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One series that consistently makes the cut is HBO's crime drama The Wire, even though it ended its run back in 2008. So what's the big deal? We're here to tell you.
- 15 Show Me A Hero
- 14 The Shield
- 13 Justified
- 12 Ozark
- 11 Mindhunter
- 10 The Night of
- 9 The Sopranos
- 8 Breaking Bad
- 7 Narcos
- 6 Boardwalk Empire
Oscar Isaac Stars In The True Political Story
Show Me a Hero was an HBO miniseries based on the real-life story of Yonkers, New York's youngest mayor Nick Wasicsko(played by Oscar Isaac) attempting to bring public housing to his hesitant constituents.It delves into the inner workings of local politics realistically and has a base civil rights storyline. The show sees Wasicsko attempt to make everyone happy while also doing his job to bring public housing to Yonkers, which is a difficult position. The series portrays realistic people on b...
A Crime Thriller With A Corrupt Cop Protagonist
The Shield blurs the line between lawman and criminal as Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) leads a new, experimental police unit of the LAPD. The members of this police force are allowed to operate outside the rules, which leads to them acting more like criminals than law enforcers. The members believe they're breaking the law for the greater good, but a lot of their decisions are morally ambiguous or self-serving. The Shield shares a theme with The Wire in that itis an intriguing look at the crim...
A Cop And Criminal Share A Complicated Past
Justified follows two main protagonists, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and enigmatic local criminal Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) who grew up together in Harlan, Kentucky. The series follows both of their lives and the respective gray areas of being a lawman and in organized crime, as both Givens and Crowder surprise the audiences with their actions. Like The Wire, Justified followed both sides of the law and wasn't afraid to delve into the moral ambiguity of real people who a...
A Mild-Mannered Family Are Sucked Into The Drug World
Ozark follows a family that has been pulled into the criminal world of money laundering when Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) has to pay back a cartel for the money that his business partner stole. The Byrdes flee to the Ozarks and they all try to survive while reconnecting as a family. This is another show like The Wire where the location is important to the plot and the Netflix series portrays complex characters in the drug-dealing and money-laundering world. The show was also critically acclaim...
A Look At The FBI's Profiling Of Serial Killers
Netflix's Mindhunter is based on the real formation of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, which focuses on the psychology of crimes, specifically serial killers and criminal profiling. The series follows a group of two FBI agents and a scholar who begin tointerview convicted serial killers to try to understand their motives. This is the same unit that has a fictional counterpart on Criminal Minds. The series is also a biopic, that sees the original agents dealing with serial killers like Edmun...
A Man Fights For Justice After Being Charged With Murder
The Night Of is an eight-part miniseries that aired on HBO. It is based on a British drama and stars Riz Ahmed as a Pakistani American college student named Nasir Khan and John Turturro as his lawyer. The miniseries follows the events that take place after Nasir meets a woman on his way to a party and is charged with her murder after her body is found, stabbed to death. Like The Wire, The Night Of is a gritty HBO series that has a heavy focus on life in the city and the criminal justice syste...
A Mob Boss Deals With His Anxious Life
The Sopranos redefined television, and it is likely there would be noThe Wire without its success. It focuses primarily on the complicated character of Tony Soprano, a man who has two completely separate types of "family."At home, he has a wife and two children; when he leaves his house, his "family" is his mafia associates, and these two families are always clashing with one another. As the series opens, Tony is a stressed-out mob boss who begins seeing a therapist as a way to deal with his...
The Journey Of A Mild-Mannered Family Man Into A Cold-Blooded Drug Lord
Breaking Bad is one of the main shows that competes with The Wire as the greatest show of all time. It follows Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who finds himself in a financial bind when he's diagnosed with lung cancer.In order to pay for his treatment and leave enough money behind for his family to go on without him, he teams up with his former slacker student, Jesse Pinkman, to make the best methamphetamine New Mexico has ever seen. While The Sopranos and The Wire are two shows...
The Story Of Pablo Escobar And His Legacy
Netflix's Narcos starts out following the life and business dealings of infamous cocaine dealer Pablo Escobar. After Escobar's fall, the series looks into the aftermath and the DEA's continued attempts to take down his rising competitors who are thriving in his absence. It is both a look at the dedication of the law enforcement that takes on these drug lords and the futile nature of the war on drugs, both themes explored constantly in The Wire. This series also helped make Pedro Pascal a majo...
A Period Drama Set During The Prohibition Era
Boardwalk Empire is set in the 1920s in Atlantic City and stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Kelly Macdonald. Buscemi portrays the role of Nucky Thompson, the corrupt and incredibly powerful treasurer of Prohibition-era Atlantic City.The story follows both Nucky's personal and professional life as he tries to balance his relationships with people in Atlantic City, the mob, and the illegal activity that thrives in the city. Buscemi proved a perfect television star after years of movie work...
Jun 22, 2024 · Fans of HBO's acclaimed crime series The Wire will likely enjoy movies like End of Watch, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon.
- Liam Gaughan
- Senior Author
- The Godfather Franchise. The Godfather film series consists of three crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo.
- Goodfellas. Goodfellas, an iconic mobster film directed by Martin Scorsese, is a gritty exploration of life within the Mafia. It's based on the true story of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a small-time gangster climbing the ranks of organized crime.
- The Departed. In the gritty crime thriller, The Departed, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young undercover cop in Boston who infiltrates an Irish mob run by the ruthless Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).
- Narcos. Narcos, the gripping crime drama, intricately weaves a tale of power and ambition within the dangerous world of drug cartels. Based on true events, it follows the rise and fall of notorious kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) and the relentless pursuit by DEA agents Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal).
Oct 19, 2021 · 19 October 2021. By Eric Deggans, Features correspondent. Share. Alamy. David Simon and Ed Burns' Baltimore epic came top in BBC Culture's critics' poll to find the greatest shows of the century....
- Eric Deggans
Jun 26, 2022 · Here's where to find the complete series of The Wire online, including whether it's on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. The Sopranos is often credited with kicking off a new wave of quality drama on television, including series such as Breaking Bad and The Shield.
The Wire: Created by David Simon. With Dominic West, John Doman, Deirdre Lovejoy, Wendell Pierce. The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
