The Daily Beast: "Best Drama Race: Will Mad Men Make History?"

The race for the Emmy Awards’ top drama prize is fierce (hello, Downton!).

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Best Drama Race: Will Mad Men Make History?" in which I assess the field to see whether Mad Men will make history with a fifth win.

Can Mad Men could do the impossible on Sunday and win a fifth Emmy Award for Best Drama? After walking away with the statuette four years in a row, all eyes are on AMC’s Emmy darling, which could make history with a five-time win.

Currently, Mad Men shares the record for most Best Drama wins with such notable programs as Hill Street Blues, The West Wing, and L.A. Law, all of which were crowned victors four times. But a win at Sunday’s 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards would make Mad Men the undisputed drama record-holder, no small feat for a show that is about to go into its sixth season—reportedly the show’s penultimate—and whose loyal viewers are considerably dwarfed by HBO’s and Showtime’s entries.

Mad Men’s fifth season found Don Draper (Jon Hamm) rediscovering himself as a newlywed after his surprising proposal to his secretary, Megan (Jessica Paré); Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) facing his mortality; Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) selling herself to become a partner; Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) leaving the firm; and poor Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) taking his own life in the office. Often polarizing, Season 5 of Mad Men was a challenging and gut-wrenching season of transformation for its characters, and a lyrical and haunting experience for many viewers.

It’s Mad Men’s toughest road to the Emmys podium. This year’s competition is fierce; so fierce, it seems, that there isn’t a single broadcast network drama competing for the top prize. (Stalwart CBS drama The Good Wife is the most obvious omission.) Instead, Mad Men’s competitors come almost entirely from cable, with AMC sibling Breaking Bad, HBO’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, and Showtime’s Homeland all represented.

And then there’s Downton Abbey, the British costume drama that transformed itself into a phenomenon this year. The Julian Fellowes–created show—which depicts the lives of the wealthy Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—airs on PBS’s venerable Masterpiece, the 41-year-old anthology series that has suddenly become a mainstream success story thanks to its wise and prescient investment in Downton.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Fall TV Preview: Where We Left Off"

Can’t remember how Revenge, Homeland, The Good Wife, or Dexter ended? Refresh your collective memory about the cliffhangers for 27 returning shows—and previews of what’s to come.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Fall TV Preview: Where We Left Off," in which Maria Elena Fernandez and I refresh your memory about how 27 shows--from Revenge and Homeland to The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire--ended last season... and offer a glimpse about what's to come.

Carrie remembered stuff! Leslie was elected! Sheldon took Amy’s hand! Gloria is pregnant! Nucky whacked Jimmy! Victoria Grayson’s plane blew up! Dexter…oh, Dexter!

The fall TV season is officially here, which means we can all breathe a sigh of relief and pull ourselves up from the cliff-hanging precipice. Sure, there’s a bunch of new TV shows across the dial champing at the bit for your attention. But we want to focus on your returning old favorites.

What’s next on Scandal—will we find out who Quinn is? Will Emily track down her mother on Revenge? How will Captain Cragen deal with that dead hooker in his bed on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? And just what will the gang at Greendale get up to on Community without Dan Harmon at the helm?

To refresh your memory after the long, hot summer, The Daily Beast has a guide to the good and bad times of last season and a peek into what’s coming next this fall.

Parenthood (NBC; Tuesdays at 10 p.m.; returns Sept. 11)

Where We Left Off: You’ll be forgiven for not remembering, since Parenthood wrapped its season way back in February. Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant) finally tied the knot; Adam (Peter Krause) and Crosby decided to keep the Luncheonette open; Mark (Jason Ritter) proposed to Sarah (Lauren Graham), even though the two were at odds about whether they wanted to have children. Elsewhere, after the heartbreak of not getting the baby they meant to adopt, Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel (Sam Jaeger) instead adopted a five-year-old Latino boy, Victor (Xolo Mariduena).

Where We Pick Up: The entire Braverman clan prepares for the departure of Haddie (Sarah Ramos), who is heading off to Cornell. Sarah and Mark are happily engaged, and Sarah stumbles onto a job working for a curmudgeonly photographer (Ray Romano). Amber (Mae Whitman) is now working with her uncles at the Luncheonette, while Drew (Miles Heizer), now a high school senior, is ecstatic about the return of Amy (Skyler Day) from camp, but the course of (young) love never did run smooth. Kristina (Monica Potter) and Adam consider getting a dog for Max (Max Burkholder), while one of the Bravermans faces a—SPOILER ALERT—potential medical crisis. Prepare to cry. A lot.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Most Memorable TV Deaths of 2011"

Looking back, 2011 proved to be a particularly deadly one for television characters, whose bodies were stacking up even before the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which rather notoriously raises the body count each season.

From Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones to Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire, TV-show creators this year proved that they were only too willing to kill off beloved characters or shock their respective audiences with deaths involving characters long believed to be “safe,” whether those were little girls, Halloween trick-or-treaters, or heroes.

Safety, it seems, is an outmoded idea. Head over to The Daily Beast to read my and Maria Elena Fernandez's latest feature, "Most Memorable TV Deaths of 2011," in which we examine our choices for the most memorable TV demises this year, rounding up an unlucky 13 who left their fictional lives too soon. But beware: if you’re not up to date on the 12 shows discussed below, you’ll want to avoid reading any further, as there are SPOILERS.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Homeland, Justified, Downton Abbey and More: The Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011"

At The Daily Beast, it's finally time for my Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011 list: with 10 shows up for recognition as the best (including Justified, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Community, Parks and Recreation, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, and more) and five for worst of 2011. (Plus, you can also compare my Best/Worst picks to my colleague Maria Elena Fernandez's.)

Head over to The Daily Beast to read my latest feature, "Homeland, Justified, Downton Abbey and More: The Best and Worst TV Shows of 2011," which--as the title indicates--rounds up the best and worst television that 2011 had to offer. Warning: the story may contain spoilers if you are not entirely caught up on the shows discussed here.

What is your take on our lists? Did your favorite/least favorite shows make the cut? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

The Daily Beast: "TV Breaks the Incest Taboo"

HBO's Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Bored to Death and other TV shows have recently featured incest storylines or themes.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "TV Breaks the Incest Taboo," in which I examine this troubling trend in scripted programming.

In 1990, Twin Peaks gave the world a nightmare vision into the seediness beneath the placid veneer of small-town America. But while one of the many puzzles embedded within Twin Peaks’ narrative was the identity of the murderer of teen queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the true secret lurking at the heart of the mystery was the incest and abuse suffered by Laura at the hands of her father, Leland (Ray Wise) and the psychic damage this secret caused his wife, Sarah (Grace Zabriskie). It’s a reveal so horrific, so destructive, that the creators represented it in terms of the supernatural, having Leland possessed by a demonic entity in order to explain the cruelty and lack of humanity that such a crime would require.

“The act at the black heart of the murder colored the entire narrative,” Twin Peaks’ co-creator Mark Frost told The Daily Beast this week. “Incest is a primal, eternal taboo in civilized culture, and some of the greatest tragedies ever written proceed from it, or lead to it.”

In the 20-plus years since Twin Peaks first premiered, television’s approach to incest had changed little, with few shows daring to break that taboo. But, particularly in the last year, scripted television shows have reversed their disinclination to deal with incest. Premium cable is allowing creators to push boundaries with storylines that weren’t previously permissible. And with incest at the forefront of the national conversation—as classical-music troupe The 5 Browns come clean about the incest they suffered at the hands of their manager father—it is providing grist for the story engines of some of television’s most daring and controversial shows.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Jack Huston: Boardwalk Empire's Scene-Stealer"

HBO’s Boardwalk Empire revolves around mob feuds, illegal bootlegging, and the corruption and venality that accompanied Prohibition. But beneath the surface, the show is about grasping at the American dream. That quest for happiness has never been more vivid—nor more painfully realized—than in Boardwalk Empire’s Richard Harrow, a Great War sniper who now kills for profit, wearing a tin half-mask.

Jack Huston, the grandson of legendary director John Huston (and nephew to Anjelica and Danny Huston), is stealing nearly every scene of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, where he plays disfigured sniper turned hitman Richard Harrow.

At The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Boardwalk Empire's Scene-Stealer," in which I talk to Huston about this week’s episode, wearing the mask, and whether Richard still has a soul.

The Daily Beast: "The Fall TV Season Begins!"

Time to head back to the couch, America. The fall TV season is here and all of your favorite shows—from The Walking Dead and The Good Wife to Dexter and Boardwalk Empire—and a slew of new ones are soon heading to a TV set near you. Will you find Ringer to be the second coming of Sarah Michelle Gellar… or is it the second coming of Silk Stalkings? Time will tell, but at least your TV favorites are back with brand new seasons, and lots of plot twists.

To refresh your memory after the long summer, over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "The Fall TV Season Begins!," in which Maria Elena Fernandez and I round up a guide to the good and bad times of last season--or in this case, 23 cliffhangers--and offer a peek into what’s coming next this fall.

The Daily Beast: "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win"

The race for the Emmy Awards’ top drama prize isn’t as cut and dried as it looks.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "The Real Race for Best Drama: Why Mad Men May Not Win," in which I examine the cutthroat competition this year for best drama, and why Mad Men may not win the top spot at next weekend's awards ceremony. (Though it probably will.)

What's your take on the drama race this year? Will Mad Men four-peat? Will The Good Wife claim the top pick? Will HBO's Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire walk away with the statuette? Or will Friday Night Lights pull off the impossible and finally get some recognition for its outstanding fifth and final season? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Year in TV: The 10 Best (and 5 Worst) TV Shows of 2010

It's that time of year when we bid farewell to the last twelve months and start looking toward the future, but it's also a chance to reflect, to catalogue, and to reminisce as well.

My selections for the Ten Best (and, cough, five worst) TV shows of 2010 have now gone live over at The Daily Beast.

The series selected represent the very best that television had to offer the past twelve months and include such shows as Mad Men, Community, Terriers, Parks and Recreation, The Good Wife, Fringe, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, and Modern Family.

It wasn't easy to whittle down the competition to just ten shows as, despite the overall drain in creativity this calendar year, there were quite a lot of fantastic series. (In fact, one of the very best of the year didn't even air on American television at all: Season Three of BBC One's Ashes to Ashes--including its breathtaking and gut-wrenching series finale--would have made this list if it had been open to overseas programming that hadn't aired within the US during 2010. Additionally, Downton Abbey would have made the list but it's set to air in January on PBS, so will be held until the 2011 list.)

As for other runners-up, that category would include (but wouldn't be limited to) such series as Damages, Party Down, Nurse Jackie, Sherlock, Bored to Death, Better Off Ted, Doctor Who, True Blood, Treme, Big Love, Archer, The Choir, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The IT Crowd, The Life and Times of Tim, Luther, and 30 Rock (for the current season, at least).

But now that the list is (finally) live, I'm curious to hear what you had to say:

What's your take on the best of 2010? Do you agree with my picks for the best of the year and the worst? Head to the comments section to discuss, debate, and analyze, as well as share your own best-of list for 2010.

The Vanishing Act: Crimes and Misdemeanors on Boardwalk Empire

"You're so wicked." - Robert

The sins of the past were on everyone's mind this week as tensions came to a head in every corner of the Emerald City: the tenuous relationship between Nucky and Margaret seemed to shatter like her looking glass; the uneasy past between Gillian and the Commodore was dragged out into the light; and Angela made a difficult decision, only to have her choice explode in her face.

And then there was that baptism scene...

This week's penultimate episode of Boardwalk Empire ("Paris Green"), written by Howard Korder and directed by Allen Coulter, gave us several displays of sleight-of-hand, intricate magic tricks designed to distract, to incapacitate, or simply to kill outright, an extravagant and riveting installment that pulled back the curtains to reveal the true face of Oz himself.

Atlantic City exists because of the power structure that the Commodore built and Nucky Thomson finessed in his inimitable style. But the walls are closing in on Nucky from every direction. Even his mentor has seemingly turned against him, while Margaret reveals that she is not willing to stop asking probing questions about Nucky's work and Eli has become too much of a loose cannon. (Or is it the other way around?)

But it was the escape act of Houdini's brother Hardeen which gave this week's episode its driving motif, a magic trick of the highest order that set up a series of revelatory actions from the series' cast of characters, giving us a sequence of vanishing acts, soothsayers, and escape artists.

It seems that everyone in Atlantic City is running some kind of racket, from Margaret's unspoken validation of Nucky's actions by accepting his numerous acts of kindness and hospitality, to the Ponzi scheme that Annabelle's Harry has fallen prey to. Gillian is revealed to be poisoning the Commodore in a bid for his fortune, revealing that he is Jimmy's father and that she conceived him when she was just thirteen years old, a flower procured by Nucky for his mentor's pleasure.

But there's one act of trickery and deception that's all the more heartbreaking: after Angela decides to flee to Paris with Mary, she leaves Jimmy a note explaining all... only to discover that Mary and Robert have used her money to leave Atlantic City, playing her for a fool. Jimmy's coldness towards her and his haunting words towards their son--that it will soon be just the two boys, up all hours--add another layer of anguish to the proceedings.

Not only has Angela had her heart broken and her money stolen, but she's soon to lose her child as well. Her vanishing act, concocted in the heat of the moment, wasn't hers at all. It was a bit of legerdemain designed to distract, just as Hardeen steals Margaret's bracelet and places it on Annabelle's wrist. What's been lost is far more precious than any bracelet and the consequences of her actions will likely haunt poor Angela for the rest of her days.

Margaret, meanwhile, was far more successful in her own efforts to disappear (just as Harry successfully evaded Annabelle), effectively vanishing from the luxurious apartment that Nucky set her and the children up in. Distracting watchman Richard Harrow, Margaret flees, leaving only that same bracelet--a gift from Nucky--behind, a bitter reminder that she will not be enslaved to his whims.

Just as the mirror was smashed in an act of anger by Nucky (the same mirror, it must be noted, that she gazed in at the end of last week's episode), Margaret's efforts to leave reveal that she saw the bracelet as a gilded chain, her home as another prison to escape from. Nucky was not the man she thought he was, Lysol her only means of preventing another link in that chain.

Margaret has been willing thus far to keep her mouth shut when it came to Nucky's line of work. After all, she has the sense to look into the ledger when he places her in charge of guarding his office after Eli's shooting. She speaks out on behalf of his candidate for mayor, securing Bader the endorsement of the League of Women Voters after her fiery speech on his behalf. But she's no fool and the scene between Nucky and Annabelle put her in the position of patsy. She may have kept silent this whole time but she knows full well how Nucky made her a widow.

Duplicity, as Hardeen says, is most successful when people want to be deceived.

A bottle of Lysol becomes an escape route; stashed money an escape hatch; a smashed mirror a symbol of male anger, just as a cookie becomes not a pleasurable sweet but death incarnate in the hands of the vengeful Gillian. The Commodore's mystery illness has been lurking on the periphery of the action but here it was pulled into sharp focus, a plot designed to bring Jimmy and the Commodore together, just as it was to end the old man's life and land Gillian payback for her ill-use as a teenager.

Gillian might have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been been for Jimmy tasting one of those cookies... and violently vomiting as a result after tasting the Paris Green contained within. (Of course, it's an intentional callback to how Angela's own dreams of Paris turned as bitter as arsenic as well.)

And then there was Van Alden and poor Sebso. In the episode's most brutal and shocking sequence, Van Alden forces Sebso to undergo a baptism in the river, despite the fact that Sebso is Jewish and does not want a baptism. But with Van Alden's suspicions at an all-time high (and comments about damnation and hellfire awaiting Sebso), he agrees to go through with it, it seems, just to placate his increasingly unstable partner.

Little does he know, however, that Van Alden uses the baptism to save his soul at the cost of his life, dunking him under the water repeatedly until he drowns, the congregation aghast at how Van Alden has inverted this ceremony into something violent and savage, a magic trick itself designed to entrap Sebso, a "righteous" vengeance raining down on the turncoat and traitor to Van Alden's own cause.

He's a believer, after all, a man who sees himself as carrying out the Lord's work on Earth, a good man, even in spite of his many, many sins. He can deceive himself because he wants to be deceived.

As does Nucky, in the end, it seems. Despite seeing the fortune teller as nothing more than another con artist, Nucky travels to her boardwalk shop and enters, curious about his future. It might be a lie, another trick, but it's the lie that he wants--or needs--to hear.

Next week on the season finale of Boardwalk Empire ("A Return to Normalcy"), Nucky and Atlantic City brace for change on Election Day; Torrio brokers a deal between two nemeses, with far-reaching consequences; Jimmy ponders his future, as do Margaret, Agent Van Alden, and Eli.

The Tin Woodsman: Storming The Emerald City on Boardwalk Empire

I find it depressing that some viewers are less than enchanted with HBO's soaring period drama Boardwalk Empire, which once again turned out a remarkable installment ("The Emerald City"), written by Lawrence Konner and directed by Simon Cellan Jones, this time about truth, consequences, and the lies we all tell ourselves.

Every fairy tale, after all, has to come to an end, even for Margaret Schroeder.

The parallels between Dorothy's visit to Oz within L. Frank Baum's novel, Margaret's discovery of her own artifice, and Richard Harrow's dream brought the lesson right out into the light. We can all dream and our dreams can be filled with beauty but eventually we all come crashing back down to reality, whether that be Richard's realization that he is once again disfigured (poor Emily screaming bloody murder) or Margaret catching sight of herself in a mirror. What we see looking back at us isn't what we expected.

Whether she chooses to admit it or not, Margaret seems deeply haunted by Van Alden's visit to her, particularly given his use of his totemic photograph of a young Margaret arriving at Ellis Island and his insistence that he's trying to save her from the eternal fires of hell.

What Nelson claims to want is Margaret's repentance, but he claims to be able to see into her soul, something even Margaret can't do these days. The woman staring back at her in the mirror is not the woman she once was. She may have finally won the right to vote (America catching up, finally, with Ireland) but her newfound liberty is jeopardized by the fact that she allows herself to be bought by the system, pronouncing Bader the next mayor of Atlantic City and urging the League of Women Voters to support him in the election amid a glittering speech that makes full use of Bader's construction experience as a metaphor for being The Great Builder.

Margaret turns out to be a consummate public speaker, the rare individual who manages to sound both logical and as though they are speaking from the heart, but it's Margaret's doom that she knows what she is doing is wrong... and still does it in order to keep her family secure by keeping Nucky Thompson in power.

Has she sold her soul for a fancy apartment and luxurious clothes? What happened to that girl from County Kerry who arrived in America with a dream of a better life? In asking her own personal Wizard for what she desired most, did she lose a part of herself in the bargain?

I thought that all of the scenes between Kelly Macdonald's Margaret and Jack Huston's Richard Harrow were fantastically well played this week, with Margaret's terror at the sight of Richard's mask transforming itself into something more tender, seeing her children's fear as an opportunity to overcome her own. Seeing Margaret in her own green-tinted living room as she read to her children of Baum's Emerald City, she transforms Richard into something heroic rather than tragic, rendering the war hero as something akin to the Tin Woodsman, a noble soul cursed with an affliction whose heart still beats beneath the armor.

Richard's interest in Margaret's story and his upset at frightening the children were beautifully enacted as he wins over the children with his usurping of the Tin Man's mythology, his mask nothing more than a piece of tin, this visitor in the household a gift from Oz. In those moments, Richard is far more than just the scarred man he forgets himself to be; he's a genuine fairytale artifact. His dream of Odette, shattered by her ear-piercing screams, show us the Richard Harrow that he himself sees: a whole man, his smile stretching from ear to ear, rather than the Bogeyman that little Emily sees on her sofa.

But what does Margaret see when she looks in the mirror? It's not the well-heeled lady that she's become or even the concubine that she knows herself to be. She sees a patsy, a dupe, a woman pressed into Nucky Thompson's service. It was one thing when he persuaded her to speak on Bader's behalf, telling her of the good she would be doing for the city, for him, and for her family, but it's another when Nucky laughs with his cronies during Bader's speech... or when he blatantly lies to her upon returning home late. By allowing Nucky to tell his lie--that he was working late on campaign strategy--she perpetuates the cycle of cronyism, contributing to the graft that keeps Nucky and his ilk in power.

What she sees in her reflection is an inversion of everything she once believed it.

Al Capone, meanwhile, learns what it means to be a man: to put away childish things and to accept responsibility for one's actions. Al has stood with one foot in adolescence and the other in adulthood for far too long; he doesn't wear a yarmulke or even a hat in the temple, but rather "the cap of a boy," a sign of his immaturity. He reverses his later, turning up at the Four Deuces with a man's hat as well as an apology for Torrio. But are we seeing a man aware of consequences now? Or just a more motivated Capone? After all, we all know how this story--certainly no fairy tale--ends.

For Angela and her "kissing friend" Mary, they buy into their own fairy tale, seeing Paris as nothing less than their own Emerald City, a place of opulence and freedom where they can escape to. But is the story that Mary spins a possible future or is it nothing more than a fragile dream that will never be? Jimmy's attack of Robert--he threw the photographer through a window and assaulted him viciously right on the boardwalk--might be a sign from above that Angela needs to run before he turns his anger on her. (And he was just winning her over again.) But he fails to see the truth: that Angela's friend isn't Robert, but Mary. He's blinded by his own expectations, even as he lies to the group surrounding them that Angela is his "wife."

As for Chalky, he can't let the D'Alessios get away with lynching his employee. While Nucky's plan goes off with nary a hitch, Matteo D'Alessio lets slip that he knows that Chalky drives a Packard, which in turn leads Chalky to spin around with a gun in each hand. (Kudos once again to Michael Kenneth Williams for being just eternally bad-ass, even in a well-cut dandy's suit. No one messes with Chalky.)

Which debt then is more important? That of money or of blood? Chalky leans towards the latter and they execute two of the D'Alessio brothers, sending Lansky back to Arnold Rothstein with a message about what he saw that night at Chalky's. While Chalky's vengeance may have been sated, it's likely just the start of Rothstein's campaign against Nucky.

Finally, there was Nelson Van Alden, who succumbed to his vices amid mounting frustration with the case against Nucky Thompson and his own attraction to Margaret, by wandering into a speakeasy and drinking two whiskeys... and then, upon seeing Lucy, ends up having his way with her before sobbing, his raw and scarred back a testament to his own brand of self-torture. What is it that Nelson sees when he looks in the mirror? A man of god and government? Or a sinner condemned to hell?

Only time will tell.

Next week on Boardwalk Empire ("Paris Green"), Nucky shakes up the status quo; Jimmy deals with some tricky family issues; Van Alden addresses Agent Sebso’s “temptations.”

The Daily Beast: "Boardwalk Empire's Racial Divide"

What did you think of last night's brilliant episode of Boardwalk Empire ("Anatasia"), the series' very best to date?

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "Boardwalk Empire's Racial Divide."

In the piece, I talk to Michael Kenneth Williams about Chalky White, preparing for this week's episode--and in particularly his haunting and gripping monologue--the legacy of The Wire's Omar Little, and how lucky he is to be part of the cast of Boardwalk Empire, Chalky's relationship with Nucky Thompson, Steve Buscemi and Michael Pitt, and more.

Next week on Boardwalk Empire ("Nights in Ballygran"), Nuckyʼs attempts to usher in a joyous St. Patrickʼs Day are undermined by Eli, Margaret and Van Alden.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent to Return, Lone Star DOA, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Break open the moonshine! HBO has renewed period drama Boardwalk Empire for a second season, after airing just one episode of the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese crime drama, which averaged 4.8 million viewers in its premiere broadcast. “All the ingredients aligned for this one, from Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson’s initial pitch, to Martin Scorsese’s enormous contributions as director and executive producer, to the genius of Terry Winter and the expertise of Tim Van Patten, to a stellar cast led by Steve Buscemi,” said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO Programming, in a statement. “The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing.” (via press release)

In other renewal news, USA has finally closed a deal to renew Law & Order: Criminal Intent for a tenth and final season of eight episodes, with original series lead Vincent D'Onofrio set to reprise his role as Detective Robert Goren, while producers are said to be in talks with Kathryn Erbe and other former stars to return. “We have been the fortunate caretakers of this legendary series, and we plan to give it the world-class farewell it so richly deserves,” said Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming and UCP's co-head of original content. The cabler has also given executive producer Dick Wolf a pilot commitment for a new project at USA. New episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent are set to launch next year. (Deadline)

After the deadly ratings encountered by FOX's new fall drama Lone Star, the 20th Century Fox Television-produced drama is already said to be on death watch, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Andrew Wallenstein. "No one in TV should be happy about this," Wallenstein quotes one agent with a client on Lone Star as saying. "This is going to have a chilling effect on networks taking chances on anything but cookie-cutter shows." xxx "Though Fox declined comment, it's possible the network is delaying the announcement of a decision, perhaps waiting for the cover that will be provided today by its announcement of the American Idol judges," wrote Wallenstein. "That Star will be canceled is being treated in industry circles as fait accompli, a matter of when, not if. Tellingly, while most underwhelming TV debuts are often followed by entreaties from counter-spinning execs magnifying glimmers of hope in the ratings data -- "did you see that uptick in the last quarter-hour among women 25-34?" -- the back-channel phone calls from network and studio execs never came." (Hollywood Reporter)

More Bubbles! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Andre Royo (The Wire) will reprise his role on FOX's Fringe after his first appearance in tomorrow night's season premiere, where he plays a cab driver that Anna Torv's Olivia Dunham encounters "over there." [Editor: Having seen the episode in question, I can say that it was a no-brainer than Royo would be back at some point.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: Bravo has finally confirmed what has been floating about the internet for quite some time now. The next season of Top Chef will be an all-stars edition, with 18 runners-up from previous seasons returning to compete for another shot at the title. While the full cast has been available at various web sites for the last few weeks, Bravo will officially unveil the cast on tonight's Top Chef reunion special. [Editor: Also, Anthony Bourdain will return as a regular judge this time around, alternating with Gail Simmons.] (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jorge Garcia (Lost) will guest star in an upcoming episode of ABC midseason comedy Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry. Garcia will play "a staffer at the second-rate San Diego sports arena that Perry’s character manages" and will appear in the retooled pilot episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly reported that Lyle Lovett will be guest staring on an upcoming episode of ABC's Castle this season, where he will play Agent Darryl Shafer, described as "a shadowy government figure who detains and interrogates Castle (Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) as they investigate the death of a prominent astrophysicist whose body was found in her car—a victim of explosive decompression." Lovett's appearance is slated for the ninth episode of the current season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hollywood Reporter's Allison Hope Weiner has an interview with No Ordinary Family star Michael Chiklis about his role on the ABC superhero family drama. "The big question for me was tone, and how do I pull this off in terms of tone," said Chiklis when asked about any concerns about being on network television rather than cable. "As you know, network television, television in general, has become very niche-oriented. It's very targeted toward a certain audience. Now we're embarking on a show that is all too rare on television: It's one of those kinds of shows that tries to appeal to a broad audience and, in order to do that, the things that are successful don't take themselves too seriously. This is pure entertainment and it's witty and fun, yet soulful and heartfelt. But you also have those great adrenal moments. The threat there is if you go too far in any direction, you go over the top comedically or be too melodramatic and you can fail. Yet if you aren't bold in any direction, you can become vanilla. Tonally, we felt it had to be crisp and smart and fun -- yet not taking itself too seriously." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Dave Annable's real-life fiancee Odette Yustman will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's Brothers & Sisters as a new interest for Annable's Justin. Yustman, set to appear in one episode, will play a "nurse who starts to fall for Justin, as he's still mending his broken heart from his split with Rebecca." Rebecca, of course, is played by Annable's ex-girlfriend Emily Van Camp, who is set to depart the series after just a handful of episodes this season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Will Forte will return to CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where he will reprise his role as Randy. "Marshall will wrestle with whether or not to fire Randy, who is as hopeless as a paralegal as he is with the ladies," co-creator Craig Thomas told Keck. "There is also a shocking twist as it starts to become clear that Robin — in a moment of weakness — may or may not have hooked up with Randy on Halloween night." (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has given a put pilot order to a drama inspired by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner's book "The Lost Girls Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World," which will be adapted by Idly Modrovich (Californication). Project, from Warner Bros. Television, will be executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Thy Name's Delirium: Future Imperfect on Boardwalk Empire

It's tricky to write about a new series when you've seen the subsequent five episodes, as is the case with HBO's addictive and gorgeously realized period drama Boardwalk Empire, which kicked off last night.

While I had the chance to watch the first six episodes of the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese drama ahead of time, last night was the first time that I got the chance to see the visually stunning opening sequence, which depicts the bowler-clad Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) on the rocky beach as an ocean of booze bottles comes pouring in. With a tip of the figurative hat to Belgian artist Rene Magritte, it effortlessly captured the scope and tone of the series while reveling in the symbolic implications.

Last night's dazzling series premiere ("Boardwalk Empire"), written by Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese, perfectly brought to life the Atlantic City of 1920, a world populated by grifters, flashy politicians, midgets, widows, booze-hounds, and gunmen. A world of excess and depravity, of temperance and alcoholism, of freedom and imprisonment, where everything--from the fishermen's daily haul to baby incubators--becomes a boardwalk attraction for the masses.

For Buscemi's Nucky Thompson, the boardwalk is his past, present, and future, aligned in one singular physical location. It's telling that he's drawn first to those baby incubators, a painful reminder of the children he didn't ever have with his long-dead wife who died from consumption seven years earlier, and then later to the fortune-teller, where his eyes meet those of the gypsy behind the veil. His entire life--birth to death as well as what's been lost--called up in one long stroll along the boardwalk.

Nucky has made quite a life for himself in this oceanside fiefdom, carving out a world of privilege, a flat on the eighth floor of the Ritz-Carlton, a beautiful young girlfriend (Paz de la Huerta), and a gifted protege in Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt). But one also can't shake the feeling that he's missing something, that the constant grift, the greasing of palms, the glad-handing, the speeches to the Women's Temperance League have left him in search of something to fill the void left by his wife's death.

Enter Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), the pregnant wife of baker's helper Hans who already has two kids and an abusive marriage to deal with. Moved by Nucky's (untrue) story of tragedy in his own past, she reaches out to him to effect change in her life. While he offers her a wad of cash, Margaret's after not charity but something more beneficial: a job for her husband.

Margaret's efforts to improve her life have a nasty way of making things worse, however. Hans spies her being driven home by Jimmy and uncovers her secret stash of cash and violently beats her. Confronting Nucky at the casino and spending the very money he gave Margaret for her children, Hans is beaten by Nucky and chucked out... and then takes out his anger on Margaret, beating her severely and causing her to miscarry.

While Nucky could have just turned up at the hospital with flowers for Margaret, the intersection of their disparate lives has only just begun. He uses Hans as a fall guy for Jimmy and Al Capone (Stephen Graham)'s theft of illegal liquor destined to New York mobster Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg), who had previously insulted Nucky... and cheated him out of $90,000. It's a tidy solution that gets Jimmy off the hook and allows Nucky the benefit of ridding Margaret of her no-good husband.

The pay-off: having Hans' corpse fall out of the fishermen's nets right in front of the tourists on the boardwalk. Genius.

I am however more than a little concerned about just where Jimmy's new line of work will lead him, particularly as he played the Prohibition agents and Nucky against one another and walked away the victor. Now he's on both of their radars and Nucky and Elias know that he was behind the hold-up and the murder of four of Rothstein's men. And then there was the fact that Al shouted out Jimmy's full name at the scene of the crime. Sure, they shot those four men and killed them, but... something tells me they're not in the clear.

What too to make of the murder of “Big Jim” Colosimo (Frank Crudele)? Was it Rothstein looking to take over Chicago? Or Johnny Torrio (Greg Antonacci) looking to muscle a larger share of Chi-town? Curious that...

Ultimately, a fantastic and vivid portrayal of life in Nucky's so-called Boardwalk Empire, one that has the possibility of crumbling down around him. The next five episodes are even better than the pilot, so prepare to be intrigued, dazzled, and entertained in equal measure. I'll see you at Babette's...

Next week on Boardwalk Empire ("The Ivory Tower"), investigating a crime which he feels has been pinned on a scapegoat, straight-arrow Agent Nelson Van Alden pays a visit to Nucky and leaves convinced that the Treasurer is “as corrupt as the day is long"; Nucky quickly does damage control, enlisting his brother, Sheriff Elias Thompson, to close ranks with their underlings; in Chicago, Al Capone shows a local reporter what he thinks about accusations that Johnny Torrio was involved in the slaying of local mobster “Big Jim” Colosimo; Nucky discusses the upcoming election with his aging mentor, Commodore Louis Kaestner, with whom he debates the women’s vote issue; Nucky rebukes an irate Arnold Rothstein over the phone, then meets privately with Margaret Schroeder, who asks him for help in providing for her children; traveling salesman George Baxter, in town for a few days with an unwilling young beauty named Claudia, makes a startling discovery while on the road home to Baltimore.

Devil's Playground: Some Further Thoughts on HBO's Addictive Boardwalk Empire

Tonight brings the premiere of what is hands-down the best new series of the year (or indeed in recent memory), as HBO launches the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese period drama Boardwalk Empire, a provocative period drama that mines Prohibition era-Atlantic City to superb effect, revealing the corruption and sin lurking behind the bathtub gin, the depravity enabled by smugglers, and the lengths that men on both sides of the alcohol issue will go to hold onto their power.

All roads, it seems, even those not yet built, lead to the Jersey Shore's glittering beachside gem.

Over at The Daily Beast, I selected Boardwalk Empire--based on the strength of its superlative first six episodes--as one of nine new series that you must watch this fall. Here's what I had to say:

WATCH: Boardwalk Empire (HBO; premieres September 19)

Travel back in time to a world of flappers, rum-runners, crooked politicians, g-men, and mobsters with household names in HBO's period drama Boardwalk Empire, set in Atlantic City at the start of Prohibition. Created by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who also directed the pilot), the plot follows the exploits of the city's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), his protégé Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), Irish widow Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), and a cast of colorful characters, including savage dandy Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams), Al Capone (Stephen Graham), Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza), and terrifying Prohibition agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon). Plus, more dancers, hookers, smugglers, and urchins than you can shake a tassel at. The result is a vivid and gripping portrait of a city ensnared by corruption and awash in a sea of illicit booze. That sound you hear isn't the firing of tommy guns; it's your heart pounding.

(You can also read my feature on Boardwalk Empire--in which I sit down with creator Terence Winter, Steve Buscemi, and Kelly Macdonald--over at The Daily Beast.)

While the capsule review sums up some of my feelings about Boardwalk Empire, it's impossible to really boil down this remarkable and ambitious project into a few scant sentences. In the hands of Winter, Scorsese, Tim Van Patten, the craftsmen, actors, and writers, these gifted artisans recreate the Atlantic City of 1920 in such staggering detail, down the little off-color touches, that it's impossible not to get sucked into what becomes a booze-doused Wonderland.

In Nucky Thompson, the venal Atlantic City treasure, Steve Buscemi has found the role that he was born to play, a magnetic politician whose rule isn't so much lead by an iron fist but by the velvet glove of shared benefit. He lives on the eighth floor of the boardwalk Ritz-Carlton and he inhabits this world with the polish and charm of an exiled prince, one who still takes the time to meet with his constituents after rolling out of bed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It's Nucky's very hypocrisy--he's far from a teetotaler and yet still speaks passionately (if not at all truthfully) at the Women's Temperance League.

But Nucky does care, if a bit too much, about some of the individuals who come into his orbit, including his haunted protege Jimmy (Michael Pitt), newly returned from World War I who wants more out of life than a Princeton degree. His arc takes him on a journey of both self-discovery and a descent into the world of crime, pairing him with a young Brooklyn upstart named Al Capone (Stephen Graham).

And then there's the pious and well-meaning Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), an Irish mother and Temperance supporter who has caught Nucky's eye, despite the sexual charms of his girlfriend Lucy (Paz de la Huerta). Macdonald makes Margaret wholly sympathetic, even as she falls under Nucky's spell as much as he does hers. Her journey from abused wife to something unexpected and compelling is a masterclass in understated acting. There's a real spark between the two of them that's intoxicating even as it is completely unusual in these types of stories. The lure that Margaret has for Nucky, however, makes sense within the context of his backstory and the early death of his wife.

But the series is far more than just the romance between these two. Instead, it's a dazzling mosaic comprised of gangsters, widows, smugglers, politicos, thieves, thugs, hookers, and tourists. Thanks to the strength of directors like Scorsese and Van Patten, it's a gorgeously shot production that doesn't gloss over the ugliness of the time period, the plight of vote-deprived women, of the blacks toiling away for pennies amid the privilege and excess, of the blood-splatter and larceny that mark the birth of organized crime.

In other words: pour yourself a stiff drink and settle in tonight to watch this remarkable new drama when it launches tonight.



Boardwalk Empire premieres tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

The Daily Beast: "HBO's Scorsese Sensation" (Boardwalk Empire)

Looking to find out more about HBO's period drama Boardwalk Empire, which launches later this month?

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, "HBO's Scorsese Sensation," in which I talk to the cast and crew of HBO's glittering and gripping 1920s drama Boardwalk Empire--including creator Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Steve Buscemi, and Kelly Macdonald--and take a look at the role that the gangster has played in the American consciousness for the last century or so.

The series is so strong--based on the six episodes that I've seen to date--that I believe that Boardwalk Empire and FX's Terriers (which premieres tomorrow) are the two strongest new series I've seen thus far.

So don't get left behind. Pour yourself a stiff drink (and whisper thanks that Prohibition is long over) and settle in as you're transported back to 1920 Atlantic City, a world populated by gangster, smugglers, cops, and widows. Head to the comments section to discuss your take on this fantastic and brilliant new series... and whether it's the heir apparent to HBO's network-defining shows like The Sopranos and The Wire.

I'll see you at Babette's...

Boardwalk Empire premieres Sunday, September 19th at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Trailer Park: HBO Releases New Promo for Period Drama Boardwalk Empire

I came home from San Diego Comic-Con to discover the first six episodes of HBO's new period drama Boardwalk Empire, from Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese, waiting for me in a glittering stack of DVD screeners.

While I haven't been able to sink my teeth into them yet (that will come later today), I can share with you the latest promo for the series--which stars Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar comin'!), Michael Shannon, and a host of others, which HBO released last night.

The promo can be viewed in full below and I'm curious to know what you think, as Boardwalk Empire is one of the series I'm most eagerly awaiting. (Okay, that's an understatement of the highest order: I'm positively salivating over it already!)



Boardwalk Empire premieres Sunday, September 19th at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO.

Channel Surfing: Alan Ball Brings Charlie Huston to HBO, Wire Star Heads to Fringe, Glee Circles Britney, Doctor Who, and More

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing.

True Blood's Alan Ball is furthering his relationship with HBO. Ball, who created the pay cabler's vampire drama (based on the novels by Charlaine Harris), has signed on to direct and executive producer noir drama pilot All Signs of Death, which is based on Charlie Huston's novel "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death." Huston himself will pen the pilot script, with production set to begin next month in Los Angeles... though there are no current cast attachments on the project, which will revolve around "a knockaround twentysomething who discovers he has a knack for being a crime scene cleaner, and his life gets messy from there." (Variety)

Bubs Alert! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Andre Royo (The Wire) has been cast as a guest star in the third season premiere of FOX's Fringe, citing unnamed sources. Royo will reportedly play Henry, described as "a soulful taxi driver who is unexpectedly forced into a tense situation with Olivia (Anna Torv)." Will Henry be the one to put the red hat on the alternate universe interloper posing as our Olivia Dunham? [Editor: yes, I love Wire-based humor.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Let's take a look at the current state of Glee rumors: we now know for certain that Javier Bardem won't be appearing on the FOX musical comedy... and neither will Britney Spears either, despite a campaign launched by her manager to bring the scandal-prone singer to the set of the Ryan Murphy-executive produced series. However, Ryan Murphy has confirmed that there will be a Britney tribute episode next season. "We are writing a Britney Spears episode," Ryan told Entertainment Tonight late last week. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin, Hollywood Reporter)

[Editor: in other Glee-related news, actress Amber Riley will sing the national anthem at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.]

SPOILER! Doctor Who head writer/executive producer Steven Moffat has teased details about this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, which will feature Michael Gambon and singer Katherine Jenkins, appearing alongside Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill. "Oh, we're going for broke with this one," said Moffat. "It's all your favorite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters. And The Doctor. And a honeymoon. And... oh, you'll see. I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbors loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I'm fairly sure they did it ironically." (BBC)

In a move that will surprise no one, Peter Serafinowicz has been promoted to series regular on FOX's upcoming comedy series Running Wilde, reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. Serafinowicz, who appeared in the pilot as wealthy scion Fa'ad Shaoulin (the nemesis of Will Arnett's Wilde), will now serve as a regular on the Lionsgate-produced series, which launches this fall. He'll join Will Arnett, Keri Russell, Stefania Owen, and Jayne Houdyshell, while the role of Migo Salazar is currently being recast. (Deadline)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Taylor Kinney (Trauma) will join the cast of the CW's Vampire Diaries in a recurring capacity. Kinney will play Mason Lockwood, the younger brother of the late Mayor Lockwood, according to unnamed sources. He's slated to make his first appearance on the second season opener of Vampire Diaries, airing September 9th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Mark your calendars now: HBO will launch its new Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire--from executive producers Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter--on Sunday, September 19th. [Editor: while the announcement is all over the place, this story links to an older piece that offers a look at Boardwalk's set.] (Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker)

Looks like now is not a good time to be an AT&T U-Verse subscriber. The cable provider is in the midst of a carriage dispute with Rainbow Media Holdings... which means that subscribers are in danger of not being able to watch the Season Four launch of AMC's Mad Men, which premieres in less than two weeks. The two sides have been locked in negotiations that have lasted more than six months without any indications of reaching a conclusion and now U-Verse has threatened to drop AMC, IFC, and We from its lineup. (Vulture)

Despite the fact that the actor options have expired, the CW's medical drama pilot HMS is said to still be in contention for a series order. "There is still no final word from the CW but I hear producer Warner Bros. TV is not giving up and is still hoping for a series order for the project, written/executive produced by Amy Holden Jones, co-executive produced by Hayden Panettiere and directed by Mark Piznarski," writes Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The actors are aware of the studio's efforts and appear willing to return if there is a pickup soon." (Deadline)

Fancast's Matt Mitovich talks to The Closer's Jon Tenney about Season Six of the TNT drama series as well as the relationship between Fritz and Kyra Sedgwick's Brenda. "In the very first episode, there’s a scene I love where they’re ostensibly discussing a case that she has, and we’re talking about having affairs," said Tenney. "But we’re play-acting, so we’re also sort of feeling each other out a bit… There’s this Nick and Nora sort of banter about the issues of work and personal life and commitment to both of those. That comes to the forefront this season for Brenda and Fritz." (Fancast)

Disney Channel has renewed comedy Good Luck Charlie for a second season as well as greenlighting an original telepic based on the series. (Hollywood Reporter)

Universal Media Studios has signed a two-year overall deal with former Scrubs executive producer Tad Quill, under which he will develop projects for the studio as well as come on board NBC's comedy Perfect Couples. (Deadline)

Former TNT executive Susan Oman Gross has been hired by GK-TV as EVP of television, where she will report to Craig Cegielski and oversee all business and legal affairs for the company. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Trailer Park: HBO's Period Drama Boardwalk Empire

While fall will bring us a whole slew of new network dramas and comedies, one of the series I'm most looking forward to is HBO's period drama Boardwalk Empire, from creator Terence Winter and executive producer Martin Scorsese.

Here's how HBO describes the series: "From Terence Winter, the Emmy Award-winning writer of “The Sopranos,” and Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire is set in Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition. Wall Street was about to boom, everything was for sale and it was a time of change when women got the vote, broadcast radio began and young people ruled the world."

While you can catch the Boardwalk Empire trailer this Sunday during the pre-show for the Season Three premiere of True Blood (airing Sunday from 8:45-9:00 pm ET/PT), you can watch the full trailer from HBO, released today, below.



Boardwalk Empire launches this fall on HBO.