I can’t stand cop shows anymore after seeing The Wire. I couldn’t stand them before, but especially when a show came along that actually depicted how law enforcement works.

It’s a show that spans a five-year period and there’s really only one case, the Greek. Everything connects back to him, from the original Barksdale murders, to the shipping container murders, then eventually Marlo. The show displays the hundreds of hours of investigation, trials, witnesses, and sheer bureaucracy that goes into a case. All while not shying away from police brutality and corruption.

So what the fuck even are these cop shows post-Wire? They’re still showing cops solving multiple homicides each week with 100% accuracy. “Heh, I don’t play by the rules! I work alone!” trash is still the main types of characters, despite that kind of behavior being a good way to get cases thrown out (cops planting evidence may be why Luigi walks, even if he did do it).

I know the obvious answer is “Police procedurals are easy to write and produce, while doing double-duty as propaganda to justify how fucking garbage are system is.” But you’d think they’d switch it up to something else like anti-terrorism spy slop.