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Breaking Down The WireIntroducing a new Slate TV Club.

By Bryan CurtisPosted Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006, at 6:04 PM ET

A few years ago, Slate turned shrinks and mob experts loose on The Sopranos, offering them a forum for day-after kibitzing. The time feels right to start our next TV Club. This time, our focus is The Wire, HBO's critically lauded drama about inner-city life, which recently began its fourth season (and just got renewed for a fifth). The show has been a favorite in the Slate offices for years for its nuanced portrayal of race conflict and political tensions—subjects that have rarely, if ever, been explored this bracingly on television.

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Starting Sept. 18, our team of Wire-ologists will gather here each Monday. They'll discuss new plot developments, for sure, but also analyze the show's depiction of the police, the drug trade, and inner-city education. One panelist will be Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here and The Other Side of the River. (If you're eager to join in but haven't seen earlier seasons, they are available on DVD.)

We hope you'll join us every Monday. And, in the meantime, read Jacob Weisberg's appreciation of The Wire here.