Do you remember “Vinyl?” You might not. The HBO series started with a ton of buzz, as the first episode was directed by Martin Scorsese. “Vinyl” was seen as Scorsese’s triumphant return to HBO after the runaway success of “Boardwalk Empire.” However, after a lackluster debut, and dwindling ratings, the premium network decided to cancel the series, which cost upwards of $100 million to produce, after one season. And if you believe what Scorsese has to say, it could have all be avoided. That is, if he was more hands on.
Speaking at the Rome Film Festival (via THR), the legendary filmmaker talked about the simple solution that would have kept “Vinyl” on the air — have him direct each and every episode.
READ MORE: ‘Vinyl’ Loses Its Groove And Why HBO Is Struggling In The Era Of Peak TV
“It was ultimately tragic for me because we tried for one year. I did the pilot. We tried for one year with HBO, but we couldn’t get the creative elements together,” Scorsese said. “It was something that I realized, in order to make it right…I think I would have had to direct every episode and be there for the three to four years.”
At first, the Scorsese fan in all of us wants to immediately agree with the filmmaker. More Scorsese is never a bad thing, right? However, in the world of TV, the idea of the filmmaker directing each episode is just completely unheard-of. As with many series, including “Mr. Robot,” “The Leftovers,” “Lost,” and many, many more, networks bring on a great filmmaker to helm the first episode and help launch the series. But after that initial episode, the filmmaker hands the reins over to the showrunner and takes a backseat as an executive producer.
Scorsese did something similar with “Boardwalk Empire,” which ran for five successful seasons on HBO. However, the filmmaker is basically saying that he should have never trusted his baby in the hands of someone else, and that the writers, directors, producers, and showrunner involved all dropped the ball.
READ MORE: TV’s Biggest Ever Flop? HBO Cancel Martin Scorsese & Mick Jagger’s ‘Vinyl’
He illustrates that point by bringing up another HBO success, “The Young Pope,” which was created, co-written, and directed by filmmaker Paulo Sorrentino. “If you do it, you do it right like Sorrentino does,” he said. “You do everything. You do it all…If you don’t (want to make that commitment), you shouldn’t be making the series.”
Scorsese also brings up Netflix’s “The Get Down,” which was another highly-anticipated series created by Baz Luhrmann, who directed the pilot but went on to take a backseat for the rest of the series. Ultimately, “The Get Down” was canceled by Netflix after only one season (which is rare for the streaming service).
We’ll never know if “Vinyl” would have succeeded with Scorsese’s constant involvement. Perhaps, viewers just weren’t interested in the 1970s New York City music scene. Either way, it doesn’t appear that Scorsese will take the leap into TV work again anytime soon.