‘The Wire’ Is The Best Show Of All Time Because It Makes You A Better Person

My obsession with “The Wire” has run to the point of serious addiction — I literally cannot go a day without either mentioning “The Wire,” and a significant, powerful quote from the show usually stays in my head for days. But there’s absolutely no shame in that — after all, David Simon’s magnum opus is a masterpiece, God’s gift to the Earth, and without a doubt the greatest TV show of all time. In fact, I’m proud to repeat those words to any ear, no matter how unreceptive they are to the unwarranted raving about the show.

However much I may personally enjoy it, I’m not sure how compelling it is for people to hear a fanatic like myself just rave about “The Wire.” Here, I will make my most personal, level-headed, and reasonable argument for why you should watch “The Wire,” and why it is the best form of art to ever grace Television.

As the ardent fan I am, I regularly check posts in the Facebook group for “The Wire,” and throughout the month of April, one of the members of the group started a bracket-style tournament where people in the group voted on their favorite characters. Eventually, the poll came down to two characters who happen to be my favorite on the show: Omar Little and Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins.

The member who started the tournament, Martin, released some personal stuff going on in his life. He had recently lost a job at a company he’d been with for 19 years. Not wishing to be beaten, however, he found another job within weeks and was soon to be taking a test to be a taxi driver. And in telling the group this, he shared a quote that captured what made “The Wire” such a great show for him.

“Great art should make you a better person, and damn it if ‘The Wire’ didn’t do just that.”

In thinking about this, I realize that that reason, for me too, is why I’ve elevated “The Wire” above every other TV show I’ve ever watched, why I revere it so. And this is something that is so hard to capture in words.

I can say this assuredly: “The Wire” taught me empathy. “The Wire” taught me compassion. I know that sounds generic, but let me show you what I mean.

The character that best taught these two valuable traits to me was Bubbles. When I read the…