HBO's "The Wire," is often described in superlatives: The greatest television crime drama. The greatest television drama. The greatest television show.

How about: The greatest way to teach criminal law and procedure.

Social science professors began building courses around the show as early as 2009, a year after the last of its 60 episodes aired. Duke University, Middlebury College, University of California-Berkeley, Harvard University and Boston University have sewn the "The Wire" into their curricula.

It makes sense, given the show's revealing portrayal of "the roots of the social conditions in America's inner cities," as one Harvard professor put it.

More recently, law professors have fastened to the show. Adam M. Gershowitz, a professor at William & Mary Law School has created a text book and course around "The Wire."