The Wire’s Shocking Fake Serial Killer: A Love It or Hate It Storyline!
However, in its final season, the series strayed from its initial gritty realism to an implausible narrative which seemed more fitting for standard police dramas that The Wire had previously distinguished itself from. In a bid to secure additional funding for the homicide division, Jimmy McNulty manipulated certain crime scenes to suggest a serial killer was murdering homeless individuals throughout Baltimore. Although this plotline marked a significant shift in tone, I remain fond of it. It introduced compelling character dilemmas and foreshadowed the emergence of “fake news.