HBO Picks Up New Seasons of Flight, Entourage

Flight of the Conchords, Entourage Wrap Up Current Seasons Sunday Night

By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/17/2007 3:31:00 PM

HBO picked up a second season of Flight of the Conchords and a fifth of Entourage.

Both series are slated for sometime in 2008, and each concludes its current series run Sunday night.

Offbeat musical comedy Flight has averaged 1 million viewers Sundays at 10:30 p.m. and 2.5 million for cumulative weekly plays. The show, starring New Zealander pair Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, has developed something of a cult fan following over its 12-episode run this season, with episodes often ranking atop the iTunes charts since its premiere.

Hollywood buddy drama Entourage has averaged 2.9 million viewers for Sunday premiere episodes at 10 p.m. this season and averaged 5.3 million for multiple plays throughout the week. This season has marked the show's best performance except for the second half of season three, which averaged 3.9 million viewers with premiere episodes that ran after The Sopranos.

While neither show is a spectacular ratings draw for the network, they have been bright spots this summer. Earlier this week, HBO canceled its other freshman summer series, John from Cincinnati, after the surfing drama underperformed since its June 10 premiere. That episode drew 3.42 million viewers, but original premieres of the show only averaged just about 1.5 million. The network said it plans to extend its development deal with the show's co-creator, David Milch.

Joining the renewed shows in 2008 are a new season of polygamy drama Big Love; new series 12 Miles of Bad Road and In Treatment; and, this fall, a sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and new relationship drama Tell Me You Love Me.