# List of The Wire episodes

The Wire is an American television drama series created by David Simon that premiered on HBO in the United States on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008. 60 episodes aired over the show's five seasons, plus three additional prequel shorts. Each episode has a running time of 55–60 minutes (except for the series finale, which has a running time of 93 minutes).
The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland; each season of the series expands its focus on a different part of the city. The show features a large ensemble cast; many characters are only featured prominently in a single season. A group of characters, mainly in the Baltimore Police Department, appear in every season.
The show is available on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4.

## Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | June 2, 2002 (2002-06-02) | September 8, 2002 (2002-09-08) |
| 2 | 12 | 12 | June 1, 2003 (2003-06-01) | August 24, 2003 (2003-08-24) |
| 3 | 12 | 12 | September 19, 2004 (2004-09-19) | December 19, 2004 (2004-12-19) |
| 4 | 13 | 13 | September 10, 2006 (2006-09-10) | December 10, 2006 (2006-12-10) |
| 5 | 10 | 10 | January 6, 2008 (2008-01-06) | March 9, 2008 (2008-03-09) |

## Episodes
### Season 1 (2002)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "The Target" | Clark Johnson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 2, 2002 (2002-06-02) | 3.70 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Detail" | Clark Johnson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 9, 2002 (2002-06-09) | 2.80 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Buys" | Peter Medak | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 16, 2002 (2002-06-16) | N/A |
| 4 | 4 | "Old Cases" | Clement Virgo | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 23, 2002 (2002-06-23) | 2.91 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Pager" | Clark Johnson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30) | 2.97 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Wire" | Ed Bianchi | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | July 7, 2002 (2002-07-07) | 2.98 |
| 7 | 7 | "One Arrest" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Rafael Alvarez | July 21, 2002 (2002-07-21) | 4.12 |
| 8 | 8 | "Lessons" | Gloria Muzio | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | July 28, 2002 (2002-07-28) | 3.31 |
| 9 | 9 | "Game Day" | Milčo Mančevski | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David H. Melnick & Shamit Choksey | August 4, 2002 (2002-08-04) | 3.42 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Cost" | Brad Anderson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | August 11, 2002 (2002-08-11) | 4.15 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Hunt" | Steve Shill | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Joy Lusco | August 18, 2002 (2002-08-18) | 3.43 |
| 12 | 12 | "Cleaning Up" | Clement Virgo | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | September 1, 2002 (2002-09-01) | 3.66 |
| 13 | 13 | "Sentencing" | Tim Van Patten | David Simon & Ed Burns | September 8, 2002 (2002-09-08) | 3.77 |

### Season 2 (2003)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 14 | 1 | "Ebb Tide" | Ed Bianchi | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 1, 2003 (2003-06-01) | 4.43 |
| 15 | 2 | "Collateral Damage" | Ed Bianchi | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 8, 2003 (2003-06-08) | 3.50 |
| 16 | 3 | "Hot Shots" | Elodie Keene | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | June 15, 2003 (2003-06-15) | 2.64 |
| 17 | 4 | "Hard Cases" | Elodie Keene | Story by : David Simon & Joy Lusco Teleplay by : Joy Lusco | June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22) | 4.33 |
| 18 | 5 | "Undertow" | Steve Shill | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | June 29, 2003 (2003-06-29) | 3.62 |
| 19 | 6 | "All Prologue" | Steve Shill | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | July 6, 2003 (2003-07-06) | 4.11 |
| 20 | 7 | "Backwash" | Thomas J. Wright | Story by : David Simon & Rafael Alvarez Teleplay by : Rafael Alvarez | July 13, 2003 (2003-07-13) | N/A |
| 21 | 8 | "Duck and Cover" | Dan Attias | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | July 27, 2003 (2003-07-27) | 3.64 |
| 22 | 9 | "Stray Rounds" | Tim Van Patten | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | August 3, 2003 (2003-08-03) | 3.04 |
| 23 | 10 | "Storm Warnings" | Rob Bailey | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | August 10, 2003 (2003-08-10) | 3.51 |
| 24 | 11 | "Bad Dreams" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | August 17, 2003 (2003-08-17) | 3.70 |
| 25 | 12 | "Port in a Storm" | Robert F. Colesberry | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | August 24, 2003 (2003-08-24) | 4.48 |

### Season 3 (2004)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 26 | 1 | "Time After Time" | Ed Bianchi | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | September 19, 2004 (2004-09-19) | 1.83 |
| 27 | 2 | "All Due Respect" | Steve Shill | Story by : David Simon & Richard Price Teleplay by : Richard Price | September 26, 2004 (2004-09-26) | N/A |
| 28 | 3 | "Dead Soldiers" | Rob Bailey | Story by : David Simon & Dennis Lehane Teleplay by : Dennis Lehane | October 3, 2004 (2004-10-03) | 1.54 |
| 29 | 4 | "Hamsterdam" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | October 10, 2004 (2004-10-10) | 1.45 |
| 30 | 5 | "Straight and True" | Dan Attias | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | October 17, 2004 (2004-10-17) | 1.34 |
| 31 | 6 | "Homecoming" | Leslie Libman | Story by : David Simon & Rafael Alvarez Teleplay by : Rafael Alvarez | October 31, 2004 (2004-10-31) | 1.42 |
| 32 | 7 | "Back Burners" | Tim Van Patten | Story by : David Simon & Joy Lusco Teleplay by : Joy Lusco | November 7, 2004 (2004-11-07) | N/A |
| 33 | 8 | "Moral Midgetry" | Agnieszka Holland | Story by : David Simon & Richard Price Teleplay by : Richard Price | November 14, 2004 (2004-11-14) | 1.47 |
| 34 | 9 | "Slapstick" | Alex Zakrzewski | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : David Simon | November 21, 2004 (2004-11-21) | N/A |
| 35 | 10 | "Reformation" | Christine Moore | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | November 28, 2004 (2004-11-28) | 1.67 |
| 36 | 11 | "Middle Ground" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | December 12, 2004 (2004-12-12) | 2.04 |
| 37 | 12 | "Mission Accomplished" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | December 19, 2004 (2004-12-19) | 2.04 |

### Season 4 (2006)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 38 | 1 | "Boys of Summer" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | September 10, 2006 (2006-09-10) |
| 39 | 2 | "Soft Eyes" | Christine Moore | Story by : Ed Burns & David Mills Teleplay by : David Mills | September 17, 2006 (2006-09-17) |
| 40 | 3 | "Home Rooms" | Seith Mann | Story by : Ed Burns & Richard Price Teleplay by : Richard Price | September 24, 2006 (2006-09-24) |
| 41 | 4 | "Refugees" | Jim McKay | Story by : Ed Burns & Dennis Lehane Teleplay by : Dennis Lehane | October 1, 2006 (2006-10-01) |
| 42 | 5 | "Alliances" | David Platt | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | October 8, 2006 (2006-10-08) |
| 43 | 6 | "Margin of Error" | Dan Attias | Story by : Ed Burns & Eric Overmyer Teleplay by : Eric Overmyer | October 15, 2006 (2006-10-15) |
| 44 | 7 | "Unto Others" | Anthony Hemingway | Story by : Ed Burns & William F. Zorzi Teleplay by : William F. Zorzi | October 29, 2006 (2006-10-29) |
| 45 | 8 | "Corner Boys" | Agnieszka Holland | Story by : Ed Burns & Richard Price Teleplay by : Richard Price | November 5, 2006 (2006-11-05) |
| 46 | 9 | "Know Your Place" | Alex Zakrzewski | Story by : Ed Burns & Kia Corthron Teleplay by : Kia Corthron | November 12, 2006 (2006-11-12) |
| 47 | 10 | "Misgivings" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : Ed Burns & Eric Overmyer Teleplay by : Eric Overmyer | November 19, 2006 (2006-11-19) |
| 48 | 11 | "A New Day" | Brad Anderson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | November 26, 2006 (2006-11-26) |
| 49 | 12 | "That's Got His Own" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : Ed Burns & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | December 3, 2006 (2006-12-03) |
| 50 | 13 | "Final Grades" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | December 10, 2006 (2006-12-10) |

### Season 5 (2008)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 51 | 1 | "More with Less" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | January 6, 2008 (2008-01-06) | 1.23 |
| 52 | 2 | "Unconfirmed Reports" | Ernest Dickerson | Story by : David Simon & William F. Zorzi Teleplay by : William F. Zorzi | January 13, 2008 (2008-01-13) | 1.19 |
| 53 | 3 | "Not for Attribution" | Scott Kecken & Joy Kecken | Story by : David Simon & Chris Collins Teleplay by : Chris Collins | January 20, 2008 (2008-01-20) | 0.85 |
| 54 | 4 | "Transitions" | Dan Attias | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | January 27, 2008 (2008-01-27) | 1.28 |
| 55 | 5 | "React Quotes" | Agnieszka Holland | Story by : David Simon & David Mills Teleplay by : David Mills | February 3, 2008 (2008-02-03) | 0.53 |
| 56 | 6 | "The Dickensian Aspect" | Seith Mann | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : Ed Burns | February 10, 2008 (2008-02-10) | 0.74 |
| 57 | 7 | "Took" | Dominic West | Story by : David Simon & Richard Price Teleplay by : Richard Price | February 17, 2008 (2008-02-17) | 0.57 |
| 58 | 8 | "Clarifications" | Anthony Hemingway | Story by : David Simon & Dennis Lehane Teleplay by : Dennis Lehane | February 24, 2008 (2008-02-24) | N/A |
| 59 | 9 | "Late Editions" | Joe Chappelle | Story by : David Simon & George Pelecanos Teleplay by : George Pelecanos | March 2, 2008 (2008-03-02) | 0.71 |
| 60 | 10 | "-30-" | Clark Johnson | Story by : David Simon & Ed Burns Teleplay by : David Simon | March 9, 2008 (2008-03-09) | 1.10 |

### Prequel shorts

Three short film vignettes set prior to the series events were filmed during the fifth season's production. They were made available via HBO On Demand during broadcast of the final season, and included as extras on the complete series DVD box set.
* "When Bunk Met McNulty"
* "Young Omar"
* "Young Prop Joe"