Some Serious Series: An "Old" One (The Wire) & A "New" One (Homeland)

creator: David Simon
emission: 2002-2008
director: Joe Chappelle, Ernest R. Dickerson, Clark Johnson, Ed Bianchi, Steve Shill,
Daniel Attias, Timothy Van Patten, Agnieszka Holland, Brad Anderson and others
writer: David Simon, Ed Burns and others
photography: Uta Briesewitz, Russell Lee Fine and others
music: Blake Leyh
editor: Kate Sanford, Thom Zimny and others
stars: Dominic West, John Doman, Deirdre Lovejoy
imdb

The Wire is usually recognized as one of the best series in recent (even all-time) television. The secret of its success? Hard to tell, but almost everybody points to its realistic approach. The thing is that, although the first episodes may seem a little slow (maybe not slow, but un-directioned), the plot grips you and doesn't let you go.

And obviously, another key point of The Wire's succes is the character depiction; we follow the "good" (McNulty and co) and the "bad" ones in their daily misadventures, each ones trying to making their best.

A lot more from The Wire, here.

The Wire is an american series. It can be described as the greatest american book about the life in an american city downtown in the present days. It is really difficult to imagine it located in another part of the world. And so may seem Homeland. But it isn't.

Homeland was inspired in an israeli series, about some prisoner soldiers that are freed after being held for several years. But it is true that the adaptation works like a clock.

creator: Gideon Raff
emission: 2011
director: Michael Cuesta, Clark Johnson, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
writer: Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff and others
photography: Nelson Cragg
music: Sean Callery
editor: Jordan Goldman, Joe Hobeck, Terry Kelley
stars: Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin
imdb

Homeland is a great series, absolutely gripping from the beginning, wonderfully keeping the spectator on the edge of knowledge about the true purpose of the rescued marine.

The writing is great and supported on Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin, that are all great on their roles. Even the characters are wonderfully developed, and not merely as puppets.

Whilst the series becomes a modellic thriller in twelve episodes, the only criticism may be the end of the first season, too open in my opinion, and excessively driven towards the second season.