July 11, 2008
As mentioned previously, HBO has pushed back some of its most anticipated shows to the fall. As a result of the writers' strike, the fifth season of Entourage has been delayed while Big Love season 3 and the return of Flight of the Conchords are off until 2009. Now, the network has set premiere dates for Entourage and for two new series next season, hinting an end to a long fallow period for original series at the channel.
The fifth season of Entourage will kick off on September 7 and will feature a new roster of guest stars, including Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kevin Pollak. Additionally, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known for her role on The Sopranos, has also been cast for several episodes of the new season.
July 7, 2008
When last we saw Meadow Soprano, she was having troubles parallel parking outside of a diner, late for a family dinner. After that The Sopranos episode's controversial final scene – in which the show quietly ended with Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'” playing before the screen going to black – Meadow's actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler left HBO for new projects, along with the rest of the The Sopranos cast.
Word has just been leaked by Kristin over at E! Online that Jamie-Lynn Sigler will soon be returning to HBO, however. She has just been cast for several episodes on Entourage's upcoming fifth season.
June 14, 2008
Fans who have been waiting for the return of HBO's slate of summer programming will have to wait a little bit longer than expected. As a result of the writers' strike, the fifth season of Entourage,has been delayed until the Fall while Big Love season 3 and the return of Flight of the Conchords are off until 2009. Also being delayed is True Blood, the highly anticipated new vampire series from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. Though the network won't have much original programming to offer during the summer months, they will have the seven-hour miniseries Generation Kill, which is from the producers of The Wire.
May 27, 2008
Shad Moss, best known by his stage name Bow Wow, wants to be the next Will Smith, who has successfully transitioned from rapper to award-winning actor. In attempt to follow the footsteps of Smith, the 21-year-old rapper-music producer has decided to focus on acting full time.
Most recently, Bow Wow has been cast in upcoming fifth season of Entourage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he'll be in a recurring role as a new stand-up comedic client managed by Eric (Kevin Connolly).
August 5, 2007
Episode Overview: The boys buy Eric a desk for his new office but find out it already has an owner. Ari has a meeting with an R&B diva.
Eric has decided to get a new office for his producer responsibilities. It's hard to get work done around the house when everybody's partying. The office is not in the most desirable location and barely has any furniture. Ari's got a big day ahead of him: Mary J. Blige will be paying her annual visit to the office. Before the meeting, one of his co-workers, Jeff, warns Ari that he and his brother have been having problems. If it doesn't have to do with Mary J., Ari isn't interested.
Jim, Jeff's brother, goes to Ari asking that Jeff be fired. Ari has more things to worry about. He's on the phone with one of Peter Jackson's VPs. Seems E let them know Vince wants to work with Peter. The boys set their sights on a quality desk for Eric's office. They find one with a rich Hollywood history, with one former owner being DeNiro. That sells Vince who throws down $42K for that piece of furniture. Before he can buy it, he finds out someone already bought and that someone is Gary Busey. Yes!
July 29, 2007
Episode Overview: A conversation between the boys turns into an all out bet and Ari goes to great lengths to get what he wants.
While the boys share a meal, a hot waitress flirts with Eric, who isn't interested in dating a waitress. The guys get on his case, saying he's never had unemotional sex. E attempts to defend himself but the boys provide a pretty convincing case. Vince jumps in, making a bet that Eric could have some emotional sex before Drama and Turtle. Drama bows out, and becomes Turtle's wingman to get him some action before Eric. There are rules of course: it's gotta be a complete stranger, they can't call her after, and they can't pay for it. $5,000 is up for grabs and everybody's in.
July 22, 2007
Episode Overview: The dream team signs on for a new project, Turtle and Drama look to make a quick buck, and Lloyd copes with a breakup.
While Ari (Jeremy Piven) is proud of himself for assembling the “dream team” for Vince's new project (Vince stars, Eric producers, and Walsh directs), Eric is busy de-assembling the team. He calls Ari to deliver the news: he and Vine want Walsh off the project. Ari won't hear of it, sending them to meet with movie heavyweight Dana Gordon, who's looking to hire them.
July 19, 2007
Nominations for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were released today and the academy showed the love to HBO, giving the network 86 nominations, and giving Entourage seven, including the show's first Outstanding Comedy Series nomination up against The Office, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men and Ugly Betty. The show stands a good chance but will need to prevail over defending champ, The Office and popular Ugly Betty.
The episode “One Day In The Valley” was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. In the season 3 episode, Vince and his boys head to the Valley to screen Aquaman, in order to avoid being recognized. The blackouts caused by the intense heat screw up the west-coast box office numbers so while they're waiting for the news, Vince and company show up at a high school party of one of his fans. Perhaps “What About Bob” would have been a better contender but who can complain?