One of television's most critically acclaimed programs, the Peabody Award-winning drama series 'The Wire' continues to challenge viewers with a "cop show" unlike anything on air.

The first season of 'The Wire' explores the often-futile efforts of police to infiltrate a West Baltimore drug ring headed by Avon Barksdale and his lieutenant, Stringer Bell.

In Seasons Two and Three, as the Barksdale investigation escalates, new storylines involving pressures on the working class and the city's political leadership are introduced.

Season Four focuses on the stories of several young boys in the public school system, struggling with problems at home and the lure of the corner - set against the rise of a new drug empire in West Baltimore and a new Mayor in City Hall.

In the fifth and final season, while continuing its powerful portrayals of crime, law enforcement and politics in West Baltimore, the series expands its focus with an examination of the media and the ever-increasing distance between perception and reality.