Why wasn't The Wire a big hit on HBO?

[<<TheStandard>>]

"Black people yadda yadda yadda"

All wrong.

People didnt watch The Wire the first few seasons because it took too long to pay off. It's format of slowly building up and presenting small pieces of a larger plot was still pretty new to television.

By Season 3 jumping in to the middle of something that was already building wasnt appealing to a lot of people. It was the resounding critical acclaim that forced people to give it another shot. OnDemand and the eventual DVD release helped too.

Read "The Revolution Was Televised" if you want to know more about The Wire and other TV shows that changed television as out parents once knew it. The idea of carrying a major plot across a season is still a fairly new one.

Read the book and have a half a brain unlike the rest of these "run to the race card for everything" simple idiots. Their argument quickly dies when you realize Season 2 was all white people and its universally criticized as the worst season (by black and white alike, season 5 up there too) and its ratings were still poor during its initial run.

The end.

It's a shame I can't neg your bytch ass.

I'm not one of these racist blacks on here that feels the need to play the race card & throw cac around indiscriminately but that's bullshyt. The show's creator who is white cites the race card as the reason the show didn't do well initially. Also The Sopranos 1st season was wayyyyyyyyyyy more slow than Season 1 of the wire.

 

[Spaceman Piff]

"Black people yadda yadda yadda"

All wrong.

People didnt watch The Wire the first few seasons because it took too long to pay off. It's format of slowly building up and presenting small pieces of a larger plot was still pretty new to television.

By Season 3 jumping in to the middle of something that was already building wasnt appealing to a lot of people. It was the resounding critical acclaim that forced people to give it another shot. OnDemand and the eventual DVD release helped too.

Read "The Revolution Was Televised" if you want to know more about The Wire and other TV shows that changed television as out parents once knew it. The idea of carrying a major plot across a season is still a fairly new one.

Read the book and have a half a brain unlike the rest of these "run to the race card for everything" simple idiots. Their argument quickly dies when you realize Season 2 was all white people and its universally criticized as the worst season (by black and white alike, season 5 up there too) and its ratings were still poor during its initial run.

The end.

you have a point with the format. the serialized plot makes it nearly impossible for someone to catch a random episode and understand what's really going on.. especially because there's not really a main character. and without netflix, dvrs, etc.. people couldn't hop on the bandwagon like they can do today.

the bolded doesn't make sense though.

season 2 is criticized as being the worst season by people who have seen all the seasons.. fans of the wire.

ts is asking about the people who never watched the show. why didn't they watch the show?

it's not hard to imagine older white folk watching the barksdale crew and just staring at the screen like

they were everything middle/upper class white america feared about blacks in a time when hip hop culture was really integrating itself into mainstream pop culture.

they lived in the ghetto.. they were gangsters, drug dealers, killers.. they talked funny.

but worst of all, they weren't the villains.

white people weren't ready.

 

[yseJ]

"Black people yadda yadda yadda"

All wrong.

People didnt watch The Wire the first few seasons because it took too long to pay off. It's format of slowly building up and presenting small pieces of a larger plot was still pretty new to television.

By Season 3 jumping in to the middle of something that was already building wasnt appealing to a lot of people. It was the resounding critical acclaim that forced people to give it another shot. OnDemand and the eventual DVD release helped too.

Read "The Revolution Was Televised" if you want to know more about The Wire and other TV shows that changed television as out parents once knew it. The idea of carrying a major plot across a season is still a fairly new one.

Read the book and have a half a brain unlike the rest of these "run to the race card for everything" simple idiots. Their argument quickly dies when you realize Season 2 was all white people and its universally criticized as the worst season (by black and white alike, season 5 up there too) and its ratings were still poor during its initial run.

The end.

 

[yseJ]

that post is 100% truth. todays add having people couldnt get into a show with so many characters and subplots they had to keep track on and watch every single episode to get the whole picture

kinda similar to breaking bad's first few seasons, but on a much much bigger scale. the wire's scope and scale make breaking bad seem like a local familys story (which it kinda is)

only when it started getting critically acclaimed did people hop on he bandwagon because its 'cool' and 'hip' to like a great ratings show. most people didnt want to watch a drama series on socioeconomic issue drug trade and drug addicts

wire the GOAT

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

I know most cats hated season 2 beacuse they felt somewhat betrayed, and I felt the same way to in the beginning....But once I calmed down and took the objective approach and just tried to enjoy it as great T.V., I actually ending up enjoying it.

The same reasons white folks didn't like the wire initially is the same reasons brothers try to hate on season 2

In hindsight, Season 2 is a top 3 season out of the entire 5....Real talk....

 

[jaguar paw]

They slickly tried to make the show about McNulty to draw the CACs in...

shyt they tried it in Season 2 to save the franchise.


But the show is about nikkas. And you know they can't let us have too much shine.


The show got its universal claim at the end of the day so it really doesn't matter. Just wish the Season 5 would of had a full season. And maybe a sixth Season like they were planning on doing.

 

[yseJ]

They slickly tried to make the show about McNulty to draw the CACs in...

shyt they tried it in Season 2 to save the franchise.


But the show is about nikkas. And you know they can't let us have too much shine.


The show got its universal claim at the end of the day so it really doesn't matter. Just wish the Season 5 would of had a full season. And maybe a sixth Season like they were planning on doing.

the show was never about mcnulty and never meant to be about mcnulty

 

[jaguar paw]

the show was never about mcnulty and never meant to be about mcnulty

McNulty was the center of the show from beginning to the end. He was the lead.

The story was about the city of Baltimore.

 

[yseJ]

McNulty was the center of the show from beginning to the end. He was the lead.

The story was about the city of Baltimore.

the show was about the city of baltimore. mcnulty was one of the many main characters.

 

[FlyRy]

There were alot of ppl watching the wire...i'm pretty sure that show avg'd about 6 million viewers. The Nielsen way is so fukking outdated and flawed

There has to be a way to actually tell who's watching what with today's technology. I think that's why alot of black shows get cancelled, or don't get any shine.

not that high ratings breh

 

[Monoblock]

I knew I recognized Pornstache from Orange Is The New Black from somewhere. He was Zigg's homeboy from season 2. Oh yea and the ratings were never high. I know I said that I dont like Season 2 but I appreciate it for what it did at the time. The Wire was on the verge of being cancelled which is why I think David Simon went the way he did with Season 2 and the docks. They had to draw in a certain demographic to merit Season 3 being picked up b/c after Season 1 it was looking real shaky. I still hate how they did Deadwood...the cocksuckers.

 

[Deluuxe]

"Black people yadda yadda yadda"

All wrong.

People didnt watch The Wire the first few seasons because it took too long to pay off. It's format of slowly building up and presenting small pieces of a larger plot was still pretty new to television.

By Season 3 jumping in to the middle of something that was already building wasnt appealing to a lot of people. It was the resounding critical acclaim that forced people to give it another shot. OnDemand and the eventual DVD release helped too.

Read "The Revolution Was Televised" if you want to know more about The Wire and other TV shows that changed television as out parents once knew it. The idea of carrying a major plot across a season is still a fairly new one.

Read the book and have a half a brain unlike the rest of these "run to the race card for everything" simple idiots. Their argument quickly dies when you realize Season 2 was all white people and its universally criticized as the worst season (by black and white alike, season 5 up there too) and its ratings were still poor during its initial run.

The end.

Isn't that slowly build up the plot that strategies that soap operas use? It is not new to TV.

BTW, black folks wouldn't look at everything as racially if racial incidents weren't constantly happening do to a SYSTEM in place, so dont "black people yadda yadda" nothing spunk mouth. People are simply used to a system, that DOES constantly put them in a certain place. Check yourself, sperm mouth.

 

[jaguar paw]

the show was about the city of baltimore. mcnulty was one of the many main characters.

Bruh that's your opinion. The creator of The Wire stated in the DVD series commentary that McNulty was the main chracter.

 

[Ari Gold Bawse]

the show was about the city of baltimore. mcnulty was one of the many main characters.

yeah but if anyone was the main character in the show then it was definitely mcnulty.

 

[Real]

not that high ratings breh

You're not getting what i'm saying. I'm basically saying is that the Nielsen method is bullshyt.