HBO announced today that its new Aaron Sorkin series THE NEWSROOM has been renewed for a 2d season, and that TRUE BLOOD will be back for Season 6. Newsroom is the most talked-about new show of the summer, and True Blood is the network’s biggest hit, so neither of these decisions was in any way surprising. What is interesting, though, about the Newsroom announcement is its timing. The show had its 2d airing last night, and while official ratings won’t be available until tomorrow, it’s virtually certain that HBO has more than an inkling of what those numbers will be. Nevertheless, the statement announcing Newsroom‘s renewal conspicuously lacks any mention of how the show held up in its sophomore week. While it’s true that HBO doesn’t care about ratings in the way non-pay networks do, and buzz is its currency of choice, this certainly looks as though the network may have wanted the renewal story to have its own day before potentially disappointing ratings are unveiled on Tuesday.
True Blood is a blockbuster hit that will now doubt continue running on HBO for years to come. The only wrinkle in its Season 6 renewal is that 2013 will be the show’s first season without series creator Alan Ball at the helm; after 5 years, Ball has decided to concentrate on other projects, leaving Mark Hudis, who’s been a Co-Executive Producer on Blood for the past 2 seasons, to take over as showrunner. Since True Blood is neither in trouble nor the kind of show that features extensive rebooting, the new blood probably won’t result in much difference to viewer eyes.
About the Author
Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."
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