Slightly more confusing is the situation with The Wire. The video below has been reportedly running on HBO for the past several weeks, suggesting that a HD repeat run of the series will begin this Thursday on HBO Signature. TV Guide and a few other listings magazines have backed this up, but the HBO schedule itself only has films and a re-run of Boardwalk Empire in that slot for the next few weeks.
The situation is also confused by the long-running debate over whether The Wire should be shown in widescreen. The series was certainly filmed in widescreen but it was an editorial decision that it should be shown in the old 4:3 standard TV aspect ratio, as it made the series look more like a documentary. Creator and showrunner David Simon has also been against the series being remastered, feeling that making it look too glossy would run against the ethos of the show. However, HBO would likely be the ones making the final decision and would feel that HD versions of the two most critically-acclaimed shows in its library (Deadwood and Rome already have Blu-Ray releases, whilst newer shows like Game of Thrones are released on Blu-Ray as a matter of course) would be huge sellers. HBO have also released widescreen standard-definition versions of the first two seasons through Amazon's instant streaming service, which have been well-received.
We'll probably find out what's up with The Wire soon, whilst the release of The Sopranos is definitely happening.
Update: According to American TV critic Alan Sepinwall, The Wire has indeed been remastered in HD and HBO are planning a marathon broadcast. However, it has been delayed to an as-yet undetermined date. So it's happening, but not just yet.
