HBO Renews 'Boardwalk Empire'

HBO has renewed Boardwalk
Empire
for a fifth season, the network announced Thursday.

The prohibition era drama starring Steve Buscemi returned onSept. 8 with 2.4 million viewers for its 9 p.m. premiere,
its smallest debut in its four seasons against stiff Sunday night competition
including the red-hot final season of Breaking
Bad
. Season-to-date Boardwalk is
averaging a gross audience of 7.5 million viewers, making it one of the pay cabler's most watched series.

On Sunday, series star Bobby Cannavale picked up an Emmy for
outstanding supporting actor in a drama series,
one of five total Emmy awards the drama received this year.

Boardwalk Empire
is created by Terence Winter and executive produced by Winter, Marin Scorsese,
Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Tim Van Patten and Howard Korder.