Shows like or similiar to The Wire?

Tom_Cruise · 06-05-2013 12:25am #1

I loved every second of The Wire. I haven't watched it now in a while but i basically became addicted and watched it about 10+ times in total.

Ive watched The Corner, which i thought was pretty good, also YouTube has some great documentaries on American gang life - Louis Theroux does an excellent one on Philadelphia that's well worth watching.

Can anyone recommend a series/documentary or anything else that helps with the post Wire depression?

ToadVine · 06-05-2013 12:29am

There are a few threads like this already. I think I even started one myself a while ago :-S

Tom_Cruise · 06-05-2013 12:30am

ToadVine wrote: »

There are a few threads like this already. I think I even started one myself a while ago :-S

I didnt even know, silly me. Ill try get it deleted thanks for informing me.

ToadVine · 06-05-2013 12:47am

No need to get it deleted dude. Leave it here and let's see what people recommend.

I'm watching Searching for Sugar Man now... not like the wire but I'd highly recommend it

mikemac1 · 06-05-2013 12:56am

Homicide: Life on the Street

Raw & gritty. Certainly not a flashy production.
Same writers & producers as The Wire.

I loved it!!
Near the end there is a high turnover of staff and I didn't finish the last season.

Not disimilar to The Wire.
Druggie gets murdered, nobody gives a damn. :rolleyes:
Tourist gets murdered beside the baseball stadium. Police chief and the media go crazy :eek:

Lots of bosses chasing statistics and easy promotions and the hard working staff got screwed over!

Some incredible episodes, the best

being a man who is pushed in a subway station and is trapped under the train. As soon as they move him he will die as the train is holding him together. He was severed in two!

Detective Pembleton was an amazing character. Nobody was written as a central character but the actor was so good he took it over

Brotherhood was about two brothers in Maine, one a politician and the other was a gang boss. Above average.

I also recommend Accused which is a British show.
Not a police drama but it's to do with crime.
At the start you see the accused being led into court, then the show is about how they got there and the end you get the verdict.
Some terrible crimes but actually you can feel sorry for some of the convicts.
Two series, widely available in all the usual places

Nonoperational · 06-05-2013 1:01am

I watched The Shield and Brotherhood after the Wire.

mikemac1 · 06-05-2013 1:08am

The producers of the Wire also did Borgia.

Not to mixed up with The Borgias which has Jeremy Irons.

It's about the Pope a few hundred years ago. Scheming, backstabbing and some disturbing executions which I wish I hadn't seen!
Chief Rawls becomes the Pope.

I think it's far superior to The Borgias.
A bit mad that two series came out the same time about the same subject

Dandelion6 · 06-05-2013 8:50am

mikemac1 wrote: »

Homicide: Life on the Street

Some incredible episodes, the best
being a man who is pushed in a subway station and is trapped under the train. As soon as they move him he will die as the train is holding him together. He was severed in two!

Played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Stunning episode.

PropJoe10 · 07-05-2013 6:54pm

There's nothing exactly like The Wire that I've seen, it has a depth to it thats not matched by any other TV shows. Something that people might not know is that the guy who plays the church man in The Wire is Little Melvin Williams, one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Baltimore, and a man responsible for importing more heroin into the city than anyone else in the 70's and 80's. There's an interesting American Gangster documentary on him. Well worth checking out.

Tom_Cruise · 07-05-2013 9:00pm

PropJoe10 wrote: »

There's nothing exactly like The Wire that I've seen, it has a depth to it thats not matched by any other TV shows. Something that people might not know is that the guy who plays the church man in The Wire is Little Melvin Williams, one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Baltimore, and a man responsible for importing more heroin into the city than anyone else in the 70's and 80's. There's an interesting American Gangster documentary on him. Well worth checking out.

Thanks i think ill have a look at it ,i read about him a while back. I always wondered why more of the cast never went on to bigger and better things. Ive seen a few of them pop up in many different shows buts its mostly short parts they play with the exception of one or two.

PropJoe10 · 07-05-2013 10:32pm

Tom_Cruise wrote: »

Thanks i think ill have a look at it ,i read about him a while back. I always wondered why more of the cast never went on to bigger and better things. Ive seen a few of them pop up in many different shows buts its mostly short parts they play with the exception of one or two.

Its odd alright. If you ever saw the HBO show Oz, there's an awful lots of actors in that who ended up on The Wire. But most of the actors in The Wire are character actors or lesser-known actors, there's no real big name other than maybe Idris Elba, he's done a lot in the last few years. And Aidan Gillan of course as well.

AndyAbstract · 14-05-2013 7:30pm

Treme is like the wire same writers, same with Generation Kill to some extent, Friday night lights is like a small town version of the Wire except with with teenagers instead of drug dealers

newsunglasses · 14-05-2013 7:32pm

The shield is supposed to be good.

I was glued to the wire when it was aired on TG4,but i havent seen episodes recently.

I have a few box sets at home,and seen some sold in xtra vision,maybe you could have a look or on ebay!

Dr. Bre · 14-05-2013 7:32pm

Anything on netflix similar to the wire?

PropJoe10 · 14-05-2013 7:44pm

Dr. Bre wrote: »

Anything on netflix similar to the wire?

Not that I've seen, I've found that any other cop show (not that the Wire is really a cop show) that I've checked out are fairly thin and uninteresting compared to it. The Shield is pretty good, watched the first season and quite enjoyed it. Not sure if thats on Netflix, mind.

AndyAbstract · 14-05-2013 7:47pm

Ya the wire is much more than a cop show, that's the thing

PropJoe10 · 14-05-2013 8:29pm

Aye. If anyone asks me what its about, i say its a show about the workings of the city of Baltimore. You'd be doing it an injustice if you called it a cop show.

Tom_Cruise · 14-05-2013 9:59pm

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Aye. If anyone asks me what its about, i say its a show about the workings of the city of Baltimore. You'd be doing it an injustice if you called it a cop show.

Thats exactly what i say. The describe it as a cop show just throws it into a category with zillions of other cop shows.

same ol sh1te · 31-03-2014 6:02pm

Can someone suggest me a show, I usually like to have a crime show I'm following so I can watch while the missis is watching reality bullsh1t. I've seen all the usuals, Wire, Sopranos, Shield, Brotherhood, Oz, Underbelly, SOA, Southland, Ray Donovan, True Detective. I'm currently watching Terriers (not that great), only have a few episodes left then I'm all out. Help!!!

Alfred Borden · 31-03-2014 6:06pm

same ol sh1te wrote: »

Can someone suggest me a show, I usually like to have a crime show I'm following so I can watch while the missis is watching reality bullsh1t. I've seen all the usuals, Wire, Sopranos, Shield, Brotherhood, Oz, Underbelly, SOA, Southland, Ray Donovan, True Detective. I'm currently watching Terriers (not that great), only have a few episodes left then I'm all out. Help!!!

Boardwalk Empire is very good. You might enjoy Luther as well, only three short seasons. If you wanted something different House of Cards is a must watch.

same ol sh1te · 31-03-2014 6:10pm

Raf32 wrote: »

Boardwalk Empire is very good. You might enjoy Luther as well, only three short seasons. If you wanted something different House of Cards is a must watch.

Thanks, I'm up to date with Boardwalk Empire, have also seen Luther. House of Cards I watched 2 episodes and didn't really get into it, may revisit

PropJoe10 · 31-03-2014 6:29pm

The Fall is a pretty good show. 5 episodes, very creepy but I found it interesting. 24 is another quality show. 8 seasons of goodness to get stuck into!

same ol sh1te · 31-03-2014 6:34pm

PropJoe10 wrote: »

The Fall is a pretty good show. 5 episodes, very creepy but I found it interesting. 24 is another quality show. 8 seasons of goodness to get stuck into!

I'm up to date with the Fall, it's one the missis likes too. I've seen the first 2 seasons of 24 and gave up on it then, must continue, good suggestion, Thanks

PropJoe10 · 31-03-2014 11:01pm

same ol sh1te wrote: »

I'm up to date with the Fall, it's one the missis likes too. I've seen the first 2 seasons of 24 and gave up on it then, must continue, good suggestion, Thanks

Seasons 3 and 5 of 24 are my favourites so lots of good stuff ahead of you. Enjoy!

.ak · 01-04-2014 5:09pm

Just on the topic, True Detective is very similar to the Wire in the sense of the level of detail they go to in regards to the enforcement element. The in-house lingo they use in the police station is very much influenced by what David Simon transcribed in his book. If you're a fan of that gritty realism then True Detective is one for you. It's right up there with the Wire for me.

suffering golfer · 01-04-2014 5:16pm

Southland is excellent, highly recommend.

same ol sh1te · 01-04-2014 5:22pm

Have seen both True Detective and Southland, both are quality

Shows like or similiar to The Wire?

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