The Wire is probably my favorite show of all time. I’ve watched the entire series so many times and I think it’s the most well-written show ever. Both Empire and Rolling Stone put it in their top five shows ever made, it won a Peabody award, and even Barack Obama claims it to be his favorite show of all time. The show served as one of HBO’s first flagship series and helped cement them as a perennial network for original programming (especially after coming on the heels of The Sopranos).

Created by David Simon, the show goes deep into the Baltimore drug scene through the lens of law enforcement and local drug dealers themselves in a very realistic way. This put a spotlight on the Baltimore community and the social dilemmas those communities face. Created by David Simon with Ed Burns as his co-writer (who was a former homicide detective), many of scenes and characters in the show were taken from real-life events and people. Even some of the actors in the show shared similar storylines to their actual lives, including Snoop.

The cast is one of the strongest there is. Michael K. Williams (RIP), Idris Elba, Wood Harris, Dominic West, a very young Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Hector, Aiden Gillen, and so on and so forth. Omar Little, played by Michael K. Williams, is my favorite character from the series and possibly my favorite television show character ever. From his whistle to his lines like “A man got to have a code”, Williams layered in so much emotion and nuance to his character. His sudden passing is still one I’m incredibly sad about, especially after getting to know him. My thoughts and prayers will always be with his family and friends.

The show has served as a staple in my life since I first saw it. Even in my earliest conversations with HBO, I always asked about The Wire. June 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the series, so we’ve been waiting until now to create something very special. I’ve been working on a collection for this moment for almost two years now. I can’t wait to share it with you all this coming Monday.