HBO puts on 'Wire' for final season

One episode into its fourth season, HBO's gritty cop drama "The Wire" has been picked up for a fifth and final season. The pay cable network's decision was triggered by very strong reviews for the current season of the show, set in the drug-saturated streets of West Baltimore. "I had no question in my mind about the quality of the show, but you never know," HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss said of the uniform critical praise. "The show is extraordinary and breathtaking." The number of episodes for Season 5, which will focus on the role of the mass media, is yet to be determined. After depicting for four seasons "that part of urban America that has been left behind by the economy and by the greater society," the show's final chapter will ask why, "Wire" creator-executive producer David Simon said. "What is it that we see and sense about these problems? How do we actually see ourselves?" he asked.