HBO's critically-acclaimed drama The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002; a harrowing look the perils of urban decay created by former Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon and retired Baltimore homicide detective Ed Burns. The Wire is revered as one of the best episodic television shows in history and one of HBO's best original series. The New York Times says that The Wire as a drama that contained "Indelible pieces of a crime show with a higher purpose: to provide a damning indictment of the war on drugs, and broader dissection of institutional collapse expanding in scope over five seasons to explore the decline of working-class opportunity and the public education system, among other American civic pillars."

The show featured strong performances from character actors like Michael K. Williams, Wood Harris and Aiden Gillen. And though it was famously under-recognized during its original run, The Wire would nonetheless launch the careers of future Hollywood stars like Idris Elba and Michael B. Jordan, en route to becoming one of the most revered television series of all time.

Burns and Simon recently collaborated on a miniseries for HBO titled We Own This City with fellow Wire alumni George Pelecanos, which is based on the Baltimore Police Departments corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. During an interview with The New York Times in recognition of the show's 20th anniversary, Burns was asked if The Wire could be pitched and greenlit today.

"Definitely not," he replied. "HBO didn't understand The Wire until the fourth season; in fact, they were thinking about cancelling it after three. We caught that moment where the networks were thinking 'Oh, we need a show for this group of people.' Today, it's got to be Game of Thrones. It's got to be big and disconnected from stepping on anyone's toes."