The Wire poster

The Wire

2002-2008 5 seasons

9.3 Top 3%

(422,230 votes)

60 episodes

IMDb
This show averages 8.6, which is 1.2 points above the global average of 7.4 Top 11%
7.4 8.6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 IMDb Rating
All 806,989 TV Episodes
This Show (60 episodes)
Click to pin Pinned
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S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
E1
7.8
7.7
7.9
8.3
8.0
E2
8.1
8.0
8.3
8.4
8.1
E3
8.1
8.0
8.3
8.6
8.5
E4
8.2
8.0
8.3
8.3
8.8
E5
8.2
8.1
8.5
8.5
8.6
E6
8.5
8.8
8.6
8.7
8.3
E7
8.4
8.2
8.5
8.4
8.4
E8
8.5
8.3
8.9
8.5
8.9
E9
8.7
8.5
8.7
8.5
9.4
E10
9.2
9.0
8.7
8.8
9.6
E11
8.8
9.2
9.6
8.9
E12
9.1
9.0
9.3
9.3
E13
9.0
9.5
Avg
8.5
8.4
8.6
8.7
8.7
Excellent
Great
Good

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 77.68.28.89.410 Rating 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 Episode 10 9 8 7 6 5

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:
30 Standouts
0 Infamous
30 Hidden Gems
0 Forgettable
Standouts Infamous Hidden Gems Forgettable Global: 7.5 7.27.78.28.69.19.6 Rating 4k 5k 7k 8k 10k Votes (log scale)
Top Standout: S3E11 Middle Ground
Best Hidden Gem: S4E11 A New Day

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Season Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

7.57.98.38.79.19.5 Rating S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 Season 8.5 8.4 8.6 8.7 8.7 10 9 8 7 6 5

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

567891011 Rating S1 7.8 9.0 +1.2 S2 7.7 9.0 +1.3 S3 7.9 9.3 +1.4 S4 8.3 9.5 +1.2 S5 8.0 9.6 +1.6

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

78910 Rating S1 Typical avg 8.5 S2 Typical avg 8.4 S3 Typical avg 8.6 S4 Steady avg 8.7 S5 Steady avg 8.7 Episode Premiere/Finale

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top 10 Episodes Season 1 dominates (3/10)

  1. 1 S3E11 Middle Ground 9.6
  2. 2 S5E10 -30- 9.6
  3. 3 S4E13 Final Grades 9.5
  4. 4 S5E9 Late Editions 9.4
  5. 5 S3E12 Mission Accomplished 9.3
  6. 6 S4E12 That's Got His Own 9.3
  7. 7 S1E10 The Cost 9.2
  8. 8 S2E11 Bad Dreams 9.2
  9. 9 S1E12 Cleaning Up 9.1
  10. 10 S1E13 Sentencing 9.0

📉 Bottom 5 Episodes Season 2 dominates (2/5)

  1. 60 S2E1 Ebb Tide 7.7
  2. 59 S1E1 The Target 7.8
  3. 58 S3E1 Time After Time 7.9
  4. 57 S5E1 More with Less 8.0
  5. 56 S2E4 Hard Cases 8.0
60 Total Episodes
9.6 Highest Rating
7.7 Lowest Rating
1.9 Range