> If you're not naturally interested in Baltimore's police and drug gang subcultures, you may find the first season a bit slow and much of the dialogue full of seemingly unnecessary detail. I would recommend sticking with it through at least the beginning of the second season, which is mainly about longshoremen and unions, before passing judgment.

I usually recommend people make it through season 2 before deciding they're in it for the long haul (bearing in mind that 2 seasons is already quite a haul, especially for such a dense show). It's my experience that people get turned off by the jump from the expected gangsters-and-cops to the more "boring" Longshore men storyline (though like many, I appreciated season 2 a lot more in retrospect).