Smile, pardner: ‘Deadwood’ movie gets HBO greenlight
BEVERLY HILLS » A roundup of news from the Television Critics Association summer meeting, at which TV networks and streaming services are presenting details on upcoming programs.
Back to the Black Hills
“Deadwood” fans can exhale.
HBO says it’s greenlighted a long-discussed movie based on the Western drama that ended a dozen years ago.
HBO programming chief Casey Bloys said Wednesday that production is scheduled to begin in October. An air date has yet to be set but it could debut in spring 2019, he said.
Bloys told a TV critics’ meeting it was a logistical “nightmare” getting the ensemble cast’s schedules to align, but it finally worked out.
The critically acclaimed, award-winning “Deadwood” was set in the rough-and-tumble South Dakota mining town of the title.
The series aired from 2004-06 with stars including Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane and Molly Parker.
Under new ownership
HBO’s programming chief pushed back Wednesday against the possibility that the cable channel will suffer under new owner AT&T.
Casey Bloys, speaking to a meeting of TV critics, said there are no plans to choose volume over quality for its shows.
“No one is asking us to take pitches of a ‘Love Boat’ reboot or anything like that,” he said.
As support, Bloys cited comments made during an earnings call Tuesday by John Stankey, who manages the new AT&T division that includes HBO and other Time Warner media assets. AT&T acquired Time Warner in an $85 billion deal concluded earlier this month.
Stankey said that the aim was to invest more in premium content at HBO, home to “Game of Thrones,” “Big Little Lies” and “Westworld.” In contrast, he reportedly told HBO staff recently to prepare for a difficult year.
Bloys called Tuesday’s remarks “music to our ears.”
Time Warner had curtailed programming investment as it readied itself for sale “so this is the first time in a long time we’ve heard anybody talking about investing in programming,” he said.
HBO has long held the high ground in acclaimed shows but is facing challenges from big-spending newcomers including streaming services Netflix and Amazon. In the recently announced Emmy nominations, Netflix ended HBO’s 17-year streak as the most-nominated outlet by snagging 112 bids to HBO’s 108.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
TV producer Norman Lear is 96. Sportscaster Irv Cross is 79. Singer Maureen McGovern is 69. Actress Roxanne Hart is 64. Comedian Bill Engvall is 61. Rock singer Juliana Hatfield is 51. Comedian Maya Rudolph is
46. Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez is 43. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is 41. Actress/comedian Heidi Gardner is 35. Actor Blair Redford is 35. Actress Taylor Schilling is 34. Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 28. Golfer Jordan Spieth is 25. Actress Alyvia Alyn Lind is
11.