• Air date: 19 Sep '04 12 episodes
      The third season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 19, 2004, concluded on December 19, 2004, and contained 12 episodes. It introduces Baltimore's local politicians and the upstart drug dealing Stanfield organization while continuing to examine the Barksdale Organization and the Baltimore Police Department. The third season aired Sundays at 9:00 pm in the United States. The season was released on DVD as a five disc boxed set under the title of The Wire: The Complete Third Season on August 8, 2006 by HBO video.
  • List of Episodes (12)
    • 1. Time After Time

      19 Sep '04
      "Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same." -- Bodie A wave of urban reform brings down the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers, forcing the Barksdale drug crew to find a new home on the streets of West Baltimore. Stringer Bell sets up shop using a new sales strategy for Bodie, Poot, Puddin and the rest of the gang, as he awaits the return of Avon from prison. McNulty, Greggs and the detail look to make a case against Stringer with a wiretap on a drug
    • 2. All Due Respect

      26 Sep '04
      "There's never been a paper bag." -- Colvin Omar continues his bold strikes on Barksdale stash houses, now heavily guarded. Under orders from Stringer Bell, Bodie faces a critical test against Marlo, a fierce young dealer with lucrative corners near the now-toppled Franklin Terrace towers. As the wire on East Baltimore's Proposition Joe continues to yield little, a restless McNulty launches his own reinvestigation of last year's prison suicide of D'Angelo Barksdale. Greggs is also restless at w
    • 3. Dead Soldiers

      03 Oct '04
      "The gods will not save you." -- Burrell Colvin feels the sting of Burrell and Rawls during a Comstat assessment of his district's felony numbers; a blown wiretap forces Daniels' detail to turn to a new target; Proposition Joe cautions Stringer Bell that the police have been tapping phones, as revealed by Cheese's failed bust. Carcetti continues to curry favor in Mayor Royce's inner circle with a scheme for jump-starting a police academy class for Burrell. Omar and crew get more than they barga
    • 4. Hamsterdam

      10 Oct '04
      "Why you got to go and fuck with the program?" -- Fruit West Baltimore residents get some surprising straight talk at a community meeting from Major Colvin. Bubbles finds gainful employment; Stringer lunches uptown; and Bunk dangles the promise of immunity to a group of corner boys, in exchange for a little help; Greggs learns how Marlo takes care of business, as Bubbles instructs her on the next big thing: disposable cell phones. Carcetti reveals his political ambitions and tries to enlist the
    • 5. Straight and True

      17 Oct '04
      "I had such fuckin' hopes for us." -- McNulty Frustrated in his grass-roots reform efforts, Colvin arms himself with intelligence from Daniels' detail and personally delivers a message to the next level of corner management. McNulty sees Stringer Bell's legitimate business dealings as a sign that he is now unreachable as a drug target. Bubbles shakes the tree for Johnny one more time; Carcetti quietly seeks to fix the program for protecting state's witnesses after another one is killed; Omar st
    • 6. Homecoming

      31 Oct '04
      "Just a gangster, I suppose." -- Avon Barksdale Stringer Bell gets an education in construction management; Bunk uses shoe-leather to catch up with Omar and deliver a searing message; a frustrated Colvin unleashes the troops on the corner boys ignoring his new edict; Avon sends Cutty and Slim Charles against Marlo; Bubbles refocuses the picture for Greggs; Donette receives Brianna's blessing of her hookup with Stringer and lets slip that McNulty visited about Dee. Daniels keeps up the front of
    • 7. Back Burners

      07 Nov '04
      "Conscience do cost." -- Butchie Herc discovers a blast from his past which he later reveals to his colleagues. Daniels becomes enraged when he finds out that why his detail was reassigned. Stringer Bell finds out from old girlfriend Donette that Brianna might contact McNulty about details into her son D'Angelo's death. Greggs and Cheryl are forced to confront their relationship. Colvin is forced to explain Amsterdam to members of Daniel's detail after an incident occurs in the area. Freamon fi
    • 8. Moral Midgetry

      14 Nov '04
      "Crawl, walk, and then run." -- Clay Davis With Amsterdam running full tilt, Carver and Truck discover there really is no honor among thieves. Prez impresses the detail with what he's found out from Bodie's cell phone, information that sends McNulty and Greggs on a road trip. Colvin sees the benefits of his plan working, but has overlooked the human toll, until the Deacon points out the deficiencies. Stringer Bell fumes over the cost of being a developer, as state Senator Clay Davis attempts to
    • 9. Slapstick

      21 Nov '04
      "...while you're waiting for moments that never come." -- Freamon Responding to a call for an officer's call for help, McNulty and Prez turn up the wrong alley, with unanticipated results. Under orders, a Barksdale crew violates the long-standing, but unspoken, Sunday truce with gunplay, increasing discontent among the New Day Co-op members. Stymied by the bureaucracy in his effort to open a gym, Cutty is surprised to find help from within Baltimore's power structure. Omar decides to go it alon
    • 10. Reformation

      28 Nov '04
      "Call it a crisis of leadership." -- Proposition Joe Brother Mouzone returns to Baltimore on a mission of revenge and casts a wide net in his search for Omar, who has his own plan for vengeance. Colvin manages, for now, to put off a Sun reporter inquiring about Amsterdam, while Burrell delivers news to City Hall, and the reaction is surprisingly mixed. Carver learns how much he doesn't know about good policing, while Pearlman and Daniels plead their case for a new kind of wiretap to Judge Danie
    • 11. Middle Ground

      12 Dec '04
      "We don't need to dream no more." -- Stringer Bell The wire begins to yield information about the Barksdale organization, though finding links to the top proves elusive. Stringer and Avon reminisce on how far they've come, with each harboring plans for the future. Tipped by Burrell, Carcetti sees Amsterdam for himself and weighs the benefits against the political reality--an assessment that mirrors Mayor Royce's own struggle with his advisers. Cutty hits upon an unusual benefactor for his boxin
    • 12. Mission Accomplished

      19 Dec '04
      "...we fight on the lie." -- Slim Charles A reticent Avon readies his troops for a seemingly endless war against Marlo. Meanwhile, as the detail works towards the top rungs of the Barksdale organization, McNulty reassesses his pursuit of Stringer Bell and the path he's chosen for himself. While Royce continues to grapple with Amsterdam, Burrell offers a deal to minimize the fallout, even as Colvin's idea becomes public knowledge. Carcetti's ambition becomes obvious to his friend and fellow coun