HBO's heavily anticipated series "Boardwalk Empire" debuted last Sunday with 4.8 million viewers, making it the network's highest rated series premiere since "Deadwood" in 2004. And apparently, that was all that HBO needed before pulling the trigger on additional episodes.
On Tuesday, the network made it official and renewed "Boardwalk Empire" for a second season.
“All the ingredients aligned for this one," said HBO's President of Programming, Michael Lombardo. "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. The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing.”
"Boardwalk Empire" is adapted from Nelson Johnson's book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City" and is set during the infamous prohibition years in which it was illegal to sell or consume alcohol. To achieve an authentic feel for the period, a specially built set was created in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; which includes an elaborate Boardwalk.
The high cost of the set alone led some Hollywood observers to theorize that a renewal would be automatic just to recoup the expense. But thus far, the critical and audience response have been equally impressive; which more than likely played a role in the early announcement.
"Boardwalk Empire" stars Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody, Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder, Michael Shannon as Agent Nelson Van Alden, Shea Whigham as Eli Thompson, Aleksa Palladino as Angela Darmody, Michael Stuhlbarg as Arnold Rothstein and Stephen Graham as Al Capone.
Check out Crave Online's review of the first episode here!
