HBO at TCA: Is There Too Much Violence Against Women on Premium Cable?

Beverly Hills, CA – There’s nothing quite like being new to an executive position at a network or programming service and having to face members of the Television Critics Association at one of their twice yearly tours. But when that first session turns into a trial by fire about sex, violence and brutality against women, it is something else entirely. That was the situation HBO’s new President of Programming Casey Bloys found himself in on Saturday, when he kicked off a three-hour block of press conferences that generated significant interest in three upcoming original series – “Divorce,” “Insecure” and “Westworld.” (The critics’ respective assessments: “Don’t know.” “Don’t miss it.” “Don’t bet on it.”) It was the only time that a combustive television-related issue of any kind came up during the first week of the tour. (Evan Rachel Wood is pictured above in a scene from “Westworld.”)