[OpieCunningham]

> The Wire is not about police, nor about drug gangs. It’s about the city of Baltimore.

It definitely takes place in Baltimore, and is based upon experiences of David Simon while a newspaper reporter in Baltimore, but it definitely is about police and various types of crime (most often drug related). It is also about education, the news industry, and city government policies and bureaucracy. Having grown up in Philly I can assure you it could easily have been set in that location with no major changes to the story. In this respect, Baltimore is just a stand in for East Coast.

[hnick]

I read it was more about institutional dysfunction. It examines a different one (police, media, unions, schools, politics, etc) and we see how what the people want or do doesn't really matter a lot in the end - the system has a life of its own and keeps trucking on.

[pimeys]

Then moving to the next city series, Treme, and the same issues are there with New Orleans. Though the series puts much more focus on music and musicians, that somehow can be momentarily outside of this system just to get sucked in again.

The Deuce sees the system operating in New York from 70's to the late 80's. Similarities with The Wire and Treme are in that series too regarding institutions, but the focus is on porn and gentrification.