Boardwalk Empire done after 5 seasons...

[Warped9]

Well this is disheartening: http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-78839036/

So next season will be the final season and where they'll have to tie everything up. I'm finding that somewhat hard to envision given how much and how many stories there are left to tell.

This is one of the few series I watch and after next fall it'll be gone.

 

[lurok]

Sounds right move for me. I mentioned in the review thread the only other way I thought they could have gone after s4 finale was a spin-off/sequel series set in Chicago with Stephen Graham as lead.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Mhm, well, I actually prefer that they end it while it's still good.

I hate it when a once-awesome show gets dragged on forever until it is finally put out of its misery (The X-Files, Dexter, The Simpsons). Better a shorter run when it means that it'll go out on a high-note.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The link doesn't work for me.

Disappointing news as Boardwalk Empire is one of my favorite current shows (after Doctor Who and Game of Thrones), but I agree that it's better for the show to end on a high, instead of dragging its feet for the last few seasons, espeically after the train wreck of Dexter.

I would love to watch a Stephen Graham spin-off on the history of Al Capone.

 

[TheGodBen]

I had read somewhere before that their original plan was for 6 seasons, so it's a pity it's going to fall one season short. It seems that the high production costs and not-great ratings have finally caught up with it.

 

[Warped9]

I had read somewhere before that their original plan was for 6 seasons, so it's a pity it's going to fall one season short. It seems that the high production costs and not-great ratings have finally caught up with it.

Six seasons sounds about right. I didn't know about the ratings. I thought they were supposedly okay.

The link doesn't work for me.

Here you go.

Chicago Tribune

HBO drama 'Boardwalk Empire' to end run after five seasons

Reuters
7:24 pm, January 9, 2014

LOS ANGELES, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Prohibition-era
television drama "Boardwalk Empire" will conclude after its
fifth season, which is slated to air later this year, HBO said
on Thursday.

"Boardwalk Empire," a mob crime drama, stars Steve Buscemi
as crooked Atlantic City, New Jersey, treasurer Enoch "Nucky"
Thompson, based on Enoch L. Johnson, a corrupt and powerful
political boss of the 1920s Prohibition era.

The fifth season is scheduled to premiere in the fall.

The drama was created by "The Sopranos" writer and executive
producer Terence Winter. Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese
won an Emmy for his direction of the series' big-budget pilot
that premiered in September 2010.

The series has won 17 Emmy awards since its debut, including
Bobby Cannavale as best supporting actor in a drama series for
his role as gangster Gyp Rosetti.

Premium cable network HBO is owned by Time Warner Inc

I tried to learn more, but for now that's all I could find. I first saw the notice in the Toronto Sun and then went looking for more information. Everywhere seemed to have the same short release notice.

 

[Shurik]

I guess it's a cost vs. ratings thing. S4 ratings where less than half of those of S3 of Game of Thrones and less than even True Blood in its 6th season.

 

[Anwar]

Well, 5 years is a good run especially for a show that costs this much and has so much talent in it. I'll be sad to see it go, but it's sometimes better to end on a high point than just drag it out.

Heck, some fans I spoke to thought S3's ending would've been a fine ending.

 

[TheGodBen]

I didn't know about the ratings. I thought they were supposedly okay.

The ratings were okay, but for such an expensive show they needed solidly good ratings to stay out of the cancellation bubble. Deadwood had the same problem even though it did okay in the ratings, if I remember correctly. Boardwalk has been a contender for cancellation since the second season at least, but HBO kept it around because it's a prestige show and a "living link" back to The Sopranos. The gradual fall in ratings, combined with huge success of Game of Thrones, probably convinced them that they didn't need Boardwalk Empire any more.

 

[Jax]

I was hoping to see 6 seasons but ratings have been very middle grounding and the cost of the show must be pretty big. I do wonder what HBO will replace it with?

 

[Q2UnME]

^ at this rate, the only series that will left on HBO will be GoT.

I wonder if Steve B. has had enough and wants to do something different? That would tank the show in a hurry. Perhaps it's an all around mutual decision to go at the end of 5?

 

[bigdaddy]

Ending after 5 seasons... something Showtime needs to learn.

 

[doubleohfive]

To paraphrase Braveheart, Every show ends, not every show is really good.

Boardwalk is likely one of the most expensive shows on TV to produce. Five years is a good run and in this case it has been a most excellent run. I'll miss the show but I won't grieve it.

 

[doubleohfive]

I didn't know about the ratings. I thought they were supposedly okay.

The ratings were okay, but for such an expensive show they needed solidly good ratings to stay out of the cancellation bubble. Deadwood had the same problem even though it did okay in the ratings, if I remember correctly. Boardwalk has been a contender for cancellation since the second season at least, but HBO kept it around because it's a prestige show and a "living link" back to The Sopranos. The gradual fall in ratings, combined with huge success of Game of Thrones, probably convinced them that they didn't need Boardwalk Empire any more.

HBO doesn't care about ratings. Ok, maybe they do somewhat, but in the grand scheme of things, they don't live and die by the ratings of their shows the way the networks do. HBO cares about subscriptions.

This is the new paradigm of television production and sales. Netflix is run very much the same way. Likely the enormous cost of producing the show did contribute to the decision as any other reason, but to blame it on ratings is not an entirely accurate way to assess the situation.

Likewise, I fail to see how having another successful show on the air would somehow mean that HBO didn't "need" Boardwalk any longer. If both shows are doing well, it only serves to up HBO's prestige in the industry.

 

[Starbreaker]

Not surprising. I don't think the ratings were ever as good as HBO wanted them to be.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, I certainly hope they do a better job of tying things up compared to the Season 4 Finale. That was disappointing, and I felt a noticeable downturn in the quality of the sets and overall character interaction.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Well, I certainly hope they do a better job of tying things up compared to the Season 4 Finale. That was disappointing, and I felt a noticeable downturn in the quality of the sets and overall character interaction.

I do wonder what happened to the boardwalk set because I heard it was very expensive to make, you think they would want to get their moneys worth out of it.

 

[TheGodBen]

HBO doesn't care about ratings. Ok, maybe they do somewhat, but in the grand scheme of things, they don't live and die by the ratings of their shows the way the networks do. HBO cares about subscriptions.

They don't directly rely on ratings like normal networks do, but they still rely on them when making programming decisions. After all, ratings are an indication of popularity and HBO needs to have shows that people want to watch to keep subscriber numbers up.

Deadwood, regarded by some as the greatest show ever written, was cancelled after three seasons because its ratings weren't good enough. The Wire, which actually is the greatest show ever written, was constantly fighting for renewal because of its poor ratings, and had its final season cut short because HBO just didn't want to pay for 13 episodes. HBO are better than most networks when it comes to these kinds of things, that's why Boardwalk is getting a fifth season at all, but they still care about ratings.

Likewise, I fail to see how having another successful show on the air would somehow mean that HBO didn't "need" Boardwalk any longer. If both shows are doing well, it only serves to up HBO's prestige in the industry.

Because HBO try to present themselves as a producer of prestigous programming and to do that they need at least one high quality show to be their flagship, ideally one with mass appeal. That used to be The Sopranos, and Boardwalk Empire was hoped to be the show that would fill its shoes. But Boardwalk is completely overshadowed by Game of Thrones, a show that has achieved a position in pop-culture similar to The Sopranos, so HBO are free to ditch Boardwalk and not look as if they've lost their flagship. Without the success of GoT, the decision to end Boardwalk now would have been harder.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I do wonder what happened to the boardwalk set because I heard it was very expensive to make, you think they would want to get their moneys worth out of it.

I think what happened was last summer's storm that hit NY and NJ. It might possibly have been destroyed by it. Everything about this season felt more like it had been shot indoors.

 

[Robbiesan]

Any period show is going to be very expensive in terms of sets and costumes. That means unless a channel like HBO sees an increase in sales to compensate and offset the cost of production, then the heads of the corporation are going to put more effort in new development that might do so.

And they killed off Richard, who in my mind is one of the most interesting characters of the last decade. You expect this in a gangster show. There's always going to be a body count. That meant the loss of Owen, a real mistake that happened way too early. The loss of both without some plausible ending was very irritating.

Worse, they never figured out how to use Margaret. I've been a fan of Kelly MacDonald since Two Family House and The Girl in the Cafe and Stella Does Tricks. The latter is quite an extraordinary film and should be seen even if it takes time to track it down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3cCn709G8w

The selloff of the land intended to secure the wealth of Nucky and his minions made ZERO sense. Her character would never jeopardize her rise in status. This isn't a 21st Century woman, but a very isolated immigrant woman of the 1920s who's alienated from her family as a result of theft and unwanted pregnancy. She's very disempowered and it was inauthentic to make her so self-destructive. It alienated her character from the fans, much as Skyler on Breaking Bad.

Contrast that Margaret with the one who reads the ledger, stores it, and saves Nucky from the brink of disaster (as well as herself and her children). She's a survivor and way more in keeping with what her character would likely do. The only way the land sale would ever make sense would be as a result of the death of Owen, so the order of such behaviour is way out of kilter with the series depiction.

All of these things painted the show into a corner. This is why it has to end, sadly so. Mostly I enjoyed the series and faithfully watched every episode.

TheGodBen, you're spot on about Game of Thrones making the decision much easier to cancel Boardwalk.