


Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

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The peak run. Top 40% of seasons by average rating — consecutive, with an average of 8.17.
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All 60 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
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13 episodes • 2002Avg: 8.1
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Target | Jun 2, 2002 | 7.4 |
| 2 | The Detail | Jun 9, 2002 | 7.9 |
| 3 | The Buys | Jun 16, 2002 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Old Cases | Jun 23, 2002 | 7.7 |
| 5 | The Pager | Jun 30, 2002 | 7.8 |
| 6 | The Wire | Jul 7, 2002 | 8.1 |
| 7 | One Arrest | Jul 21, 2002 | 8.3 |
| 8 | Lessons | Jul 28, 2002 | 7.9 |
| 9 | Game Day | Aug 4, 2002 | 8.4 |
| 10 | The Cost | Aug 11, 2002 | 8.3 |
| 11 | The Hunt | Aug 18, 2002 | 8.6 |
| 12 | Cleaning Up | Sep 1, 2002 | 8.3 |
| 13 | Sentencing | Sep 8, 2002 | 8.7 |

12 episodes • 2003Avg: 7.9
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ebb Tide | Jun 1, 2003 | 7.8 |
| 2 | Collateral Damage | Jun 8, 2003 | 7.9 |
| 3 | Hot Shots | Jun 15, 2003 | 7.9 |
| 4 | Hard Cases | Jun 22, 2003 | 7.6 |
| 5 | Undertow | Jun 29, 2003 | 7.8 |
| 6 | All Prologue | Jul 6, 2003 | 7.8 |
| 7 | Backwash | Jul 13, 2003 | 7.3 |
| 8 | Duck and Cover | Jul 27, 2003 | 7.6 |
| 9 | Stray Rounds | Aug 3, 2003 | 7.8 |
| 10 | Storm Warnings | Aug 10, 2003 | 8.3 |
| 11 | Bad Dreams | Aug 17, 2003 | 8.6 |
| 12 | Port in a Storm | Aug 24, 2003 | 8.5 |

12 episodes • 2004Avg: 8.2Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Time After Time | Sep 19, 2004 | 7.9 |
| 2 | All Due Respect | Sep 26, 2004 | 8.1 |
| 3 | Dead Soldiers | Oct 3, 2004 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Amsterdam | Oct 10, 2004 | 8.0 |
| 5 | Straight and True | Oct 17, 2004 | 7.9 |
| 6 | Homecoming | Oct 31, 2004 | 8.3 |
| 7 | Back Burners | Nov 7, 2004 | 8.2 |
| 8 | Moral Midgetry | Nov 14, 2004 | 8.5 |
| 9 | Slapstick | Nov 21, 2004 | 7.9 |
| 10 | Reformation | Nov 28, 2004 | 8.3 |
| 11 | Middle Ground | Dec 12, 2004 | 9.0 |
| 12 | Mission Accomplished | Dec 19, 2004 | 8.2 |

13 episodes • 2006Avg: 8.1
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boys of Summer | Sep 10, 2006 | 7.8 |
| 2 | Soft Eyes | Sep 17, 2006 | 8.2 |
| 3 | Home Rooms | Sep 24, 2006 | 8.2 |
| 4 | Refugees | Oct 1, 2006 | 7.9 |
| 5 | Alliances | Oct 8, 2006 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Margin of Error | Oct 15, 2006 | 8.1 |
| 7 | Unto Others | Oct 29, 2006 | 7.9 |
| 8 | Corner Boys | Nov 5, 2006 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Know Your Place | Nov 12, 2006 | 7.8 |
| 10 | Misgivings | Nov 19, 2006 | 8.1 |
| 11 | A New Day | Nov 26, 2006 | 8.3 |
| 12 | That's Got His Own | Dec 3, 2006 | 8.3 |
| 13 | Final Grades | Dec 10, 2006 | 8.9 |

10 episodes • 2008Avg: 8.2
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | More with Less | Jan 6, 2008 | 7.8 |
| 2 | Unconfirmed Reports | Jan 13, 2008 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Not for Attribution | Jan 20, 2008 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Transitions | Jan 27, 2008 | 8.4 |
| 5 | React Quotes | Feb 3, 2008 | 8.2 |
| 6 | The Dickensian Aspect | Feb 10, 2008 | 8.0 |
| 7 | Took | Feb 17, 2008 | 7.9 |
| 8 | Clarifications | Feb 24, 2008 | 8.3 |
| 9 | Late Editions | Mar 2, 2008 | 8.5 |
| 10 | -30- | Mar 9, 2008 | 8.6 |