HBO's Michael Lombardo and Richard Plepler Remain Committed to Series Development

Beverly Hills, CA - "This year we've probably spent more money on series programming than any year in the past, and that will be the same next year," HBO Programming Group and West Coast Operations president Michael Lombardo said late last week during HBO's presentation at the Summer Television Critics Association Tour. "We'll actually increase the number of series hours."

Lombardo was responding to an observation that HBO seems to be placing more emphasis on specials and movies rather than series. Indeed, with signature hits Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood and Rome having ended; the future of Curb Your Enthusiasm in question; and new drama John from Cincinnati failing to generate significant buzz, it had appeared of late that network might be losing momentum, at least on the series front.

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But HBO's presentation and party here at the TCA tour surely changed that perception. Tell Me You Love Me, an upcoming drama series about three couples at different stages in their relationships that is filled with graphic sex and nudity, has been one of the most talked about shows during the first week of this event. Larry David and the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm took the tour by storm on behalf of their show, which many critics had all but written off a few months ago. The casts of John from Cincinnati and Flight of the Conchords turned out in force at HBO's party and convinced even those critics who weren't interested in their shows to view additional episodes. The cast of Entourage, a favorite among the critics, was also on hand to support the network.

Even Sopranos star James Gandolfini was there, continuing his relationship with HBO. He was accompanied by five extraordinary young veterans of the Iraq war that he interviews at great length in the upcoming documentary Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq. The only person missing from the activities was superstar Justin Timberlake, whose recent concert will be telecast on HBO on Labor Day.

Also key for HBO the other day were the first appearances at TCA of Michael Lombardo and HBO co-president Richard L. Plepler. Following the departure of HBO chairman Chris Albrecht and the controversial finale of The Sopranos, the press was anxious to hear what the new leadership team would have to say about their future plans for the network.

Plepler took exception with one critic who suggested that HBO was "at a crossroads" at the moment. "Truthfully, there's nothing that will ever top The Sopranos," he admitted. "[But] when you watch what we are about to do in the coming months, I think you will see that the best is yet to come."

Significantly, there is some question about whether or not the two planned Deadwood movies that are supposed to bring the popular Western saga to a close will be included in Plepler's vision of future success. Deadwood creator David Milch, who is also the creator and executive producer of John from Cincinnati, is just finishing the latter and is "exhausted," Lombardo said. "It has always been our intention to do [the movies]. It is complicated. We don't have holds on the actors anymore. David is busy doing John. We will revisit this with David at the end of the summer after he's had a little bit of a rest and after we know what the future of John is for him."

One thing is certain: If HBO renews John, Milch will be expected to begin writing the second season of the show almost immediately, which would likely rule out the possibility of doing the Deadwood movies, because there is only so much one man can do at a time. Lombardo said that HBO learned from the increasingly long hiatuses between seasons of The Sopranos that "waiting a year and a half between shows is probably not ideal for the viewer. Trust me, we're going to sit down and figure this out with [Milch]."

Plepler added that John last week saw a 15 percent "tick up" in its audience from the previous Sunday, and that it is cuming over 4.3 million viewers. "The show is really finding an audience and the audience is staying consistent," he said.

There were some questions about the future of Flight of the Conchords, as well, because ratings for its Sunday premiere telecasts have not been robust.

"What's important for Conchords is that we hit the 18-34 audience that we're looking for," Plepler said. "The size of the rating isn't as important to us as the fact that we're hitting a group that's important to our subscriber base."

"With Conchords we're seeing an enormous consumption on HBO On Demand," Lombardo added. "All of [HBO's] shows have an enormous amount of use on the on-demand platform, but Conchords in particular is doing terrifically well. I think that speaks to the demo, which may not be [comprised of] appointment viewers as much as an older demo."

Plepler and Lombardo concluded their session by offering their takes on the final scene in the Sopranos finale. "I think what happened is that [series creator] David [Chase] was simply saying, 'Reap what you sow.' [Tony Soprano] is a guy who is going to live a life of eternal vigilance, looking over his shoulder always, never being sure of his safety or his family's."

"I don't know because my TV went out," Lombardo added.