The story so far... After the demise of its most prestigious and
successful original programs -- and with few successes to show for
itself (but a couple might have beens)
in the intervening months -- HBO has seemed for some time poised to
lose its reputation as "more than TV" to rival pay cable network
Showtime. To our mind, that hasn't quite happened yet. No matter how
navelgazing/boring In Treatment or Tell Me You Love Me
were, Showtime didn't overcome HBO in the last year or so so much as
supply an alternative to it. They don't have any comedies as
idiosyncratic as Curb Your Enthusiasm, nor do any of their hour-long shows acheive the grandeur of The Sopranos or even HBO's misfires, like Carnivàle. (Possible exception: This American Life, which since it's a doc we're thinking doesn't count.)
Still,
HBO knows they've got a title to defend. And it looks to us like their
solution is to throw lots and lots of money around developing new
shows. None of which sound particularly great.
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