Season 1
🎬 13 Episodes 📅 2002 ⏱ 94 min
In Baltimore's unforgiving streets, two sides of the same coin collide in a brutal dance of survival and corruption. The Wire strips away the veneer of the war on drugs to reveal the human cost on every level—from corner boys to detectives trapped in a system designed to devour them. Neither side holds the moral high ground; both are prisoners to an machinery that demands bodies and results. What emerges is a portrait of a city where the pursuit of justice becomes indistinguishable from the pursuit of power.
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📊 Season Stats
13
Episodes
2002
Year
94
min / ep
20.4
Watch Hours
1/5
Season No.
⭐ 8.7
Best Episode
Ep. 13 · Sentencing
🎬 Season Trailer
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🎬 Episodes 13 episodes
1
⭐ 7.4
The Target
"... when it's not your turn." - McNulty.
Baltimore homicide detective Jimmy McNulty gets into hot water and winds up assigned to a detail of narcotics outcasts charged with investigating drug lord Avon Barksdale and his powerful operation in Franklin Terrace. Meanwhile, Avon's nephew D'Angelo is f…
🎬 Clark Johnson ✍️ David Simon
2
⭐ 7.9
The Detail
"You cannot lose if you do not play." - Marla Daniels.
McNulty feels the heat when a witness who testified against D'Angelo is found murdered. Meanwhile, Greggs is given the lay of the land regarding Avon Barksdale's key players, and Herc, Carver and Prez find big-time trouble at the towers.
🎬 Clark Johnson ✍️ David Simon
3
⭐ 7.7
The Buys
"The king stay the king." - D'Angelo.
The early-morning 'field interviews' by Herc, Carver and Prez result in a minor riot, a boy losing an eye and some bad publicity for the department. On the other side of the law, D'Angelo teaches Wallace and Bodie how to play the game (chess) and later impres…
🎬 Peter Medak ✍️ David Simon
4
⭐ 7.7
Old Cases
"It's a thin line 'tween heaven and here." - Bubbles.
Greggs and McNulty try to get Hardcase to turn informant as arraignment begins for those caught in the raid. Barksdale places a bounty on the head of rival gang leader Omar. Meanwhile, McNulty takes Bubbles on a cultural field trip, and Herc a…
🎬 Clement Virgo ✍️ David Simon
5
⭐ 7.8
The Pager
"..a little slow, a little late." - Avon Barksdale.
McNulty's detail finally gets 'clone' pagers to track Barksdale and his gang, but nobody can crack the codes used by the callers. Meanwhile, Bell instructs D'Angelo on how to school his lookouts while simultaneously flushing out a possible snitc…
🎬 Clark Johnson ✍️ Ed Burns
6
⭐ 8.1
The Wire
"..and all the pieces matter." - Freamon.
When Rawls looks to make a premature arrest for three murders that are linked to D'Angelo and Avon Barksdale, McNulty and Greggs must argue for a delay in order to preserve the valuable wiretap gains they have made. Meanwhile, Wallace and D'Angelo struggle…
🎬 Ed Bianchi ✍️ David Simon
7
⭐ 8.3
One Arrest
"A man must have a code." - Bunk.
Tipped off by the wire, Greggs, Herc, Carver and Freamon make a bust, but the incident makes Avon and Stringer suspicious, leading them to close shop in the Pit. Meanwhile, Bunk and McNulty look for another witness in the Gant slaying and hunt a suspect known as …
🎬 Joe Chappelle ✍️ Rafael Alvarez
8
⭐ 7.9
Lessons
"Come at the king, you best not miss." - Omar.
An unlikely source gives McNulty the tag of a car driven by Stringer Bell. Meanwhile, Greggs and Carver bust a congressional aide carrying dirty cash, but are forced to let him go. Omar earns his 'loose cannon' moniker.
🎬 Gloria Muzio ✍️ David Simon
9
⭐ 8.4
Game Day
"Maybe we won." - Herc.
Barksdale plays an expensive game of one-upmanship with an east-side rival. Meanwhile, Herc and Carver take some cash off of Wee-Bey's hands, and Omar resurfaces with a bang.
🎬 Milcho Manchevski ✍️ David H. Melnick
10
⭐ 8.3
The Cost
"And then he dropped the bracelets..." - Greggs.
With Wallace in custody, McNulty and Daniels try to figure out what to do with him in the months before he testifies. Sydnor and Carver track down one of Barksdale's stash houses, and Prez shows off his 'gift for the paper trail.' McNulty's estrang…
🎬 Brad Anderson ✍️ David Simon
11
⭐ 8.6
The Hunt
"Dope on the damn table." - Daniels.
The police turn up the heat on tracking down Savino, Wee-Bey and Little Man. Burrell orders Daniels to hit drug dealers for results that will impress the press. Barksdale sees his ranks thinning after the hit on Orlando. Bubbles tries to stay sober while scopi…
🎬 Steve Shill ✍️ Joy Kecken
12
⭐ 8.3
Cleaning Up
"This is me, yo, right here." - Wallace.
The low-rise pay phones are out of service, so McNulty and Daniels try to keep pace by tapping Barksdale's office. Bodie gets new responsibilities from Stringer; Freamon gives Shardene a 'new look'; and D'Angelo goes to NYC on an errand for his uncle. With…
🎬 Clement Virgo ✍️ George Pelecanos
13
⭐ 8.7
Sentencing
"all in the game..." - Traditional West Baltimore.
Every crew has weak links--including Avon Barksdale's. With the heat turned up in the high-rises, Daniels and McNulty turn to a higher authority in an effort to crack the case wide open. Season finale.
🎬 Tim Van Patten ✍️ Ed Burns