The Wire: A Cultural History

A critical and insightful exploration of arguably the greatest television show of the twenty-first century.

In the two decades since The Wire first aired, the show has only continued to grow in cultural relevance as America has seen domestic terrorism increase, race relations become ever tenser, political populism become increasingly sectarian, health inequalities worsen, incarceration rates for Black Americans skyrocket, and grassroots racial activism grow.

In The Wire: A Cultural History, Ben Lamb explores how the twenty-first century’s greatest television show changed international perceptions of American policing, drug laws, and race relations forever, and instigated our obsessive streaming of television series. Starting with David Simon’s life story and how he came to devise The Wire, Lamb takes readers through the casting process for the show’s iconic characters and uncovers the stories behind their real-life counterparts; journeys through a complete history of the American cop show to deduce which key programs The Wire emulates; traces the economic, social, and racial history of Baltimore from the port to the school system; and outlines how the show’s interest in newspapers predicted the rise of populism across world politics.

Filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes and critical insights, everyone from die-hard fans to casual viewers will learn something new about how The Wire has impacted university courses, the city of Baltimore itself, the Black Lives Matter movement, worldwide drug trafficking laws, and our modern television landscape. As America faces its biggest socio-economic crossroads in generations, this is a must read for television fans interested in how our favorite shows reflect our shifting cultures and politics.

Ben Lamb is the world’s leading expert on British television police series. He has contributed to knowledge in the fields of popular criminology and also applied criminological, sociological, and cultural theory to international crime drama both for academic study and for a general readership. Lamb is a corresponding editor for Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies and peer review manuscripts for Routledge, McFarlane, and Liverpool University Press. He is the author of You’re Nicked: Investigating British Television Police Series.