The Wire (2002)

The Wire is like great literature. It is epic, profound, prophetic, realistic, verisimilar, edifying, enthralling, stylish, visceral, gritty, edgy, shocking, revealing and pleasantly addictive (and I haven’t even opened my thesaurus yet!). The show explores the Baltimore city drug scene in its five seasons and on the surface plays like a police procedural. However, it may more aptly be described as an exposition of the decadence of modern society and the failure of our institutions. The themes of the show are truly universal and yet the show creates such a thoroughly rich portrayal of Baltimore city that you could almost feel the tarmac when a pool of blood from a gunshot victim reflects a flickering neon sign. The show has amazing style with its sometimes indecipherable ghetto slang, cool gangsta talk and idiosyncratic police humor. The Wire is great art and certainly the greatest thing on TV ever. Period!

Next in Greatest Cult TV Shows Ever: Freaks and Geeks!