(image via usatoday)
Already the race to be the next HBO -- a race which, we cannot fail to note, includes HBO -- is on even as the final episodes of The Sopranos are about to air. As of this moment, anti-hero heavy FX is in the lead ("The Shield" begins tonight with Oscar winner Forest Whitaker going up against Emmy Winner Michael Chgklis), but the big numbers for The Tudors are causing tongues to wag (And not just over Rhys-Meyers who, inexplicably, seems to have replaced Jude Law as the new unreconstructed British cad, in the popular consciousness of women who wear Prada) -- will Showtime be the next home of edgy, popular fare? Will SHOwtime be the next HBO? From Variety:
"They're trying not to lose their heads over at Showtime in the wake of big numbers for the premiere of 'The Tudors.'
"Feevee cabler's high-profile, big- budget costume drama notched 870,000 viewers with its Sunday premiere, more than three times the net's 2006 primetime average and well above the debuts of recent success stories 'Dexter' and 'Weeds.'
"Add in 404,000 more who tuned in for an 11 p.m. encore of 'The Tudors,' and Showtime said it had it best series debut night in three years, since the bow of laffer 'Fat Actress.'
"Strong debut makes it more likely Showtime will move forward with a second season of the Ben Silverman-produced skein, though no decisions have been made. For now, execs were simply relieved to have successfully launched 'The Tudors,' which easily ranks as the most expensive series in the cabler's history.
'I'm wearing a crown today,' quipped Showtime entertainment prexy Robert Greenblatt."
More (Variety)
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