It is daunting at first, if for no other reason than the shear number of characters. It probably takes 3 episodes just to understand who is who, despite the amazing acting.

There is no show that I have seen before or after The Wire that puts such a lens to American culture in the inner city. It is a masterpiece of story telling. The writing and acting are just spot on and the story... it's brilliant.

FWIW, I restarted it last week after falling off years ago before finishing the first season. It was my problem, not the show's: I wasn't paying attention, my attention span was awful. This time, I'm paying attention and have trouble not watching three or more episodes per night. What a riveting show!

Funny - the first time I tried it didn’t catch. Felt ‘meh’ after 1.5 episodes. Then went back and tried again and have watched the entire run twice and consider myself a big fan.

The re-release has upped the quality. I’m not American and struggled with the accents for a few episodes, but it’s absolutely the best show I’ve ever watched.

The first season is slow but it really picks up.