People rightfully discuss the wonderful themes, the memorable characters, the tragic arcs in The Wire, but one area they underrate is the form. I recently watched some of the HD restoration and the use of sound and image is really wonderful.

I suspect a lot of it flies under the radar because The Wire purposefully used a style that wasn't overly pretty, was closer to verite than visually stunning. But there's some great ideas there. The utter commitment to diagetic sound (barring one scene in the first season). The use of complex camera movements and an Altman-esque zoom to provide a documentary or even voyeuristic perspective.

You could make an argument that The Wire is more innovative in filmmaking than a lot of the typical prestige TV, who simply mimicked Hollywood big budget artistry.