By this time next year, the last of HBO's flagship shows, "The Sopranos" will be gone. Along with "Sex and the City" and "Six Feet Under," the David Chase drama formed a triumverate of innovative television that paved the way for, among others, "The Shield," "Deadwood," and "Rescue Me." Two of those shows are on FX, described by my colleagues at Stealing Cable as "the new HBO."
"Sex and the City" ended last summer. "Six Feet Under" (which I'm just now discovering on DVD and absolutely loving) wraps up soon. And while HBO continues to put on fresh programming like "Entourage," their new drama "Rome," has yet to generate the buzz of shows like "Deadwood" and "Carnivale" (which, in a suprising move, was cancelled by HBO after only two seasons).
I've seen a little bit of "Rome," and despite its pedigree (director/gun nut John Millus is one of the creators, and it boasts writers from "Six Feet", among others), it's not very good--in fact, it just reminded me of a more expensive version of ABC's "Empire." "Deadwood" continues to amaze, and "Entourage" (which I haven't seen) is generating the reviews and press that "Sex" got early in its career.
However, with the end of "Sopranos," HBO still finds in a precarious position. There are more cable channels willing to take risks than there were when "Sopranos" started--FX is one, TNT with "The Closer" and the upcoming "Wanted" (both quite good) is another--and HBO finally must begin competing with those networks for ratings and press. The cancellation of "Carnivale," which ended after two out of a planned six seasons, was a bold, controversial move for a network which built its reputation on allowing shows to build an audience. One can only hope that this doesn't become a pattern.
My advice is for HBO to continue what they've always done: find original, dependable creators like David Milch and Alan Ball and support them in whatever they choose to do. In addition, I'd like to see them to continue reinventing genres like the western or the family drama. There's a huge audience out there that's craving smart, challenging sci-fi, and "Battlestar Galactica" ain't cutting it. Someone like Aaron Sorkin (or, gasp, Joss Whedon, if he can be persuaded to play nice with his old nemesis Time-Warner) could do wonders with that form--"The West Wing" in space, for example. I'd also like to see someone tackle the police procedural differently--the comic "Gotham Central," about cops working the beat in Batman's turf, could be amazing with the right cast and show-runner.
I'd also like to see HBO revisit its tradition of the anthology series. It's been a long while since "Tales from the Crypt" went off the air, and I think it's high time we saw something like that again. Don't bring back the horror anthology though (although we could use something equally scary, too).
"James Ellroy's Hollywood Nocturnes," anyone?
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2 comments:
I agree totally, HBO is at a point where they can't just ride on past successes, and while their post Sopranos slate is still better than most, I am of the mind that with FX heading the way, the rest of basic cable isn't too far behind. I hope that this time next year, we will have some new and interesting programming around to fill that void. And Curb still rules.
I forgot "Oz," which never really matched "Sopranos" in the awards or the ratings, but was kept around for six seasons because HBO believed in it. It's a great example of how things have changed, and again, I bring up the cancellation of "Carnivale."
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