Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From the Sopranos and the Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad
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Broken Trail, 247, 271
Bromell, Henry
on Chase as showrunner, 161
on Chase’s writing, 45, 52–53
on new approach at HBO, 231
on pressure of showrunning, 9
sketch of television history, 24
Bronchtein, Henry, 243–44
Burgess, Mitchell
Almost Grown, 45
on Chase’s ambition, 78
Emmy award, 168
Northern Exposure, 75
on quality of The Sopranos, 70
The Sopranos, 74–75, 159, 162, 169, 243
work after The Sopranos, 281
Burns, Ed
background and learning experiences, 120–22
as Baltimore police officer, 109–10, 122–25, 136–38
book collaboration with Simon, 125–27
exclusion from The Corner writing staff, 130–31
Generation Kill, 119, 207
responsibilities after Colesberry’s death, 199
on The Shield, 223–24
The Wire as social activism for, 135
The Wire pilot script, 136–38
in The Wire writers’ room, 143–46, 192–96, 199–200, 207–8
work after The Wire and Generation Kill, 208, 280
cable dramas
actors’ job insecurity, 196
antihero principle, 4–6, 87–88, 175, 222, 267–68
bond between viewer and show, 16–17
in cable operator packages, 86, 212
as distinct and dominant art form, 11, 278
female characters, 5, 13, 227
literary storytelling structure, 6–7, 60
male-focused programming, 13–14
male inner struggle, 84, 104–6, 189–90, 228
opening credits, 15–16
pilots, 59–61
powerful showrunners, 8–9, 72–73, 148
producers’ responsibilities, 25n
quality of, 14, 285–86
season length, 6, 204–5
technologies affecting audience, 14–16, 31, 32, 85, 155, 203, 277
timeline, x–xi
traditional genres, 84, 260
unresolved endings, 120, 278
writers’ rooms, 70–73
Cablevision. See AMC
Cahill, Jason, 76
Cannell, Stephen J., 25–26, 41–42, 86
Carnivàle, 230
Carter, Chris, 265–66
Castleman, Dan, 75
Catlin, Sam, 271, 274
CBS, 45, 64, 169, 215
Chase, David. See also Sopranos, The
Almost Grown, 45, 69, 73
as director, 65–66
disdain for television, 8, 34–35, 45
Emmy awards, 44, 168
experiences inspiring The Sopranos, 35–36, 38, 62–63
failed pilots, 61–62
fame, 156
I’ll Fly Away, 52–54, 65, 75
interest in filmmaking, 37–39, 44–45, 69, 289–90
Kolchak: The Night Stalker, 39–40
negative temperament, 35, 52, 53–54, 64, 105
Northern Exposure, 53–55, 73, 75
Off the Minnesota Strip, 43–44, 62–63
power and autonomy as showrunner, 8, 159, 161–62, 252, 258
primitive impulses, 88–89
The Rockford Files, 42–43, 73
on showrunning, 73–74
and Simon, compared, 111–12
start of television career, 39–40
worry and stress, 156, 160–61
Chernin, Peter, 213, 220
Chiklis, Michael, 218–19, 223
C.K., Louis, 230, 284
Cleveland, Rick, 101
Close, Glenn, 227
Colesberry, Bob, 131, 140–41, 191, 198
Collins, Chris, 143–44
Corner, The: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (Burns and Simon), 126–27
Corner, The (miniseries), 130–32
Corrado, Regina, 186–87, 189
Coulter, Allen, 90
Curry, Jack, 49
Damages, 12, 13, 166–67, 227
Deadwood
cancellation, 232–34
as classic American narrative, 181
female characters, 5
Milch’s work process and style, 183–87
repurposed pitch for, 178–81
themes and characters, 4, 181–83
Def Comedy Jam, 51, 130
Dexter, 6, 12
Dirt, 269
Dolan, Charles, 47, 48
Doman, John, 150
“Doug & Dad,” 55
Dunham, Lena, 211–12
Dutton, Charles “Roc,” 131, 132
Eglee, Charles “Chic,” 218, 283
Elba, Idris, 140, 197–98, 280
Elice, Jeremy, 220–21, 247, 254–55, 270, 284
Falco, Edie
as actress, 1
audition for The Sopranos, 68–69
Emmy awards, 96, 168
at final episode of The Sopranos, 288
work after The Sopranos, 281
Falsey, John, 46, 51–52, 54
Fin-Syn Rules (Financial Interest and Syndication Rules), 26, 32
Fitzgerald, Susie, 56, 61, 67, 79
Fogel, Alexa, 139–40
Fontana, Tom, 57, 127–28
Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (Mander), 23–24
Free Fire Zone (Rebeck), 176
Frolov, Diane, 54, 158
Fuchs, Michael, 48, 55, 56
FX. See also Shield, The
Breaking Bad ownership and sale, 269–71
Damages, 12, 13, 166–67, 227
Dirt, 269
Justified, 284
Louie, 230, 284
Nip/Tuck, 227
offices, 214–15
original programming and brand identity, 86, 212–14, 228–29
profane and violent programming, 214, 226, 284
Rescue Me, 4, 105–6, 227–28
Sons of Anarchy, 226, 284
Game of Thrones, 235, 281, 282
Gandolfini, James
casting of, 67–68, 69
Emmy award, 168
erratic behavior, 1–3, 17, 157
work after The Sopranos, 281
Generation Kill, 119, 207
Gilliam, Seth, 57, 149, 150–51, 152, 194
Gilligan, Vince. See also Breaking Bad
on credit for script writing, 259
on difficulty of television production, 11
feature films, 265, 266
supportive showrunner style, 264–65
visual approach to storytelling, 275–76
The X-Files, 265–66
Girls, 211
Glazer, Mitch, 241
Gould, Peter, 271, 276
Green, Robin
Almost Grown, 45
Emmy award, 168
on Milch’s erratic behavior, 174
Northern Exposure, 51, 75
The Sopranos, 74–75, 78, 162, 168–70, 243
work after The Sopranos, 281
on working with Weiner, 244
Greenblatt, Bob, 64, 99
Grey, Brad, 25n, 65
Griffiths, Rachel, 100, 103
Gyllenhaal, Stephen, 128
Hall, Barbara, 14, 51, 52, 70
Hamm, Jon, 249–51
HBO. See also Deadwood; Sopranos, The; Wire, The
adult themes and gratuitous sex, 50, 214, 231, 282
African American actors and audience, 51, 130–31, 140, 1
52
Boardwalk Empire, 5, 232, 282, 285
Carnivàle, 230
The Corner, 130–32
Def Comedy Jam, 51, 130
failures, 230–31
Game of Thrones, 235, 281, 282
HBO (cont.)
Generation Kill, 119, 207
inception as cable subscription service, 47–48
independence from advertisers, 85
internal problems, 229, 231–32, 234, 236–38
John from Cincinnati, 235–36
The Larry Sanders Show, 50–51, 230
Luck, 187, 233, 281, 282, 285
Lucky Louie, 230, 231
on-demand service, 203–4
original-programming mission, 4, 12, 49–51, 58, 229–30
Oz, 57–58, 68
personnel changes, 55–56, 229, 236–38, 281
programming spectrum, 48–50, 281–83
Sex and the City, 12, 58, 229
Six Feet Under, 4, 60, 98–104, 107
successful formula and signature attributes, 96, 204–5, 212, 228–29
successful runs, 14, 95–96, 229
Tell Me You Love Me, 231
Treme, 132, 142–43, 207–8, 279, 281
True Blood, 107, 281–82
Hill, Walter, 181, 247
Hill Street Blues, 27–32, 171, 172–74
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (Simon), 117–20
Homicide: Life on the Street (television series), 127–30, 175
Huggins, Roy, 39
Hutchison, Gennifer, 271
I’ll Fly Away, 52–54, 65, 75
Jacquemetton, Andre and Maria, 252
James, Caryn, 154
Job, The, 228
John from Cincinnati, 235
Johnson, Clark, 129–30, 138–39, 141, 218, 223
Justified, 284
Kael, Pauline, 13–14
Kaplan, Bruce Eric, 101
Kecken, Joy Lusco, 136, 144
Kessler, Todd
on Chase’s primitive impulses, 88–89
Damages, 12, 13, 166–67, 227
The Sopranos, 164–66
Kolchak: The Night Stalker, 39–40
Kozoll, Michael, 27–28, 30
Krause, Peter, 100, 103–4
Landgraf, John, 86, 227, 268–69
Landress, Ilene, 25n, 69
Landsman, Jay, 110, 118, 120, 123
Larry Sanders Show, The, 50–51, 230
Leary, Denis, 228
Lehane, Dennis, 148
Levin, Jerry, 48
Levinson, Barry, 127, 128
Lewis, Jeffrey, 30, 172
Liguori, Peter
on casting for Rampart (later The Shield), 219
on debut of The Shield, 222–23
decision to produce risky program, 217–18
on male-focused programming, 13
mission to transform FX, 213–15
plea to advertisers for The Shield, 221
on Tony Soprano character, 85
work after departure from FX, 283
Liss, Ira, 248
Lombardo, Michael, 201, 230, 231, 232, 237
Lombardozzi, Domenick, 149, 150–51, 152, 194–95
Long, Rob, 48
Luck, 187, 233, 281, 282, 285
Lucky Louie, 230, 231
Mad Men
artistry and emotional intelligence, 260–63
casting, 140, 249–51
female characters, 5
Golden Globe Award, 257
HBO’s rejection of, 239, 244
pilot, 248–49, 252
promotion strategy, 256
story line, 59, 249
writers’ room, 252–56, 258–59
Mander, Jerry, 23–24
Mann, Michael, 282
Manos, James, Jr., 60–61, 72, 76, 93–94, 225
Mastras, George, 271
Mazzara, Glen, 225, 226, 284
McLarney, Terrence, 110, 118, 120, 123–24
McNutt, Myles, 282
Milch, David. See also Deadwood
on cancellation of Deadwood, 233–34
creative process, 176–77, 187–89
on decline in influence of advertisers, 86–87
early successes, 171
Emmy awards, 171, 173
failures, 174
on future of original programming, 286
health problems, 172, 177
Hill Street Blues, 27–32, 171, 172–74
John from Cincinnati, 235
Luck, 187, 233, 281, 282, 285
NYPD Blue, 171, 174–78
on standard season length, 204–5
unpredictability, 172, 173–74, 176
on work at MTM, 32
on writers’ collaboration, 72–73
Mills, David, 113, 128–29, 175–76, 200
Minow, Newton, 22
MTM Enterprises
creation of, 24
creative freedom for writers, 26–27
Hill Street Blues, 27–32, 171, 172–74
influential dramas, 27
St. Elsewhere, 31–32, 51
Naegle, Sue, 27, 237, 282
Nash Bridges, 215
NBC, 27–29, 30–31
Nevins, Sheila, 49
Nip/Tuck, 227
Noble, Nina K., 141, 199, 201–2
Northern Exposure, 51–52, 53–55, 73, 75
NYPD Blue, 171, 174–78
O’Connor, John J., 44
Off the Minnesota Strip, 43–44, 62–63
Oh, Grow Up, 97–98
Oliver, Nancy, 101
Overmyer, Eric, 127, 142, 144
Oz, 57–58, 68
Palmer, Tom, 252
Paltrow, Bruce, 31, 51
Patterson, John, 37–38, 39
PBS, 54, 284
Pelecanos, George
on failure of The Wire season five, 204, 207
on relationship between Simon and Burns, 144, 207
on Simon’s antiauthoritarianism, 138
The Wire, 147–49, 193, 194, 195–96, 197–98, 207
Peranio, Vince, 142
Peters, Clarke, 150, 280
Pierce, Wendell, 150, 151, 280
pilots, functions and challenges of, 59–61
Playdon, Paul, 39–40
Plepler, Richard, 51, 231, 237
Polcsa, Juliet, 243
Poniewozik, James, 203
Post, Mike, 25–26, 43
Poul, Alan, 99, 100, 101, 103
Powers, Kate, 271
Price, Richard, 148–49, 281
Provenzano, Chris, 73, 252, 253, 255
Rampart. See Shield, The
Rebeck, Theresa, 176, 185–86
Reilly, Kevin
on Albrecht’s response to The Sopranos pilot, 69
on Chase’s ideas and views, 62, 64
on Chernin’s response to The Shield pilot, 220
on HBO ratings in early years, 51
mission to transform FX, 213–15
on reaction of advertisers to The Shield, 221
on risk in producing Rampart (later The Shield), 217–18
on The Shield’s Emmy prospects, 223
on unsuitability of The Sopranos for network television, 64
work after departure from FX, 283
Renzulli, Frank, 76–78, 91, 162–64
Rescue Me, 4, 105–6, 227–28
Rockford Files, The, 42–43, 73
Rosenbaum, Scott, 225
Royo, Andre, 150–52, 153, 196–97, 200
Ryan, Shawn. See also Shield, The
on future of original programming, 286
Nash Bridges, 215
on television as commercial venture, 224–25
work after The Shield, 283
Sapan, Josh, 245–46
Saraceni, Mark, 76
Sassa, Scott, 96
Schnauz, Thomas, 266, 271, 275
Schneider, Andrew, 4, 32, 54, 158
Sex and the City, 12, 58, 229
Shield, The
act-outs preceding commercial breaks, 224–25
advertisers, 217, 220, 221
antihero protagonist, 217, 226
casting, 218–20, 227
comparison with The Wire, 223–24
debut following September 11 terrorist attacks, 221–23
Emmy award, 223
one-line story summary, 60
pilot’s risky ending, 217–18
references to current events, 216–17, 226
run-and-gun production style, 218
writers’ room, 225–26
showrunners
institutionalized autocratic role, 30, 252
power of, 8–9, 72–73, 148
primitive impulses, 88
script rewriting and writer credit, 258–59
Showtime
Dexter, 6, 12
Nurse Jackie, 281
Weeds, 13, 268–69
Silverman, Fred, 27, 30–31
Simon, David. See also Wire, The
antiauthoritarianism, 138
argument as creative process for, 112–13, 133, 145
blog, The Audacity of Despair, 279–80
and Chase, compared, 111–12
The Corner (book), 126–27
Simon, David (cont.)
The Corner (miniseries), 130–32
divorce and unhappiness, 136, 138
Homicide (book), 117–20
Homicide (television series), 127–30, 175
as journalist, 111, 113–17, 124–25, 129, 205
persuasive writing, 133–34, 200–201
Treme, 132, 142–43, 207–8, 279, 281
year-in-the-life book proposal, 192
Sirico, Tony, 68, 160
Six Feet Under, 4, 60, 98–104, 107
Solberg, John, 220–21
Soloway, Jill, 101–2
Sons of Anarchy, 226, 284
Sopranos, The
antihero protagonist, 84–85, 89, 92–93
characters foreshadowed in Chase’s earlier works, 43–44
Chase’s intention to end series, 157, 167–68
“College” episode, 90–94
cultural climate at debut of show, 87
as cultural event, 154–57
Emmy awards, 93–94, 96, 168
Falco as Carmela character, 1, 68–69, 96, 168, 288
final episode, 286–89
Gandolfini as Tony character, 1–3, 17, 67–68, 69, 157, 288
inspirations for characters, 35–36, 38, 62–63
minimovie-like episodes, 90–91
music, 83–84