By: Valerie Milano

HBO finally made their presentation this month to a packed ballroom of TV Critics @ The Beverly Hilton Hotel, August 7th as the press tour wound down to a close, and there was plenty of news to share. Just announced last week, the Boss is back. HBO is releasing a documentary of the making of Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and according to Quentin Shaffer “They have footage in here from 1976 to ’78 of Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt, the whole crew making this incredible album. And Springsteen goes through 70 songs just to get down to the eight that he felt were right for this.”

Richard Plepler, HBO head of programming said “Thirty years ago, when the guys were making the album, they filmed the artistic process of putting the album together, and they put it in a vault. And 30 years later, all of those guys got back together again and talked about what the album meant to them, what it meant to the culture at the time, remembering the creative process that they went through.” Jon Landau put the film together and whether you’re a Springsteen fan or you’re not, one can appreciate the pressure they felt and the creativity that went into becoming more than just a flash in the pan.

A favorite series, “True Blood” continues to pick up viewership.  After beginning as a big hit at Comic Con, Plepler commented “It’s very entertaining.” Alan has created this extremely compelling and engaging and addictive world, and I think what happens always, particularly in this viral universe that we live in, is that the power of amplification is so great that when you get passionate fan bases, they talk to each other, and that becomes very catalytic, and people get excited, and I think that’s what happened with “True Blood.”

Michael Lombardo, president of programming, said of “Entourage”, “The plan right now is we’ll finish up this season, and not clear an exact number, do a shorter order next season to finish up.” Doug Ellin is already working on the show’s ending, “I would expect that within the next couple of years you’ll see him up here with another show. But “Entourage” …the next time will definitely be the final season.

Also returning for another season are favorites “Bored to Death”, “Treme”, “In Treatment” and “Eastbound and Down” and Larry David, who enjoys an ‘open door’ policy doesn’t show any plans of finishing up “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and is filming in New York at this time. Adding to the regular programming will be a documentary airing on Veteran’s Day called “Wartorn” 1861-2010” which takes a look at combat stress in American history. Bringing back the original  reality series, “Cinema Verite” with Diane Lane, James Gandolfini and Tim Robbins, “This is a look at the making of the “The American Family,” the Louds family.” Said Shaffer, “It’s hard to believe that was in the ’70s, and it was the first of the reality shows. And I think, after what happened to that family, they had a hiatus for a while before cameras were allowed into the home.”

A few additional notes on HBO’s upcoming programming to look for: “Mildred Pierce”, based on the James M. Cain novel will be presented as a 5 part miniseries. David Milch is writing a program about the world of horse racing in “Luck” with Dustin Hoffman is his first television series joined by an all-star cast of Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina and Richard Kind. “The Game of Thrones”  Shaffer said “George RR Martin, for those of you who don’t know, he’s like the American Tolkien, and he has a series of novels that he’s written that are set in a vast and violent medieval world. The people at Comic-Con can’t wait to get hold of this, but this is coming up. It is being shot in Ireland now.” Lombardo commented that the audience is sophisticated and they’re waiting, “they set a bar, because they loved the books, that if you’re going to do it, you gotta do it right, and the good news is when you do deliver, as in “True Blood,” you’re having…a dialogue with the fan.”