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07.31.2009 12:33 pm

HBO renews three shows, but some others might not return

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Robin Williams

Robin Williams tries out new material on TV critics.

Feeling upbeat after fighting through a post-”Sopranos” slump, HBO has renewed all three of its Sunday night shows – “True Blood,” “Hung” and “Entourage” — for next summer. Think June. Cumulatively, “True Blood” gets 11 million viewers, “Hung” 10 million and “Entourage” 8 million, executives Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo told TV critics in a three-hour session.

So, that means “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ is dead? Not so fast. “We are actually in conversations now and trying to figure out the next step on that show,” Lombardo says. “As you know, that show has been a challenge creatively because (Anthony Mingella), the creative vision behind the show, unfortunately passed away after the pilot.” Adds Plepler: “The show did very well for us critically and with audiences, and we’re very proud of it. So we’re going to try to figure out a way to get it back.”

HBO wants a third season of “Flight of the Conchords,” but if and when that happens is up to the Conchords themselves. “When they’re ready, we’re ready,” Plepler says. ” The challenge, of course, is they’re not only writing a television show, but they have the added challenge of writing an album. So it’s double pressure. But we’re waiting. And as soon as they tell us they’re ready, we would be thrilled.”

Also up in the air: a third season for “In Treatment.” “We’re trying to put it together,” Plepler says. “It was adapted from an Israeli series for which there were two seasons, and we would have to create from whole cloth new scripts, but we’re working to see whether that’s possible. And I think Gabriel [Byrne] is
very interested in doing it again, so stay tuned.”

“Big Love” returns in January. “Eastbound and Down,” already renewed, returns sometime next year.

“Treme,” from David Simon (”The Wire”), is expected to debut in April. It’s set in post-Katrina New Orleans.

“Little Britain USA” won’t return, but the creators will be back on HBO with new characters and a new format.

The session included a hilarious appearance by Robin Williams for a new comedy special and too many double entendres to count from Thomas Jane and the cast of “Hung.” Larry David had lots to say about the new season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Sept. 20) and its “Seinfeld” reunion; for that, see the separate post.

More from HBO:

“The Pacific,” the 10-hour World War II miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, is due in March. It follows three Marines through Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and looks like an awesome follow to “Band of Brothers.”

An animated Ricky Gervais series will be based on podcasts by Gervais and Stephen Merchant with
Karl Pilkington, described as “funny, irreverent stream of consciousness conversations.”

Williams’ “Weapons of  “Self-Destruction” comes 32 years after his first, landmark special on HBO. It will air Dec. 6 and will reflect Williams’ comeback after heart surgery. “It really opens you up, literally,” he says. “When I went on the Letterman show … he leaned over to me on the break and said, ‘Do you find
yourself getting emotional?’ I went ‘Oh, yeah.’ ”You really do appreciate the simplest things like breath and friends, (and you think) ‘Yeah, I’ve got to keep going, Just take it a little slower.”

Gail Pennington is attending the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Los Angeles.

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As long as Big Love is back, I will be happy.

— suzyjax
12:53 am August 1st, 2009