Image Credit: HBO
HBO is bringing back Nucky Thompson for a third round.
The premium network has renewed Emmy-winning Prohibition Era-drama Boardwalk Empire. Sunday’s most recent episode delivered 2.9 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the adult demo. (Though as with most HBO shows, each episode tends to rack up higher numbers, thanks to repeats and On Demand viewing. Boardwalk has traditionally averaged around 10 million viewers).
How are you liking S2 of Boardwalk? For me: Slightly better than the first, though whenever the action cuts to the uptight Prohibition agent or depressed masked man Richard Harrow, I’m hitting FF on the remote.
For those keeping score: This year HBO renewed True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Treme, and will debut new shows Luck, Veep, Girls, Life’s Too Short, and Aaron Sorkin’s as-yet untitled cable news drama.
Read more:
‘Boardwalk Empire’ recap: Memoirs of a Flibbertigibbet
Why would you FF during anything with Harrow? Seriously?
I know. Or anything the excellent Michael Shannon does??
Richard Harrow is amazing. I love every scene he is in.
I agree. Those are two of the most intriguing characters on the show.
I agree
Usually I agree with James’s opinions on what he watches, but in this case he’s fast forwarding through the two best performances on the show.
Come on James – Richard Harrow is the most intriguing character on the show. His motivations are totally unclear (that weirdo scrapbook?). Plus he’s super unique. Jack Huston is outstanding as him!!
Wow, I don’t think I’ve inspired this much blowback since I gave a poor grade to Fringe’s fall key art! I figured many of you would disagree. I can understand why somebody would like these two. I just … What can I say? I don’t, and was curious if I was alone on that (answer: apparently yes). And that reminds me: I was talking to a broadcast network publicist yesterday who said, “Breaking Bad has ruined Dexter for me,” and that’s sort of how I felt about watching BB and Boardwalk back-to-back on Sunday nights. IMO, BB this season operated on a higher plane of storytelling existence than anything else out there.
I’m actually with you to a degree on Michael Shannon’s agent. I think his acting job has been superb, but the character is such a cartoon and too unrelated to most of the action for me to care. That said, I still watch his scenes because they are occasionally hilarious (baptism murder and this season’s busting the speakeasy for his wife come to mind). Harrow on the other hand is completely compelling to me. The wound makes it hard to read his expression and his generally sympathetic portrayal make the savagery he is capable of even more stark.
I agree with the others about Richard Harrow being one of the more intriguing characters on the show, but I will agree with you about Breaking Bad/ Boardwalk Empire situation. Watching them back to back made me realize even more how Boardwalk still isn’t reaching its full potential. I basically am watching it out of habit, and I don’t necessarily look forward to it every week the way I did for Breaking Bad.
To be fair, if you compare ANY show to BREAKING BAD, it’s going to lose.
Please continue to reflexively write something snarky about Boardwalk Empire every time you mention it, because no matter how unrelated to the actual news item they may be, your opinions are endlessly spellbinding.
I think anyone that FF through parts of a show cause of a character should not be watching the show at all.
I personally think he is one of the best.
YES!! Richard Harrow is one of the best characters on the show and one of my favorites as well. He is so haunted and just ruthless when he is killing! He is awesome.
Are you kidding me? Those are probably two of the best characters on the show!
Awesome, I hope they show more of Chalky White in Season 3.
I agree – I missed Chalky on this last episode. He is really interesting.
Richard Harrow is, like, the show’s best character.
I just can’t seem to get into Boardwalk Empire. I watch it, but I don’t look forward to it like I do other shows. But when I do watch it, I particularly enjoy Richard Harrow. I hate Van Alden, but he’s an interesting character too.
Harrow is the most interesting character on the show. I wish he was given more to do.
Van Alden and Harrow are two of the most interesting characters on Boardwalk Empire, in many ways more interesting than Nucky Thompson himself. EW needs to hire writers that don’t have ADD. Or perhaps it’s just a byproduct of our current generation that seems to have the attention spans of hummingbirds. I have friends who can’t sit through an entire movie without fidgeting like crack fiends.
season has been great. one of my top shows for sure. I really like the betrayal of nuckys old crew on him. Great storyline of the power struggle
FF through Harrow is just totally insane. How does one get a gig as an entertainment commentator with such poor taste and judgement?
This Hibberd guy is a nutbag! Van Alden and Harrow are both crazy awesome; who would fast-forward through that? If you’re a writer for EW about TV shows, shouldn’t you be watching the shows you write about in their entirety? Plus, Harrow will snipe you and steal your biscuits if you diss him and Van Alden will just straight up drown you in public.
Obviously you’re not watching the same show as we are. When Stephen Graham as Capone called Richard Frankenstein last week, I flinched for the poor guy.
I felt sorry for Richard when Capone called him “Frankenstein” too. Then there’s Jimmy’s wife who doesn’t offer Richard any tea or anything and he looks at her as if to say “uh what about me ? don’t you think I’d like some tea ?”
I think he had a cup of tea/coffee in that last episode…when Al Capone was over. I saw 3 cups. I just don’t think he was drinking it because he feels awkward drinking and eating in front of people. Remember earlier this season how he took biscuits with him to eat later?
This is great news. Now, for next season get another recapper please!
I know. I think this is the same recapper for Jersey Shore, and I really can’t stand those recaps either. It just seems like he doesn’t like BE very much!
FF through Harrow and VanAlden?!? Thats just crazy, those are the 2 characters I cant wait to see every week, the best on the show!!
woo hoo!