>barely a step above daytime TV.

Lol. Ok you just have no taste. No fixing you.

I also hate Tom Waits so I'm with you there.

I might also agree that none of the main characters match the actors you mentioned (though Idris Elba might come close), but the Wire isn't a vehicle for a single lead. It is a much, much better show than either Mad Men (which is just really boring and has no stakes) or Breaking Bad (which gets too stylized and has an absolutely awful final season). I've never seen the Sopranos, so I couldn't say.

I think you just like shows made for mushy-headed dumb dumbs with predictable action and traditionally structured plots. That's ok.

I'm one of those people that steers away from hype. If people tell me something is great, I go into it with a really critical eye, if I even engage with it at all.

For fifteen years people would tell me how great The Wire is. I finally watched it and I honestly think it was under hyped. It is bar far the best television show I've ever seen. Every single character is nuanced. Every motivation is understandable and every action has believable consequences. It occasionally veers into being preachy and heavy handed but when the messages are so visceral that can be forgiven.

It's a show with a million tiny moments that add up to produce a layered masterpiece. Do not shit on The Wire. The Wire shits on you.