15 shows that define prestige TV

12. The Wire

Three years after cementing itself as a purveyor of prestige TV, HBO struck critical gold again with The Wire, David Simon’s magnum opus about Baltimore drug dealers and law enforcement’s efforts to deal with them. It may not have reached the commercial success of many of the shows on this list, but it is widely considered to be one of (if not the) greatest shows of all time.

The show was a proving ground for two future movie stars and some actors who would go on to do other interesting projects, including Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, Michael K. Williams (who went on to star in Boardwalk Empire and The Night of), Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger on Game of Thrones), Wendell Pierce (of Treme and Suits fame), Seth Gilliam (Gabriel on The Walking Dead) and many more.

Michael K. Williams’ character Omar Little in particular was notable for being a rare gay black man on an early 2000s series. He also is responsible for uttering one of the most badass television quotes from the last 20 years of U.S. television: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Unfortunately for the dude who came at Omar, he missed.

The Wire was also notable for its ability to come up with new pieces of Baltimore’s infrastructure to take on during its five season run. Introducing storylines involving the city’s education system and the Baltimore Sun four and five seasons in was a bold move, yet it clearly paid dividends for the show’s place in prestige TV history.

Conversations about the best shows of all time pretty much only include five shows at this point: Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and The Wire. Give HBO credit for producing three of those, including Simon’s masterpiece.