Scored entertainment-first on WhatSphere's content-balance model 4
Its showrunner stated on the record that "the Wire is a Greek tragedy in which the postmodern institutions are the Olympian forces, It's the police department, or the drug economy, or the political str…" 1. Its showrunner stated on the record that "one of the things that The Wire was clearly intended as is a critique of the drug war and drug prohibition, So I spoke very bluntly about what I had thought ha…" 2. Its showrunner stated on the record that "there is a wonderfully deep reservoir of African-American talent, There really is, And they're not working, There's just not enough work, Nobody's writing the…" 3. Taken together, the content-balance model places it entertainment-first at 16 of 100 4. Relative to the expected cast make-up for its production origin, on-screen representation registers above the baseline for Black and mixed-heritage and below it for White and Hispanic 5.
- 1Creator statementshowrunner: "The Wire is a Greek tragedy in which the postmodern institutions are the Olympian forces. It's the police department, or the drug economy, or the political structures, or the school administration, o…"The Believer Magazine source ↗
- 2Creator statementshowrunner: "One of the things that The Wire was clearly intended as is a critique of the drug war and drug prohibition. So I spoke very bluntly about what I had thought had gone wrong with the drug war."Salon, March 2015 (Obama interview transcript) source ↗
- 3Creator statementshowrunner: "There is a wonderfully deep reservoir of African-American talent. There really is. And they're not working. There's just not enough work. Nobody's writing the parts. What they are writing is marginal…"Fresh Air, NPR source ↗
- 4Content balanceAdvocacy 16 of 100, tier entertainment-first.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1
- 5RepresentationRepresentation vs production-origin baseline: Black 94, mixed-heritage 73, White 11, Hispanic 33.WhatSphere representation model, score_version 1
WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.
Synopsis
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.
Age: 81 — strongly mature-audience
Quadrant Scores
Audience Representation
Where to Watch (US)
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Advocacy Over Time in Crime
The average advocacy score of Crime titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.
| Year | Average advocacy | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 1 | 3 |
| 1931 | 0 | 2 |
| 1932 | 0 | 4 |
| 1937 | 0 | 2 |
| 1941 | 1 | 3 |
| 1944 | 1 | 3 |
| 1946 | 0 | 2 |
| 1948 | 0 | 2 |
| 1950 | 2 | 3 |
| 1951 | 0 | 2 |
| 1954 | 0 | 3 |
| 1955 | 0 | 2 |
| 1956 | 0 | 2 |
| 1958 | 0 | 3 |
| 1959 | 0 | 4 |
| 1960 | 0 | 3 |
| 1961 | 0 | 2 |
| 1962 | 2 | 2 |
| 1963 | 0 | 3 |
| 1964 | 0 | 2 |
| 1965 | 1 | 4 |
| 1967 | 0 | 4 |
| 1968 | 0 | 2 |
| 1969 | 0 | 5 |
| 1971 | 1 | 8 |
| 1972 | 1 | 4 |
| 1973 | 0 | 7 |
| 1974 | 1 | 5 |
| 1975 | 1 | 5 |
| 1976 | 0 | 4 |
| 1978 | 4 | 2 |
| 1980 | 0 | 3 |
| 1983 | 1 | 4 |
| 1984 | 1 | 5 |
| 1986 | 0 | 7 |
| 1987 | 0 | 7 |
| 1988 | 0 | 3 |
| 1989 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990 | 1 | 5 |
| 1991 | 3 | 4 |
| 1992 | 1 | 8 |
| 1993 | 0 | 7 |
| 1994 | 2 | 10 |
| 1995 | 1 | 10 |
| 1996 | 2 | 8 |
| 1997 | 2 | 9 |
| 1998 | 0 | 10 |
| 1999 | 3 | 12 |
| 2000 | 1 | 13 |
| 2001 | 0 | 10 |
| 2002 | 3 | 8 |
| 2003 | 1 | 13 |
| 2004 | 2 | 12 |
| 2005 | 1 | 20 |
| 2006 | 0 | 15 |
| 2007 | 1 | 15 |
| 2008 | 2 | 12 |
| 2009 | 2 | 7 |
| 2010 | 5 | 2 |
| 2011 | 2 | 5 |
| 2012 | 9 | 3 |
| 2013 | 5 | 8 |
| 2014 | 9 | 5 |
| 2015 | 7 | 6 |
| 2017 | 6 | 9 |
| 2018 | 7 | 10 |
| 2019 | 4 | 7 |
| 2020 | 2 | 8 |
| 2021 | 7 | 9 |
| 2022 | 4 | 7 |
| 2023 | 6 | 5 |
| 2024 | 6 | 8 |
| 2025 | 6 | 13 |
| 2026 | 3 | 5 |
| This title (2002) | 16 | 1 |
● This title (2002): advocacy 16 · explore Crime →