Does HBO's 'The Wire' still hold up after 20 years?
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 25 June 2022
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This month marks 20 years since the series premiere. It ran for five seasons, following the lives of the cops, criminals, political players, and everyday folks caught up in Baltimore's often futile war on drugs.
Many argue that The Wire is the best television show ever created and has earned praise for its realistic, humanizing, multi-dimensional portrayal of Black characters. But 20 years on, the conversation about policing in Black communities has changed. The deaths of Freddie Gray, George Floyd, and many others after encounters with police and the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement have brought about more public scrutiny, debate, and criticism of the police.
As social commentary, is The Wire still relevant? We speak with NPR TV critic Eric Deggans and Ronda Racha Penrice, editor of the essay collection, Cracking The Wire During Black Lives Matter.
In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Yeah, now we're the thing about the old days. |
| 0:03.2 | They're the old days. |
| 0:04.5 | Oh, my God. |
| 0:05.5 | Oh, my God. |
| 0:06.5 | You're on your own, though. |
| 0:07.5 | Oh, my God. |
| 0:08.5 | They're gonna come talk to me about money laundering |
| 0:10.7 | in West Baltimore? |
| 0:12.2 | Shee-y-y-y-y. |
| 0:13.4 | A man must have a code. |
| 0:15.3 | Oh, no doubt. |
| 0:16.7 | Are you a lesson here, Bash? |
| 0:19.0 | You come at the king? |
| 0:20.4 | You best not miss. |
| 0:25.9 | If you know those clips and that music |
| 0:28.5 | then you are probably a fan of the HBO series, The Wire. |
| 0:32.5 | And you are not alone. |
| 0:34.0 | At the front end, I gotta tell you, |
| 0:35.8 | I'm a huge fan of The Wire. |
| 0:37.0 | I think it's one of the greatest, not just television shows, |
| 0:40.5 | but pieces of art in the last couple of decades. |
| 0:45.2 | I was a huge fan of it. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.