The Best TV Shows That Never Won A Single Emmy – Looper

“The Wire” is frequently hailed as the best cop show and one of the best overall shows of all time. This HBO series stands out brilliantly from the pack by taking a more nuanced and humanistic approach to the subjects of street-level crime and addiction, showcasing police, drug dealers, and everyone caught in the crossfire in equal measure. Rather than tackling a new case every episode as was the norm for cop shows of the time, “The Wire” instead focused on season-long investigations. Each season expanded the scope of the series to explore more and more of its Baltimore setting, introducing elements like local government and journalism as the show went on.

Though the level of quality of the show was through the roof, “The Wire” often didn’t get the respect it deserved until years after it went off the air. The series was in constant danger of getting the ax before it was allowed to reach its conclusion, with creator David Simon telling Entertainment Weekly, “‘The Wire‘ was canceled after Season 3, and ‘The Wire’ was nearly canceled again — I had to grovel and beg and plead — after Season 4.” When it came time for the Emmys, “The Wire” was largely overlooked. The show was twice nominated in the writing category for a Season 3 episode and for the series finale, but it was never nominated in any other category and, of course, never won.