The Wire goes out with a suitably resonant bang in its final season, craftily maneuvering venturesome motifs and a colorful cast of characters to skillfully understated conclusion. Read critic reviews
The Wire (2008)
What to know
Where to watch
You might also like
River
Line of Duty
Weeds
Barry
Six Feet Under
Rate And Review
-
What did you think of this tv season? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
What did you think of this tv season? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
-
Fandango
-
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
-
Cinemark Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Regal Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Theater box office or somewhere else
Episodes
-
1. More With Less
Air date: Jan 6, 2008
Sgt. Carver faces discontent of unpaid officers; Mayor Carcetti struggles with keeping a campaign promise; Proposition Joe and others meet to discuss dividing drug frontiers across East Baltimore's county line.
-
2. Unconfirmed Reports
Air date: Jan 13, 2008
Marlo takes care of some unfinished business and strikes a business deal with Barksdale; Mayor Carcetti's chief of staff searches for good news; frustrated McNulty decides to take matters into his own hands.
-
3. Not for Attribution
Air date: Jan 20, 2008
The press learns of Carcetti's plan for the police department; Marlo turns to Proposition Joe for help with a problem; McNulty shares some inside information with Gutierrez.
-
4. Transitions
Air date: Jan 27, 2008
Campbell tries to facilitate the transitions in the police department; the newspaper scrambles to confirm surprising news from City Hall; Proposition Joe prepares to make himself scarce.
-
5. React Quotes
Air date: Feb 3, 2008
Marlo forges an alliance with a drug connect; the newspaper gives McNulty increasing attention; Elena confronts him about his behavior.
-
6. The Dickensian Aspect
Air date: Feb 10, 2008
Templeton makes headlines; Bunk follows up on old leads; McNulty takes an interest in the homeless.
-
7. Took
Air date: Feb 16, 2008
After an unexpected call, Templeton and the newspaper find themselves back in the spotlight; McNulty receives unwanted attention.
-
8. Clarifications
Air date: Feb 24, 2008
Bunk returns a favor; Carcetti must make political deals; Haynes approaches Templeton about his sources.
-
9. Late Editions
Air date: Mar 2, 2008
While Freamon's hard work pays off with a promising lead, McNulty is not in the mood to celebrate; Michael is suspicious about his latest assignment; Bubbles recounts a recent temptation.
-
10. - 30 -
Air date: Mar 9, 2008
Carcetti maps out a damage-control scenario; McNulty asks Landsman to pull police off the homeless case; Haynes' concerns about Templeton fall on deaf ears; Dukie seeks out an old mentor for a loan.
The Wire: Season 5 Photos
Tv Season Info
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews forThe Wire
Critic Reviews for The Wire: Season 5
Audience Reviews for The Wire: Season 5
-
I really hate it when show runners decide to completely change a character's story arc because - I guess - they don't have any better ideas. The rot started in season 4 - where for the most part nothing really happened and the central thread of having a wire tap was missing for most of the season - and one of Prez's students starts working corners at the end of run, in complete defiance of his arc up to that point. They carried on the same mistakes in season 5 but almost redeemed themselves with the angle of looking at the internal politics of the newspaper industry. This alone kept my attention for the whole series but was wasted on the serial killer storyline that just doesn't fit with the main run of the wire themes. Then at the end it just works out for everybody, but we have to have one character getting an unjust reward just to prove that life isn't fair. Terrible writing, stupid plot ideas, inconsistency throughout.
-
The show wasn't bad, but it just didn't live up to the hype for me as I just finished watching it recently. Good show but far from the greatest TV show I have ever seen.
-
I understand what they were trying to do with this season's plotline, but it was just so darn weird. Season 3 had a strained relationship with reality, similar to Season 5. The distinction is that S3 kept the actions of the characters grounded in reality. You could see why nobody reported Hamsterdam, it was just so crazy that it made sense. McNulty's plan in S5 was just crazy. I could *maybe* see a drunk McNulty trying to do what he did as realistic to his character, but the fact that everybody just went along with it does not make rational sense (mainly because the plan was such an abstract concept). Sacrificing realism for symbolism can work, but it was not a good choice for a show as gritty and realistic as The Wire. As a conclusion to the show, I liked it. They wrapped it up neatly, with everything more or less the same as at the beginning of the show. There were some happy endings, some ambivalent endings, and some sad endings. It would be easy to be disappointed by some of the outcomes—we wanted happier or more glamorous endings for some characters—but it wouldn't be fair to the show's message if those wishes were granted. At the end of the day, The Wire set out to comment on our bureaucratic and societal flaws, and it did that flawlessly.
-
Watched all seasons back-to-back. Absolutely one of the best written and acted shows ever.
-
Before getting any further in this review, I want to say that "The Wire" is most definitely a good show. That being said, my honest opinion is that it is not among the greatest things ever created. I feel like this show is admired because of how realistic it feels the whole way through. I think the seasons are consistent and a lot of the story arcs are interesting to watch. The thing is, there are a lot of scenes where people are just talking in rooms, and sometimes it's super engaging and other times it can be kind of boring. I think the attention to detail is phenomenal in the series, but I'd be lying if I said this show is perfect. There is so much going on that I found it hard to binge-watch, which while isn't essential for a show to be good, made it feel like work to watch at times. Overall, it is a quality drama series that showcases the harsh reality of various situations with authentic and real dialogue, it's just not the best show ever as some may like to say.
-
A medicocre final season to an otherwise fantastic show. The serial killer storyline is so dumb, more attention should have been paid to Omar's revenge storyline.
-
The Wire is probably my favourite show of all-time, or at least it's right up there with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. I thought the fifth season was the weakest season in the sense that I didn't really buy into McNulty imploding in as extreme fashion as he did, especially after season four. But it's a minor quibble, still really, really great TV.
-
The wire's last season ist a transgressive master piece delivering us the most realistic noir plot of television's history , while smartly destroys all expectations that we have from such genre. A triumph.
-
Everything about this season is bad.The acting,writing,cinematography and dialogue are all pretty bad and typically when a series ends it does out on a high note,well,this show did the opposite.Not that the show was great to begin with.
-
For the first time since the shows opening scene, the story line seems to spiral (not out of control) but out of something more compartmental and into widespread mayhem. The press, the media, the documenting body of Baltimore become heavily involved bringing more exceptional acting and astute dialogue into the mix. There is always method in the madness as The Wire so often demonstrates... as loose ends are tied and some left undone, the most complexly entertaining show of all time delivers a satisfying conclusion that cleverly leaves a simple two word thought lingering in the atmosphere... The Wire.
Verified