Please Help 'The Wire' Get The Attention It Deserves!

The "best show on television" has just concluded what is probably its "best season ever" (The New York Times). Season 4 focussed on public school education and reform, in different arenas. The four boys pictured above are Duquan, Randy, Michael, and Namond from the very beginning of the season. They are all in the same 8th grade class, even though Duquan should actually be in the 9th grade and Randy is small enough that simply by changing his uniform shirt he can easily be mistaken for a 5th, 6th or 7th grade student.

By the end of the season, two of the four are firmly entrenched in the drug trade, with one of them being trained as an apprentice hit man. The other two are either in foster care or in a group home. The Wire uses the children as an indicator of how The System in "Bawmore" chews up and spits out EVERYONE. Period. There's a lot more I could say about the show (the political intrigue, the internal police workplace dynamics, intimate race relations, excellent portrayal of LGBT characters and realistic representation of inner-city urban life) but I need to continue packing for my big trip!

It is incredibly compelling and heart-wrenching televised entertainment. Some movie reviewers are including this television show on their Top 10 lists for 2006. Both television critics at Entertainment Weekly ranked The Wire as the #1 show on television, ahead of 24, which this Fall won the 2006 Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic Telvision Series.

As Bernie of bejata.com notes, The Wire was inexplicably shut out of end-of-year award nominations from the Golden Globes. I support his call to action ("The Wire: Was Anyone Paying Attention?") to get HBO to be more proactive in working to see that in 2007 The Wire receives more awards recognition.

Viewers can start by telling HBO to commit their marketing efforts towards promoting The Wire for both the SAG nominations (even at this late date) and the Emmys, nine months from now.

Write to:
Chris Albrecht
Chairman and CEO
HBO
1100 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-6712
Phone 212.512.1000

Carolyn Strauss
President, HBO Entertainment
HBO
1100 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-6712
Phone 212.512.1000

Whether writing to network executives or news editors, express the need to reward excellence and how The Wire embodies the highest standards of television in its writing, acting and producing.

Tell them how television is full of too much formulaic programming and how lower broadcast network viewership is directly related to that. Remind them that The Wire is simply the best drama on television, anywhere, and it deserves to be given awards befitting a show of such consistent quality

While I'm in India for the next 18 days I encourage all MadProfessah readers to write or call HBO to encourage them to support The Wire. You can also still view episodes from last season on HBO on Demand. Happily, we already know the show is coming back for a fifth (and probably final) season in 2008, but that's not the point. Entertainment with primarily African American casts appear to be less likely to be recognized by the entertainment industry and that should change. Now.