Summer Schedule Part 2

While putting together my first summer schedule post I somehow forgot to include HBO. That's a pretty big deal too, because, you know, "It's not TV, it's HBO."

The pay network's summer season kicks off with a new HBO Original Film slated to air May 31st entitled Into The Storm: Churchill At War

The title is pretty self explanatory, but the network's descriptions gives a bit more:

For five years, Winston Churchill played perhaps the single most important role in thwarting the Nazis during WWII, with his intrepid leadership and rhetoric inspiring millions of Britons and other members of the free world to fight Hitler's Germany to the bitter end.

Continuing the story of Churchill told in HBO's award-winning film, "The Gathering Storm," INTO THE STORM is set against the backdrop of World War II, and offers an intimate look at the making of a nation's hero, whose prowess as a great wartime leader ultimately undermined his political career and threatened his marriage to his lifelong supporter, Clemmie.

So word has been out and about for awhile now that Ms. Stackhouse and Vampire Bill will be coming around June 14th for the second season of True Blood. There's been numerous curiosities floating around the net, including the new poster I wrote about here, the mesmerizing season 2 trailer featuring Bob Dylan's new bluesy track, Beyond Here Lies Nothing (see below), the somewhat baffling horn-filled sneak peak (also see below), and spoilers galore.





Entourage is slated to return sometime during the summer for it's 6th season. One problem I have with this show, though, is that each season is only 13 episodes. 13 episodes of a half-hour show is not a full season in my book, but I won't fight it. Anyway, season 5 was a bit on the slow and relatively disappointing side but I'm guessing 6, with the crew back in Hollywood and Vince starring in a Scorsese film, things are gonna get good real fast.

Jeremy Pivens lost alot of cred in the eyes of New Yorkers by bailing on his Broadway duties a couple months ago, which makes me wonder if that will affect NYC ratings for the show at all. Something to ponder. No date has been announced for the premiere, but many are speculating the last weekend of June or possibly the first weekend of July.

Finally, HBO has a new series in the works called Hung. Not much has leaked yet but the keep the title in mind when reading the description below and I think you can probably figure it out. The premise sounds pretty fantastic and thoughts of Boogie Nights are circling my brain, though the description doesn't say it's based in the 70's. Not date has been announced yet for the premiere.

Years ago in high school, Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) was athletic, popular and destined for success. Now, as a high-school teacher and basketball coach, he's underpaid, uninsured, and embittered that his wife of 20 years (Anne Heche) has left him for her dermatologist. After a fire damages the rundown Detroit home he inherited from his parents, Ray's fortunes reach an all-time low when his twin children, who had been living with him, move in with their mom and her clean-freak hubby. Lonely, run-down and at wit's end, Ray attends a local self-help class whose mantra is to identify a personal "winning tool" to market for financial success. After a not-so-fulfilling encounter with a fellow attendee - an ex-flame and would-be poet named Tanya (Jane Adams) - Ray has a "eureka" moment. With the help of Tanya, Ray resolves to take advantage of his greatest asset, in hopes of changing his fortunes in a big way.

Update: Thanks to suXXus, we now know Hung is slated to premiere at 10pm on June 28th in both the U.S. and Canada.