Three male detectives dressed in black level coats walking on the street

The Wire ranked number one on a list of underrated TV shows (Image: BWP Media)

A five-season crime drama has been dubbed as the best television show ever mate by fans, despite it remaining a hidden gem to
most. The Wire, which has a 9.3 out of 10 star rating on IMDb and a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, is a drama based on “the Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement”.

The American TV show was written by David Simon, an author and former police reporter, for the cable network HBO, and ranked number one on a list of “The Most Underrated Television Shows”. According to fans, not only is the show underrated, but it is also a masterpiece and one of the best out there.

On Amazon, one viewer said: “This is one of the best shows to ever air on television. The first season primarily deals with the narcotics trade in Baltimore, looking at it from both the cops and the dealers’ perspectives.

“It becomes something so much more as the series progresses, into a carefully crafted look at Baltimore by David Simon, who worked as a reporter there for 20+ years. Truly a masterpiece, and it will go down as a classic.”

Echoing the same thought, a fan on IMDb said: “The Wire absolutely, without a doubt, lives up to all the hype and love it gets. The storytelling is so ridiculously good and that’s because this is one of the best written shows in television history. It’s one of those rare shows where every season is just as good as the others.”

Another wrote: “The consistency of the greatness of this show throughout all five seasons is ridiculous. The gritty attention to detail makes this series feel so real. It’s easily one of the best shows of all-time.”

The Wire television programme

The show was first released in 2002 (Image: BWP Media)

In fact the show is so good that one viewer even said they “devotated 36 hours” over the course of 10 days to watch it, after becoming “seriously hooked” by the first few episodes.

Fans praised everything about the show from the acting to the realism, and despite it being over 20 years old, people still rate it highly and assure other that “you won’t regret” watching it.

The Wire is available to purchase on Amazon Prime, Sky Store, and to stream on Now TV.