The critically acclaimed Boardwalk Empire, about Prohibition era America, has been approved for a third season after resounding award-winning approval of the series second season, debuting on September 25. President of HBO programming, Michael Lombardo, made the announcement last week.

“Following a triumphant first season, I was eager to see what Terry Winter, Martin Scorsese and the rest of their stellar team had in store, and they continue to surpass our highest expectations,” said Lombardo. “The response from the media and our viewers has been extremely gratifying.”

Emmy Award-winning writer of The Sopranos, Terence Winter, is the creator of the revered series set in the 1920s, in the early days of Prohibition. It chronicles the life and times of Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, the undisputed leader of Atlantic City, and the lives and souls that surrounded him.

According to a press release from HBO, the renewal of Boardwalk Empire is the latest in a number of recent drama series pickups, following True Blood, Game of Thrones and Treme, as well as commitments to new series including Luck, Life’s Too Short and Aaron Sorkin’s as-yet untitled project.

Steve Buscemi leads the impressive cast that includes Kelly Macdonald, Paz de la Huerta, Michael Pitt, Gretchen Mol and Michael Shannon. Among the early critical raves for the new season, New York’s Daily News called the show “delicious entertainment” and “one of the best shows on television,” while Daily Variety termed it “consistently bold and lusty,” as well as “good to the last illicit, intoxicating drop.”

The Boston Globe hailed the Atlantic City gangster drama as “a must-see show” and “remarkable,” and Entertainment Weekly noted that “drama this good should be illegal. Boardwalk Empire has managed to rank among HBO’s most popular series with an average gross audience of 10.7 million viewers.

The mesmerizing character of ‘Nucky’ Johnson is based on the real life Johnson. According to IMDB.com, the real life ‘Nucky’ resembled the physique of James Gandolfini in The Sopranos more than Steve Buscemi but Winter wanted to write a character that differed from his previous show and wrote the role specifically with Buscemi in mind.

At the recent Primetime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for eighteen awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. The show’s director Martin Scorsese won the category Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

In January this year, the show further received two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, Steve Buscemi.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/boardwalkempire

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus

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