It is daunting at first, if for no other reason than the shear number of characters. It probably takes 3 episodes just to understand who is who, despite the amazing acting.

There is no show that I have seen before or after The Wire that puts such a lens to American culture in the inner city. It is a masterpiece of story telling. The writing and acting are just spot on and the story... it's brilliant.

FWIW, I restarted it last week after falling off years ago before finishing the first season. It was my problem, not the show's: I wasn't paying attention, my attention span was awful. This time, I'm paying attention and have trouble not watching three or more episodes per night. What a riveting show!

Funny - the first time I tried it didn’t catch. Felt ‘meh’ after 1.5 episodes. Then went back and tried again and have watched the entire run twice and consider myself a big fan.

It's a slow burn for sure. But so worth the investment.

The re-release has upped the quality. I’m not American and struggled with the accents for a few episodes, but it’s absolutely the best show I’ve ever watched.

The first season is slow but it really picks up.

I don’t see how anyone could watch the opening scene of The Wire and not be compelled to watch the rest of it.

The show is extremely dangerous to mental health, if you care about living in a good world and can't handle the impossibility of it.

Simon's previous TV show, and his book, revolved around the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. I feel like that was already enough to squash hopes of living in a good world.

There is some excellent comedy in it too though. Dark for sure, but very funny.

Nigga, is you taking notes on a motherfucking criminal conspiracy?

I love that scene, it’s such a great example of cargo-culting.

It really is a stunning scene. As a big fan, I do wish they cut out a little of McNulty's repetition to the audience so they understand the slang but the final button on the scene is just so good it is impossible to really complain.