# Viewing audience for "The Wire," by race. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403 "2009-01-08T18:12:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/41 "2009-01-13T20:16:34Z")
I’ve never seen the show. I have no idea what it’s about. “The Wire.” What does that mean? I wonder if the vague title holds them back. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/42 "2009-01-13T21:38:25Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I’ve never seen the show. I have no idea what it’s about. “The Wire.” What does that mean? I wonder if the vague title holds them back. I don’t know that it’s any vaguer than Hill Street Blues, or Angel, or Friends, or many other TV shows’ names. It’s sort of a police procedural: there are some drug dealers in Baltimore, and they are committing a variety of crimes other than drug dealing, and the Baltimore police are trying to stop them, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, competence, and success. The show has a central cast of characters who are primarily police and drug dealers, but in each season, another major aspect of Baltimore life is introduced–the school system, the media, city politics, etc. These new systems introduce new major characters. As a police procedural, it works wonderfully. Because you see stories told from the point of view of both police and criminal, there are rarely mysteries that you don’t know how to solve. However, the best police and the best criminals are brilliant, and it’s sometimes breathtaking to watch their cat-and-mouse game, as each side figures out what the other side is doing and comes up with a way to thwart their opponent’s move. “The Wire” is a reference to a wiretap that the police think will help them solve a crime. I don’t want to say more than that. I’m normally not a big fan of police procedurals, as they seem to be cheaply written and cliche-ridden, not to mention poorly acted. Not all of them, but too many of them. The Wire was absolutely an exception: I can’t think of a dimension (acting, writing, directing, plotting, etc.) in which they were less than stellar. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/43 "2009-01-13T22:01:27Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > The Wire is the only show I know that features intelligent black gangsters. Even on The Shield the black gangsters are shown to be pretty dumb (I’ve only seen the first four seasons.) > > For some reason intelligence and business savvy are reserved for the Latin or European gangs. On TV black gangs are almost always run by idiots. > > The show also has smart black characters were you don’t usually see them on TV, including detectives, politicians, and school kids. As far as the shield, Antwan (Antoine?) was smart. But your larger point stands. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/44 "2009-01-13T23:02:18Z")
Thanks for all the replies and the links folks. I was hoping that there might be, somewhere on the web, some sort of Nielsen breakdown, but from some of the stories i’ve read, it seems that much of _The Wire_’s audience wouldn’t show up in Nielsen ratings anyway, due to the popularity of the show on DVD, as bootlegs, and also as a social viewing experience, in which a bunch of people will gather together to watch the show in a single place. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/45 "2009-01-13T23:11:27Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I’ve never seen the show. I have no idea what it’s about. “The Wire.” What does that mean? I wonder if the vague title holds them back. I think so. Seriously. I resisted watching for a long time because I thought the show was going to emphasize the technical aspects of surveillance and crime fighting – something for computer experts. I don’t know what else they could have called it. “Baltimore: Life on the Street”? “Crime and the City”? I caught bits of two episodes – one with Kima and Cheryl, and I thought “Great, another lesbian sex show”. Then I caught one where McNulty was trying to pick up a woman in a bar, and I thought “Great, another horn dog cop show”. It wasn’t until I started hearing some critical buzz that I gave it a real chance. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/46 "2009-01-14T00:42:02Z")
I think most people have some pre-conceived notion of what it’s going to be like, especially when they hear “gritty”, “urban”, “drug dealers”, “police procedural”, etc., and they’re turned off by the prospect. But it really does transcend all those descriptions (though I do agree somewhat with “Dickensian”, which I hear a lot also). It’s a shame, because everyone I’ve loaned the DVDs to has, without exception and regardless of race/class/whatever, loved it. And I don’t think people put across how watchable it is - I’ve had some friends who got into it so much they finished season 1 in 2 days. Don’t be put off by the subject matter - you’ll probably like it way more than you think. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/47 "2009-01-14T00:57:32Z")
You also have to learn how to watch it: it’s constructed like a novel, and each episode is a chapter, which means that within each episode there often is no clear self-contained narrative arc. There is an over-arching plot but also subplots, some of which last an episode, others which develop over the whole season. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/48 "2009-01-14T01:44:23Z")
Agreed, the wire requires being watched with attention and is written by and for grown-ups (no wookies, or space ships, sorry). Although police are some of the central characters, it’s not really a cop show in any traditional sense. It’s a drama in the classical sense in which mortals are at the whim of gods (in this case bureaucracies) and often victims of their own hubris. It also has some of the best dialogue ever spoken on a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/49 "2009-01-14T02:06:20Z")
The wire is one of my favorite shows, and while this doesn’t directly address the OP, here is one of a series of articles on the Freakonomics blog on [What do real thugs think of The Wire?](http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/what-do-real-thugs-think-of-the-wire/) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/50 "2009-01-14T02:15:06Z")
So basically The Wire glorifies gang culture and turns it into 90210, with a quasi Shakespearean dialogue a la Deadwood? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/51 "2009-01-14T02:30:32Z")
It’s not for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/52 "2009-01-14T02:40:49Z")
No, no, no ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/53 "2009-01-14T03:31:56Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So basically The Wire glorifies gang culture and turns it into 90210, with a quasi Shakespearean dialogue a la Deadwood? 90210? Where did you come up with that interpretation? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/54 "2009-01-14T03:34:39Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > 90210? Where did you come up with that interpretation? I’m also wondering where he got the “glorifies” and the quasi-Shakespearian dialogue too. I’m guessing he hasn’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/55 "2009-01-14T03:43:40Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So basically The Wire glorifies gang culture No. > [@levdrakon](#): > > and turns it into 90210, No. > [@levdrakon](#): > > with a quasi Shakespearean dialogue No. > [@levdrakon](#): > > a la Deadwood? No. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/56 "2009-01-14T03:48:23Z")
I think he was upset by my wookies comment and is lashing out. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/57 "2009-01-14T03:49:41Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So basically The Wire glorifies gang culture I can’t imagine what kind of idiot would see the Wire and think gang culture was a good thing or worth joining. While all of the show makes gang culture seem brutally unpleasant, Season 4 is especially heartbreaking in this regard. > [@](#): > > and turns it into 90210 What? > [@](#): > > with a quasi Shakespearean dialogue a la Deadwood? Not remotely: the dialogue is very naturalistic. Brilliant, but naturalistic. I love Deadwood also, but they’re totally different stylistically. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/58 "2009-01-14T04:47:07Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So basically The Wire glorifies gang culture and turns it into 90210, with a quasi Shakespearean dialogue a la Deadwood? I would say that The Wire is the diametric opposite of 90210 in every way. They have only one thing in common: Tristan Wilds. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/59 "2009-01-16T02:17:05Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I don’t know what else they could have called it. “Baltimore: Life on the Street”? “Crime and the City”? How about “Leave it to Omar”? That would have made it real clear. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403/60 "2009-01-16T02:47:27Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > As far as the shield, Antwan (Antoine?) was smart. But your larger point stands. Not to derail thread - as I think The Wire is absolutely stellar in all respects - but I see the actor who played Antwoine (sp) in the Shield in other things, but always revert to recalling his incredible aura of menace, power and smarts in the Shield. Just an incredible portrayal - and apparently much of his early career (and even now?) was in low-brow comedies. Does not compute. He _was_ Antwoine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-audience-for-the-wire-by-race/480403.md?page=2)