The Emmys announced that they would be adding a new major award for the first time since 2007 with its Legacy Award. That means shows on the 2025 or 2026 TV schedule won’t be in the running for this new Emmy, but the sky’s the limit, within certain parameters (we’ll get into that), for older shows. There is a clear choice I have for the first recipient: HBO’s The Wire.
This Seems Like An Obvious Choice
Okay, so I’ll admit right out of the box that I doubt I’m alone here in picking The Wire to be the first Legacy Emmy winner. Not only do I believe it to be the best show that never won an Emmy, I think The Wire is the best show, ever, even better than Breaking Bad. I know I’m not the only TV fan to believe this, either. In fact, this award almost seems like it was created expressly for The Wire to win its long-deserved Emmy.
So much so that the The Television Academy’s president and CEO Maury McIntyre talked about it in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter recently:
Are we trying to correct The Wire? Is that what you’re asking? That was not necessarily the intent, but it obviously is something that we see as an opportunity.
Murray maintained that The Wire isn’t the exact reason for the creation of the award, but then admitted:
We can certainly use this sometimes as an opportunity to rectify a wrong if we feel a show didn’t get the Emmy love that it should have. That wasn’t necessarily the impetus, but it’s a happy byproduct.
A happy byproduct, indeed, but it does seem like the Academy was aiming right for The Wire.
The Wire Fits The Academy’s Criteria To A T
To be sure, there are a lot of amazing shows that have never won an Emmy, but The Wire stands out among all of them. The fact that the show, which you can watch, or rewatch, with an HBO Max subscription, was only nominated for two Emmys over its five-season run is even more absurd. Thankfully, it seems as inevitable as Omar coming for a stash house. It definitely qualifies.
The Television Academy set out what makes a show eligible for this new Emmy. First, the show must be “groundbreaking” and “engage audiences and feature iconic and timeless characters with multigenerational appeal.” The Wire certainly qualifies on both counts. There are also a couple of rules that fit perfectly, and I mean perfectly.
An eligible show must have at least 60 episodes. The Wire aired exactly 60 episodes. The show must have been on for a minimum of five seasons. Again, The Wire had exactly five seasons. It seems the Academy almost certainly had The Wire in mind here, right?
To be sure, other shows are also deserving of this award, but for the first one, I trust the Academy will do the right thing and award it to The Wire.
