HBO Orders 'Boardwalk Empire' Series

Prohibition era drama to join lineup in 2010

By Melissa Grego -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/1/2009 4:48:26 PM

HBO has ordered the 1920s-era drama Boardwalk Empire, starring Steve Buscemi, to series for a 2010 debut.
 
Set at the dawn of Prohibition, the project chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson, played by Buscemi, according to HBO’s logline for the show. Buscemi’s character is described as “the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster.”
 
The pay-TV network picked up 11 episodes plus the pilot, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. Sopranos alum Terence Winter created the series and executive produced the pilot along with Scorsese, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg and Tim Van Patten.
 
Production is slated to begin this fall where the pilot was filmed, Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, NY.
 
Boardwalk will likely debut in fall 2010. Among the shows already on tap for the network, HBO slated new drama Treme to debut alongside epic miniseries The Pacific in the spring. This summer’s original programming lineup is then expected to return intact, before leading into an autumn lineup including Boardwalk.
 
In addition to Buscemi, the Boardwalk pilot cast includes Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham and Dabney Coleman.