John from Cincinatti Cancelled

The Hollywood Reporter says HBO has declined to order a second season of David Milch's surfing apocalypse drama... which, off the top of my head, is the first time HBO has failed to give a second run to one of its hourlong dramas. (Can anyone think of another example?)

Anyway, Milch is currently in the process of developing several new projects for HBO. No word on those Deadwood movies, but my hunch is that they're a pipe dream.

HBO Picks-Up Alan Ball's "True Blood"

Nice!

Alan Ball is back in HBO's court, as the pay cabler has officially picked up the vampire series "True Blood."
Ball, who created the hit "Six Feet Under" for HBO, will exec produce and act as showrunner for "True Blood," which is based on Charlaine Harris' "Southern Vampire" novel series.

Net is still ironing out an episodic order and airdate, but the show is expected to go into production this fall. Ball, who wrote and directed the pilot, has already penned several more episodes.

Set in small-town Louisiana, series follows the world of vampires, who are able to co-exist with humans by drinking a Japanese-manufactured synthetic blood. The show contains a dose of humor alongside the horror.

The books, and perhaps more importantly, the world of the books are ideally suited for exploration in a TV series. The invention of this synthetic blood ("True Blood"--The Vamps want to be lied to by advertisers as much as anyone) allows the highly organized vampire civilization to to come out of the closet. Appealing allegory there, which Harris explosres vigorously (and I'm sure Ball will, too). Werewolves, witches, fairies and other magical beings are waiting in the wings to see whether mankind wipes vampires out--or accepts them.

Protagonist Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid with a telepathic "curse," gets drawn into this world when a vampire--Bill Compton, who was killed in the civil war and reborn shortly thereafter--moves in next door, having decided to return to his familial home for ... a variety of reasons, which are revealed in the fullness of time.

Charlaine Harris clearly counts Buffy as something of an inspiration--and she acknowledges this in one of the early books when she has Sookie pop some Buffy tapes in the VCR to occupy a vampire with amnesia (who goes nuts over them--as people do). But, despite similarities, Southern Vampire is never, IMO, derivative of Buffy. (I would've turned on it instantly if I ever thought it was.) That said, there's also some inspiration from Anne Rice: New Orleans becomes a thriving necropolis -- the center of the vampire world -- as it was, secretly, before the innovation of True Blood. Only now it is choked with human tourists -- which is highly encouraged by the vamps, who want to make money as much as anyone, living or dead.

(Incidentally, the latest book in the series incorporates Hurricane Katrina.)

Of course, this show would be worth checking out solely for the fact that it's Alan Ball. (IMO, Six Feet Under was one of the finest TV series in the history of the medium.)

Anyway, production is set to ramp up this fall. Premiere date hasn't yet been set, but it's a good bet True Blood will bow next summer. Anna Paquin stars.

Source: Variety

What is John from Cincinnati About?

“I don’t know what it’s about. I don’t know the bottom line,” “John From Cincinnati” mastermind David Milch told Craig Ferguson Thursday night. “But if God were trying to reach out to us, and if he felt a certain urgency about it: That’s what it’s about.”

And why, pray tell, would He feel a certain urgency? For the traditional reasons, one expects (and hopes).

The second season, if it materializes, should be very interesting.

Ferguson also asked him if there would be more Deadwood. Last week, new HBO original programming chief Richard Plepler told those assembled for HBO's TCA presentation that it was "50/50" -- and he wasn't even sure Milch wanted to do it. Which was obviously bullshit. He's not sure *he* wants to do it, because it's something his predecessor (Chris Albrecht) committed to.

"Will there be more “Deadwood”?

“One hopes,” Milch told Ferguson and his CBS late-night audience. “It’s kind of a fluid situation over [at HBO] right now.”

No shit.

Hat tip: Aint It Cool News

Deadwood Movies & Other HBO Notes

Notes of interest from last week's HBO presentation to the television critics association.

In the wake of original programming chief Chris Albrecht's departure (amid allegations that he beat the crap out of his girlfriend in Vegas), HBO is waffling on its promise of delivering closure to Deadwood fans in the form of a pair of original movies, which were to shoot late this summer for an early 2008 premiere.

[HBO co-president Richard] Plepler put the odds for greenlighting a film at "50-50," citing the fact that members of the cast are committed to other projects and the willingness of the series' creator, David Milch, to pursue it.

"If David is game for this and we can figure it out, we'll figure it out," [HBO co-president Michael] Lombardo said.

Those cocksuckers-by-choice. I knew they were gonna pull this shit.

Another factor that will play a part in resuming production in "Deadwood" will be the fate of Milch's new series, "John From Cincinnati," which Plepler spoke supportively of but stopped short of a renewal announcement.

"The show is really finding an audience, and the audience is staying consistent," he said. "I think it's important to see where it goes, where David takes us, and we'll make that decision at the end of the season."

If the show--which I think is absolutely brilliant (though still not a substitute for a proper Deadwood Season 4)--was doing *that* well, they would've renewed it already, as they've done in the past with other series.

***

Meanwhile, HBO announced that the Extras Christmas Special (a one hour episode that will serve as the series finale) is currently shooting. HBO will also likely air a Ricky Gervais stand-up special (he's been on tour for months--mostly in the UK).

***

Finally, HBO has commissioned a spin-off of sorts to Little Britain.

HBO has handed out a six-episode order to "Britain" stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams. In the original series, the two play a variety of recurring characters in sketches that spoof contemporary life in the U.K.

"The new series will be a sketch show set in contemporary America," Walliams said. "We are taking some existing characters and writing new material for them, as well as introducing new characters and ideas."

The HBO series, which will be filmed in the fall for a 2008 debut, will be produced by HBO Entertainment in association with 19 Entertainment and MBST and Little Britain. Fuller is executive producing with Larry Brezner, David Steinberg, Lucas and Walliams.

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Sex and the City: The Movie...?

Yep.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all set to reprise their roles, with longtime exec producer Michael Patrick King directing a script he wrote.

Whatever. Michael Patrick King--the man responsible for taking a brilliant comedy about sex (Seasons 1 and 2, run by creator Darren Starr) and turning it into a depressingly unfunny, mediocre soap about relatoinships. *Yawn*

The pic got close to happening about two years ago, but progress halted when Cattrall backed away. She wanted script control and a salary close to that of Parker, who was more highly paid than the others because she was co-executive producer of the series. Whatever tensions existed are gone now, sources said. Cattrall has a deal she’s happy with, one the sources said gives her input on her scenes, a fat salary and a future series deal with HBO.

It shoots in the fall.