TVSquad

(S06E05) "No, we're up for it, but is this gonna be like the old days when you try to pay me back in personal training sessions and shit?" - Mark Wahlberg

Seems like the dynamic of Entourage is really shifting lately, huh? Over the past two or three episodes, Eric has moved to the head of the class, taking over the biggest parts of each half-hour. I'm not complaining, but earlier in the season I did wonder what the result of Vince's success would be. Now we know.

I'm crazy for HBO, and one of the shows I'm really looking forward to is Boardwalk Empire, a pilot executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who's also directing), Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Terence Winter (who's also penning the pilot).

Based on the Nelson Johnson book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the project chronicles the 1920s origins of Atlantic City, New Jersey. From what I've read, it sounds like a mix of The Departed, The Sopranos and Goodfellas -- all favorites of mine. And the cast they've got lined up couldn't be better.

Steve Buscemi plays Nucky Johnson, a businessman who runs a liquor distribution ring at the beginning of Prohibition. Michael Pitt (pictured) is in negotiations to play Jimmy Darmody, a bright, young, ruthless WWI veteran who serves as a flunky for Nucky, but yearns for more power.

The summer has been filled with Entourage casting news, hasn't it? Every few weeks it seems like there's another announcement about a celebrity guest star. But this latest bit of news should have long-time fans fired up. Executive producer Mark Wahlberg is making his second cameo appearance on Entourage's upcoming season.

Wahlberg's last Entourage cameo occurred during the show's pilot, when he briefly crossed paths with Vince and the guys. This time around, Wahlberg said that he'd have a scene with Jeremy Piven. I'm already picturing Lloyd drooling in the background.

It sounds like HBO is looking for another series in The Sopranos tradition. Or maybe it was The Sopranos that was in the Scorsese tradition? Either way, we recently told you about Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese's HBO project Boardwalk Empire (teaming with Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of Entourage fame), and now we can report that they've hired Terence Winter to pen the script for Boardwalk Empire. That's the name of Nelson Johnson's book about the dark underbelly in the rise and fall of Atlantic City, on which this project will be based. Call me crazy, but this sounds like perfect material for Scorsese's sensibilities, even if he's producing rather than directing.

(S01E03) "You just don't get it." - Sophie

What's this? A glimpse into the personal life of Dr. Paul? I feel like I'm watching Lost. Was his son real or just an apparition like Walt?

Even though I felt a little cheated by the brief appearance of Paul's family, Mia Wasikowska's performance as Sophie certainly made up for it.

HBO is in a bit of a slump right now. They've lost one of the most popular series of all time (The Sopranos), endured through a painful David Milch pet-project when he could have been working on those rumored Deadwood movies (John From Cincinnati), put up with a lackluster fourth season from a comedy stalwart (Entourage), and are currently testing the waters with the thoroughly boring Tell Me You Love Me and the "not quite as good as it use to be" Curb Your Enthusiasm. You'd think they'd want to make things simple in an effort to bring back the viewers. Or not.

I mentioned In Treatment way back in September of last year and HBO has finally put the Mark Walhberg produced show on its schedule. I was thrilled about this show when I first read about it... until I realized that I'd have to give up my life if I want to stick with it.

Read on only if you want to be royally confused.

HBO continues to prepare for a post Sopranos world. There has been a lot of talk about their upcoming shows lately, including adapting George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, David Milch's John From Cincinnati, and the untitled Kanye West project. We can now add two more to that list.

The network has picked up a one-hour comedy from producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (Designing Women) called 12 Miles Of Bad Road. The show will star Lily Tomlin as the matriarch of a rich Texas family. Add in the family real estate business and a collection of relatives and hilarity will ensue, hopefully. The idea almost sounds like a Dallas spoof. With Tomlin on board, it will certainly be worth a look. Look for Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place, and Leslie Jordan to also appear.

Gabriel Byrne has been cast as the lead in the new Mark Wahlberg produced HBO series, In Treatment. The half-hour show focuses on a therapist who can't take it anymore and ends up going to see a shrink of his own. Currently, five episodes have been ordered.

I'm excited about this show because it seems like Mark Wahlberg can do no wrong lately, but does this seem like the right move for the lead? Byrne is a great actor and has had numerous roles (including the short-lived Madigan Men), but is he going to be able to pull off the part as a jovial therapist who's losing his own marbles? I realize the show is a drama, but with it's premise, it seems like humor is going to be unavoidable. Byrne always seems so serious. We'll have to wait and see if he can pull it off.

[via Hollywood Reporter]

Mark Wahlberg, one of the creators of Entourage, is working on another show for HBO. This time, it's a half-hour comedy about a shrink who is calm, cool, and collected with his patients but turns into a total nutcase when he sees his own shrink. Ah, the irony. It's called In Treatment and is based on the popular Israeli series of the same name (of course, in Hebrew it's called BeTipul).

Filming for In Treatment is scheduled to begin next month. No word yet on a cast or an air date.