The Wire: animated version of opening titles is perfectly executed

A fan has paid homage to HBO's classic in the most brilliant way

(Vimeo)

The Wire has long been revered by many as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – TV dramas of all time.

Thankfully, animator Elliot Lim is one such person.

Paying homage to the HBO series, Lim has designed and animated his own version of the opening titles using The Blind Boys of Alabama's version of theme song "Way Down in the Hole" used for the show's first season.

The Wire was created by David Simon and ran for five seasons from 2002 to 2008. The series provided a gritty look at the Baltimore drug scene through the eyes of dealers and law enforcement. Each season focused on a different institution within the city.

The video, which you can see below, features characters that made the series so popular, including Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) and Michael Kenneth Williams' fan favourite Omar Little (fit with iconic shotgun).

The animation quite artfully ties together the show's themes, at one point seeing someone doing a line that at the same time looks like a Baltimore street.

Last year, David Simon returned to television with HBO Miniseries Show Me a Hero, which starred Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor Oscar Isaac as a Yonkers mayor.