Man I don't know because I went from watching The Sopranos which felt like a timeless masterpiece of drama/comedy to The Wire which was barely a step above daytime TV.

You think about what acting powerhouses James Galdolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Braco, Michael Imperioli, Nancy Marchand, Frank Vincent, Dominic Chianese, Steve Buscemi, Joe Pantoliano, etc all are and then look at The Wire....

The only actors that stuck out to me in The Wire were Idris Elba(who unfortunately felt underwritten) and Michael Kenneth Williams. These were shows that came out at the same time and differ in acting and to a lesser extent writing capabilities a lot.