For some time, American cable network HBO has been a hallmark of quality for television. News Hit will now look at their upcoming slate including new works by Martin Scorsese, David Milch and Todd Haynes.

Boardwalk Empire

Stars: Terence Winter (creator), Martin Scorsese (director), Steve Buscemi (actor)

Plot: In the 1920s, Atlantic City Treasurer Enoch “Lucky” Thompson (Buscemi) was equal parts politico and gangster, mixing it up with elected officials as well as the likes of Al Capone (Stephen Graham).  

Pedigree: HBO has much invested into this enterprise (the pilot alone was budgeted at $50 million), and will be hoping for a big return, considering the breadth of talent in front- it also stars Michael Shannon, The Wire’s Michael K. Williams, Kelly McDonald and A Serious Man’s Michael Stuhlbarg- and behind the scenes- Winter was a writer on The Sopranos and it is also produced by Mark Wahlberg (who is also a very successful producer for HBO on golden goose Entourage and In Treatment).

Question: Once Scorsese- who is also an executive producer- has refocused his intentions back to features (he will most likely follow 3D children’s film The Invention of Hugo Cabret with a much-anticipated Frank Sinatra biopic), will interest wane?

Trivia: Winter got his start on the somewhat less-impressive Flipper television series.

Game Of Thrones

Stars: David Benioff (creator), D.B. Weiss (creator), Tom McCarthy (director), Sean Bean (actor)

Plot: In an alternate, fantasy version of the Medieval Europe, Game of Thrones details the struggles and civil feuds of a nation after the death of its king. 

Pedigree: There have been a number of attempts to duplicate Lost’s fantastical longer-form storytelling with little success (AMC’s The Prisoner was not the critical darling the network was expecting, whilst ABC’s FlashForwards was not renewed for a second season. And let’s not even get started on NBC’s Heroes). Games Of Throne does boast ambitious, sprawling source material (A Game of thrones is the first in the seven series A Song of Fire and Ice) and has been acclaimed as a more thoughtful, political astute take on the fantasy genre, but its wider appeal remains to be seen. 

Question: Even if Games becomes a hit, will it be too expensive to be profitable?

Trivia: The pilot will be directed by Tom McCarthy (writer-director of The Station Agent and co-writer of Up) and the series will be produced by David Benioff (25^th Hour, Brothers) and novelist D.B. Weiss. It will also be co-financed by the BBC (who were financially involved with the very expensive Rome).

Tilda

Stars: Cynthia Mort (creator), Bill Condon (writer-director), Diane Keaton (actor)

Plot: Tilda details the career of influential Hollywood journo Tilda (Keaton) and her relationship with a studio assistant (Ellen Page). 

Pedigree: Whilst it draws superficial similarities with the similarly themed Dirt (which starred a post-Friends Courtney Cox), the combo of Mort and Condon should be enough to differentiate itself. Mort’s raw, explicit Tell Me You Love Me was critical favourite when it debuted in 2007, whilst Condon is a fine director of actors, especially his female stars (as evidenced with Oscar-nominated turns for Lynn Redgrave for Gods and Monsters, Laura Linney for Kinsey and a win for Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls).

Question: Keaton has been phoning it in for a while now. Will Tilda be the enterprise to return her to creative relevance?

Trivia: Ellen Page will also write, produce and star on the upcoming HBO comedy series, Stitch N' Bitch, along with actors Alia Shawkat and Sean Tillmann. Condon is also doing double duties, directing the pilot for Laura Linney-vehicle The Big C for Showtime before he is scheduled to shoot the last two Twilight features.

Luck

Stars: David Milch (creator), Michael Mann (director), Dustin Hoffman (actor)

Plot: When a career criminal (Hoffman) is released from jail, he returns to the track, where he meets up with old acquaintances (Dennis Farina is his driver) and newer associates (John Ortiz is a successful, but infamous horse trainer). 

Pedigree: Probably none of these shows has greater potential than Luck. Milch was responsible for one of the television’s great achievements with the richly textured, involving western Deadwood whilst the always-visually inventive Mann will benefit from a stronger screenplay than his lat endeavours (Miami Vice, Public Enemies). The series also has a very strong cast: along with Hoffman and Mann-collaborators Ortiz (American Gangster, Public Enemies) and Farina (Manhunter, Get Shorty), Nick Nolte and Ian Hart have also been cast.

Question: Will Hoffman’s film career- which includes an upcoming Meet the Parents sequel- impact on filming of the series?

Trivia: Although it is hardly likely with that cast, but it is possible this series may be ignored by audiences the same way as Milch’s previous series for the network, the respected but hardly-loved John From Cincinnati (which was the first hour-long drama series to be cancelled by the network after its first year)?  

The Miraculous Year

Stars: John Logan (creator), Kathryn Bigelow (director)

Plot: Logan’s show revolves around the lives of a New York family, headed by an unpredictable Broadway composer.

Pedigree: Broadway vet Logan (The Aviator, Gladiator) is one of Hollywood’s more consistent scribes, so it will be interesting to see what he- along with Kathryn Bigelow, following her Oscar-winning triumph of The Hurt Locker- will bring to this light, yet intellectualised material. 

Question: FlashForwards creator David S. Goyer left the ABC show once his film career was kick-started with gigs on the next Batman and Superman features. Will Logan do likewise when Hollywood comes-calling?

Trivia: Logan’s two-hander Red has been nominated for seven Tony Awards, including for Best Play and Best Lead Actor for Alfred Molina’s performance as artist Mark Rothko.

Mildred Pierce

Stars: Todd Haynes (writer-director), Jon Raymond (writer), Kate Winslet (actor)

Plot: In Depression-era California, a waitress (Winslet) leaves her husband for a better life.

Pedigree: This is probably the most overt recent example of a filmmaker realising the potential of cable television. Haynes (I’m Not There, Far From Heaven) is a very intelligent and driven American filmmaker, and his decision to adapt Mildred Pierce for a five-hour miniseries shows his awareness of the potential of the longer-form format, whilst utilizing the best of modern American filmmaking techniques. He is also assembled a very impressive cast around Winslet, including Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler, True Blood) as her daughter, Guy Pearce (LA Confidential, Animal Kingdom) as Winslet’s dashing lover and recent Oscar-winner Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Homicide) as a friend. 

Question: Michael Curtiz’ 1945 is seen as a very successful adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel (and a highly effective star-vehicle for Joan Crawford). What will Haynes, Raymond (Old Joy) and Winslet bring to this new version?

Trivia: Haynes, Scorsese, Bigelow, Mann and Condon are not the only directors bring their craft to HBO. Albert and Allen Hughes (The Book of Eli) will re-imagine their 1999 documentary American Pimp for fictional television with Gentlemen of Leisure whilst Se7en and Zodiac director David Fincher will return to the grisly world of serial killing with the FBI drama, Mind Hunter.