will love in the Wire. As realistic as real life thanks to some great slang, actors and on location shooting. My HBO favorite!

Wire, The Season 4 SERIES: HBO, Sunday 10:00p (60 minutes)

Wire, The
Season 4
SERIES: HBO, Sunday 10:00p (60 minutes)