or


[07/30/09 - 08:25 PM]
HBO Renews Current Trio, Gives Status of Upcoming Slate
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- HBO has renewed its current Sunday lineup of "True Blood," "Hung" and "Entourage."

The announcement was made by Richard Plepler (Co-President) and Michael Lombardo (President, Programming Group and West Coast Operations) during the network's executive session at the TCA on Thursday.

"'True Blood,' 'Hung' and 'Entourage' will all be coming back next summer," said Lombardo. "And we're very excited about it so stay tuned for next June." Plepler went on to credit "True Blood's" weekly cumulative audience of 11 million viewers (its Sunday premiere plus replays throughout the week) as the key factor in its renewal with "Hung" and "Entourage" averaging 10 and eight million, respectively.

The pair also gave status updates for its various properties:

-- On if we'll see more "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency": "We're actually in conversations now and try to figure out the next step on that show. That show has been a challenge creatively as you know because the creative vision behind that show unfortunately passed away, Anthony Minghella, after the pilot/movie was done."

-- On the status of "Little Britain USA": "'Little Britain USA' as that series is not coming back. What we are talking to them about in terms of Matt [Lucas] and David [Walliams] is coming back with some specials... their intent is to come back with a whole new cast of characters and a whole new approach to their television appearance. So yes they will be back on HBO, whether that's the end of next year or slightly thereafter I'm [not] sure at this point."

-- On when we'll see season two of "Eastbound and Down": "They'll be shooting it sometime at the end of next spring, end of next winter and we haven't figured out when next year it'll actually be on the air. But it will be back on next year."

-- On when David Simon's "Treme" will premiere: "The hope and expectation is it will be on the air next April... Right now the plan is, I think the current intention is "The Pacific" will premiere sometime in early March, mid-March and toward the end of its run we will introduce 'Treme.'"

-- On when a decision will be made about the Martin Scorsese pilot "Boardwalk Empire": "We are anxiously awaiting a cut from Mr. Scorsese so we can greenlight the series. We're set up to get going again in September but we're waiting to get a cut of the pilot. By everything we've seen it's fantastic, it's big, it's everything we'd hoped it'd be. It's a tremendous cast with a tremendous writer."

-- On the future of "Flight of the Conchords": "When they're ready, we're ready. The challenge is of course they're not only writing a television show but they have the added challenge of writing an album. So it's double the pressure but we're waiting and as soon as they tell us they're ready, we'd be thrilled."

-- On when we'll see the new season of "Big Love": "It'll be back in January."

-- On if season three of "In Treatment" is in the cards: "We're trying to put it together and as you know it was adapted from an Israeli series for which there were two seasons. And we would have to create whole cloth new scripts but we're working to see whether that's possible. Gabriel [Byrne]'s very interested in doing it again so stay tuned."

-- On the second season of "The Life & Times of Tim": "We are absolutely receiving episodes for the second season which are funnier even than the first. We haven't figured out where to schedule it. We have a couple of other shows we've recently ordered, I'm sure we announced it, an animated show from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and ideally we'd like to pair them - that won't come until later - but ['Tim'] will be on within the next few months."

-- On keeping "Real Time With Bill Maher" on year-round: "We would love to find a way to extend his season, give him more time... We're thinking about that all the time."

Meanwhile, the pay channel also confirmed the air dates for "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama" (November 3) and "Robin Williams: Weapons of Self-Destruction" (December 6)."

Lastly, Larry David offered up some teases about the upcoming season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." "For years I've been asked about a 'Seinfeld' reunion as has Jerry and the other cast members," said David about the fictional reunion which will serve as the story backbone for the show's seventh season. "We're going to see, we'll see writing, we'll see aspects of the read-throughs, parts of rehearsals, you'll see the show being filmed and you'll see it on TV.

What will you see? You won't see the entire show. You'll see parts of the show, you'll get an idea of what happened 11 years later. And within the show, it will be incorporated into regular 'Curb' episodes so the cast members will be playing themselves on 'Curb' while all this is going on." David adds that, "Jerry's on five shows I think. The others will be on at least four." "Curb" returns on September 20 at 9:00/8:00c alongside newcomer "Bored to Death."





  [july 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· BIG LOVE (HBO)
· BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
· BORED TO DEATH (HBO)
· CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
· EASTBOUND & DOWN (HBO)
· ENTOURAGE (HBO)
· FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (HBO)
· HUNG (HBO)
· IN TREATMENT (HBO)
· LIFE & TIMES OF TIM, THE (HBO)
· LITTLE BRITAIN USA (HBO)
· NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY, THE (HBO)
· PACIFIC, THE (HBO)
· REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO)
· TREME (HBO)
· TRUE BLOOD (HBO)





[09/09/26 - 01:01 PM]
Star-Studded Lineup Set to Present at the 78th Emmy Awards, Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock
They'll join host Emmy Award-winning actor, director, producer and television icon Mariska Hargitay.

[09/09/26 - 12:09 PM]
ESPN to Exclusively Televise MLB Doubleheader on September 23 Featuring Matchups with Postseason Implications
Look for Cleveland Guardians/Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros/Seattle Mariners on said date.

[09/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 31
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "The Grand Tour," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.

[09/09/26 - 11:51 AM]
BYUtv's "Big Stories" Returns for Fourth Season Featuring NFL Legends and Untold Stories from Across the Big 12
Each 7-to 10-minute episode will be available to stream for free alongside each game on the BYUtv app and at BYUtv.org.

[09/09/26 - 10:52 AM]
Lifetime Announces New Original Documentary "Kimora Lee: On Her Own" Premiering September 20
Model, businesswoman and mother, Kimora Lee, tells her story through candid interviews with her children, family, friends and collaborators to chronicle her extraordinary journey from one of Karl Lagerfeld's youngest Chanel models to the visionary behind Baby Phat.

[09/09/26 - 10:15 AM]
Michael Kelly Joins Season Three of the Paramount+ Hit Series "Landman"
Kelly will star as William Crockett, the leader of the largest oil management firm in the world.

[09/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
Host Jane Krakowski and New Bandleader Robin Thicke Set the Stage for an All-New Season of "Celebrity Name That Tune"
Ice-T and Tony Hawk face off in the season premiere on Monday, September 21.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" to Premiere 52nd Season Sept. 26 on NBC and Peacock
Jalen Brunson, Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis, and Inde Navarrette are the first wave of hosts.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
Prime Video Announces 2026 New York Comic Con Programming
"Blade Runner 2099," "Bloodaxe," and "Helluva Boss" are the featured projects.

[09/09/26 - 09:19 AM]
Johnny Knoxville and the Gang Make One Final Raucous Return for "Jackass: Best and Last," Streaming on Paramount+ September 24
Grab your buddies, raise your glasses and experience the cinematic event that promises to be the last time you'll ever laugh this hard.

[09/09/26 - 09:16 AM]
New Dating Series Will Discover If Singles Can Fall in "Love at First Sight"
Do you believe you could see someone and know instantly that they're the one?

[09/09/26 - 09:07 AM]
Nirvana to Receive Video Vanguard Award During "2026 MTV Video Music Awards" Airing Live Sept. 27 on CBS
On this date in 1992 (9/9/92), Nirvana took to the "VMAs" stage for the first time - shaping music, culture and MTV forever.

[09/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
"Ghost Adventures" Returns with Chilling All-New Season - Wednesday, September 30 on Discovery Channel
Navigating abandoned frontier towns, centuries-old landmarks and historic estates, investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley delve into the shadows of America's turbulent past in pursuit of restless dark forces wreaking havoc on the living.

[09/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases Trailer for "The Howard Stern Show"
Each week, Howard's SiriusXM show will be adapted into a streamable episode for HBO Max.

[09/09/26 - 09:01 AM]
USA Network's "The Rainmaker" Returns for Season 2 on Friday, October 16 at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT
In 2025, "The Rainmaker" became USA Network's most-watched freshman series in seven years and finished the year as the #1 highest-rated new scripted TV series across all of cable.