10 Greatest TV Series Finales Of All Time
8. The Wire
Seasons 1-4 of The Wire are oft-regarded as all time great writing by any entertainment medium's standard. Season 5 has a trickier reputation. The print journalism plot was criticised for lacking the subtly and nuance the show had garnered acclaim for. 12 years later, its themes of fake news and media in decline have never been more prescient. Titled '-30-' (a journalists' term for the end of a story), the finale meditates on themes of capital and its dominance in all areas of society.
True to life, there is no definitive ending to the societal games the show has depicted. Life will go on and a new generation of addicts, criminals, lawyers, law enforcers and everything else in the series will come to be. No scene better sums this up than the redemption of fan favourite Bubbles. Just as Bubbles finally cleans up and moves on from his addictions, we see Duquan stumbling head-on into the same mistakes.
We're reminded that while the cast are saying farewell, the themes and fears of the series will live on in an unending cycle. A suitably open-ended, uncompromising conclusion to one of TV's darkest, most human shows.