Was he playing it close to the vest, did slow ratings just catch up with the show, or did creative discussions yield a different approach? I interviewed “Boardwalk Empire” creator/head writer Terence Winter at the end of the fourth season late last year, and when I asked him if there was an end in sight for the show, he was fairly adamant that there were no plans to conclude the drama any time soon.
“For us the story will end when we feel like we brought Nucky full circle,” he said. “Those are the conversations we’re having now. ‘Where are we going? Do we see an end in sight here?’ That’s the debate we’re having now every day with each other. It’s let’s tell the best story possible and when we’re done we’ll move on and tell another story. So for us really it’s a question of ‘when does Nucky’s story come full circle?’ ” I certainly didn’t get the impression in our conversation that the circle would be completed soon. I even asked if an ending was mapped out at all (“no, not yet”) or if Winter could give a ballpark figure as to how many seasons might be left, and he didn’t have an answer because it seemed far off. To me, especially after our talk, it appeared that the show had a lot more life in it, but HBO has announced this evening that the fifth season of “Boardwalk Empire” will be its last.
“We’re thrilled to get the go-ahead for a fifth season of Boardwalk Empire,” Winter said in an HBO press release. “After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we’ve decided to wrap up the series after such a great run and look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion.” As a big champion of the show, although I admittedly had my issues with it along the way, I’m a bit bummed, as I felt the series probably had at least two seasons left in the tank. Ah, well. Such is life. Also announced were return dates for “Game of Thrones” (April 6th at 9 p.m. ET), “Veep” (April 6th at 10:00 p.m. ET) and a debut slot for HBO’s new show “Silicon Valley” (10:30 p.m. ET), which made our 20 Most Anticipated TV Shows To Watch In 2014. Update: HBO has also announced that the third season of Aaron Sorkin‘s “The Newsroom” will also be it’s late details below.
Details below. “Boardwalk Empire” will return for its final season in the fall.
GAME OF THRONES kicks off its fourth season SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT). Based on the popular book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, this hit Emmy®-winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. Members of the ensemble cast include Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kit Harington, Natalie Dormer, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner. Executive producers, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger, Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin. The first official trailer for season four will air on HBO this Sunday, Jan. 12, immediately before the debut of “True Detective” at 9:00 p.m.
VEEP returns the same evening, kicking off its third season SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (10:00-10:30 p.m.). Created by Armando Iannucci, this Emmy®-nominated series stars Emmy® winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as former senator Selina Meyer, who becomes vice president, only to discover the job is nothing like she expected, but everything she was warned about. The show also stars Emmy® winner Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Timothy C. Simons, Sufe Bradshaw and Kevin Dunn. Iannucci executive produces along with Christopher Godsick and Frank Rich.
Also that same evening, SILICON VALLEY debuts SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (10:30-11:00 p.m.). Mike Judge (“Office Space,” “King of the Hill”) brings his irreverent brand of humor to HBO in this new comedy series, which looks at the modern-day epicenter of the high-tech gold rush, where the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success. The cast includes Thomas Middleditch, TJ Miller, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, Josh Brener, Christopher Evan Welch and Amanda Crew. Matt Ross guest stars. Mike Judge, Alec Berg, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky, Michael Rotenberg, Tom Lassally and Scott Rudin executive produce. The series was created by Judge & Altschuler & Krinsky.