The system is broke, literally, in Baltimore. The court dockets are full in Manhattan. Bad news for the big cities, but great news for viewers, as a new year brings fresh seasons of two landmark series about urban crime, law and disorder.

In its fifth and final season, HBO's brilliant and bleak The Wire may have saved the best for last. Portraying the worst of times for Baltimore's civic institutions (including the local Baltimore Sun newspaper), this 10-episode arc is audaciously plotted, deeply and darkly ironic, stating its theme early on as a weary homicide detective declares, "The bigger the lie, the more they believe."

Many lies and risky hoaxes are perpetrated by The Wire's flawed heroes: the underfunded police unable to clear cases and the journalists at an understaffed paper trying to keep tabs on a city in fiscal distress and moral decay. Political corruption is as common as street wars between drug dealers. "It's Baltimore. No one lives forever," quips the compromised mayor, who could be describing his embattled career.

The twists the complex story takes are too delicious to spoil, but be assured that, as always with The Wire, a little patience is richly rewarded. Longtime fans will glimpse characters from past seasons, a reminder that life, however tough, goes on. Though unsparingly honest, The Wire clearly loves this town and its characters — including, this season, a wry city editor (Clark Johnson of Homicide: Life on the Street), who's the smartest guy in the newsroom, which naturally is why almost no one listens to him.

With The Wire about to end, it's a comfort to welcome back Law & Order from a fall hiatus, launching its 18th season with significant and satisfying personnel changes. I've drifted from the show recently, but the Jan. 2 doubleheader has almost convinced me to get back in the habit.

Jeremy Sisto brings a solid, no-nonsense gravity to new detective Cyrus Lupo, brought onto the beat with an assisted-suicide case that hits close to home. (This episode ends with a courtroom twist that may be a first in the show's nearly 400-episode history.) More notable this season, because of Sam Waterston's longevity, is Jack McCoy's promotion to top DA, making way for Linus Roache as enjoyably scrappy and impulsive new prosecutor Michael Cutter, who ruffles Jack's composure: "What do you do for fun, Mike, juggle chain saws with my neck on the line?"

The Wire is a show of its time, but Law & Order may just be timeless. It's great to have them back.

The Wire premieres Sunday, Jan. 6, at 9 pm/ET on HBO.

Law & Order premieres Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 9 pm/ET on NBC.