Trueblood on HBO

It's sometimes difficult to remember a world before smart television shows had cinematic influences. Whether it's the latest offering from HBO or even a sleeper hit like "Mad Men," everything from set design to film angles that would make more sense in a movie than in a sitcom have crossed over from the silver screen to the flat screens in living rooms across the country. The success of this approach to shooting television can really be traced back to "The Sopranos," the HBO mega-hit that managed to change the face of satellite TV for years to come. Whether it was during the show's original airing on the premium cable channel or its current time in reruns on regular television, the show changed the appearance of television, setting channels like HBO on a course more towards smartly directed, beautifully written programming that would be just as at home at your local arthouse theatre as it is on HDTVs across America.

After "The Sopranos" folded, its fans waited eagerly to see what Terence Winter, screenwriter and producer, would make his next project. Many assumed that it would be with HBO, but initially, it looked as though he was shopping his options. Thankfully, the insanity stopped, and it appears that his next series for HBO won't just blow "The Sopranos" out of the water, but just might revolutionize the way that television is made yet again.

For starters, "Boardwalk Empire" has scored the coup of all coups: the pilot episode is directed by noneother than Academy Award winning director Martin Scorcese. A true expert when it comes to films depicting outlaw organizations and corruption, it makes sense that the man responsible for bringing the public "The Departed," "Goodfellas," "Taxi Driver," and "Casino" would jump at the chance to work with such rich source material. Based on a popular book by Nelson Johnson, the show centers around the world of Atlantic City during the 1920s, when alcohol was illegal and a number of clandestine bootleggers managed to make fortunes for families who would later become legal magnates, all the while also dealing with the corruption of the popular gambling destinations' beginnings.

With such promising material and a world-famous director on-board, it would seem that Winter's latest project was a shoo-in for winning over satellite tv viewers and HBO fanatics alike, but there might have still been critics out where with reservations. After all, sometimes adapting true stories can get a little bit difficult, and it's also tough to strike gold twice. Thankfully, "Boardwalk Empire" is also fortunate enough to have a cast that is just as heavyweight as its writer and director. The always-stunning Steve Buscemi holds the show's pivotal role, and his performance has already been whispered as being deserving of awards in industry insider circles. Perhaps the show's biggest gamble is casting Michael Pitt, a very accomplished but mostly unheard of young actor, who is better known by beglittered glam rock fans for his performance in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," but who blew directors and cinephiles away with his role in "Funny Games." Scorcese, who grew so fond of Leonardo Dicaprio that he helped to re-start his career in a way no one else could have, might very well find traces of a young Dicaprio in Pitt's acting. Casting him in this show might have been one of the best decisions, as finally there will be material rich enough to prove his acting prowess.

So in case the pickings on satellite tv were starting to look a little slim, fear not. If there's anything HBO has a nose for, it's a blockbuster, and "Boardwalk Empire" is shaping up to be just that.