Stephen King Says This 96%-Rated Show "Keeps Getting Better" Even 2 Decades Later
Even 20 years later, Stephen King believes that The Wire set an unmatched standard for quality TV. Here's what the writer had to say about the show.
In his advice to young authors in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King emphasizes the importance of learning new stories and reading.
He supplements this idea with an extensive list of literature at the end of the book. However, stories are not only books. They can also be TV series.
Stephen King Has Nothing But Praise for 'The Wire'
Somehow, King manages to watch TV series while writing new stories and supervising adaptations of his works. However, there is one project he enjoys more than the others.
In his text for EW, King wrote:
“The Wire keeps getting better, and to my mind it has made the final jump from great TV to classic TV – put it right up there with The Prisoner and the first three seasons of The Sopranos. It's the sort of dramatic cycle people will still be writing and thinking about 25 years from now.”
In 2023, Stephen King also wrote in a now-deleted tweet on X that his thoughts about The Wire were confirmed:
“I have set the new streaming stuff aside to re-watch THE WIRE. It hasn't aged a day. Still the series by which other streaming dramas are judged.”
What Is 'The Wire' About?
The story centers on a group of federal agents, led by Jimmy McNulty, who use wiretaps to build criminal cases against drug dealers.
Two major gangsters, Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell, are in their sights. It seems that the criminals are about to be put behind bars, but their superiors won't let the agents finish the mission, so chaos continues to rage on the streets.
'The Wire' Is One of the Most Accurate Crime Shows Ever Made
Showrunner David Simon worked as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun. His writing partner, Ed Burns, worked in the Baltimore police department's homicide unit, where he wiretapped drug dealers.
By observing their police colleagues at work and documenting the rise in crime and flaws in the system, the two writers amassed enough real-life material to create an extremely accurate show.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Wire'?
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The Wire has 95% from critics and 96% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the series has a score of 9.3/10.
Where to Watch 'The Wire'?
The Wire is available to stream on Max.
