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HBO has picked up to pilot 40, an ensemble comedy from Entourage creator/executive producer Doug Ellin co-starring Ed Burns.
The show, set in New York, revolves around four lifelong friends who help each other navigate life at 40, which isn’t all they expected it to be. Burns will play one of them, married with kids guy, who used to work at Bear Stearns making over 2 million a year but has now been out of work for almost a year. The quartet also includes a rich metrosexual guy, a a ripped personal trainer and a schlumpy neurotic married guy.The project falls under Ellin’s overall deal with HBO.
40 joins HBO’s recent pilot orders to Armando Ianucci’s Veep starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Aaron Sorkin’s untitled News Show project. Entourage‘s eighth and final season airs this summer.
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Best of luck. Since it seems to be an ensemble, maybe’ll work because Burns doesn’t have the acting skills to be a lead. His acting range is rather limited – A to A.
Didn’t think anything could be worse than HOW TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA, but this sounds like it has the potential!
Amen to that – plus he’s a total jerk to work with and and egomaniac. Have fun, Doug.
Sounds more like a male Sex and the City than an Entourage…
Sounds like typical “comedy” on ABC/CBS.
Wait wait wait….so you’re telling me they are taking the premise of 4, late 30′s/40 something friends in NYC who are finding new ways of coping with NYC society and being an adults in the present day? BUT WITH MEN?!?!?
Truly, no one has ever stepped out of the creative box as much as now. Who would have thought of taking one of the most popular shows for women, and making a cookie cutter copy for men. Well, except the producers of “The Other Half” when they cast Danny Bonaduce in the role of Joy Behar.
All kidding aside, I assume it won’t get picked up due to the quality of other shows. And if it turns out the writing is impecable, then I’ll be happy to watch. NEVER QUESTION HBO FOR THEY ARE THE TASTEMAKERS!
Didn’t BBC make a similar series called Manchild?
I can hear the dialogue now:
Muscle trainer guy: “Dude, you used to be west village, but you’re so upper east side now.”
Ed Boins: “Yeah, well you’ve always been Chelsea so fuhggeddabouut.”
two other guys: “Oh snap!!”
that about sums it up….for all of Ed’s career.
So it’s a male Sex & The City. And the hook is the title– an age number.
That’s groundbreaking AND original. Lombardo & Co. just picked a winner for HBO. Great taste.
Or simply lame.
Did “Men of a Certain Age” get cancelled???
I don’t think so, and hope not…Men of a Certain Age is great, and would be even better on HBO or Showtime where it is less restricted.
This new show sounds a bit like Men of a Certain Age meets Entourage.
Could work..
No, this is a weak idea because Ray Romano and the rest of the team can do both comedy and drama. Ed Burns is an earnest, soft spoken playboy type who has never done comedy before. Plus, what drove Entourage was the insider knowledge of the business through the POV of Mark Wahlberg’s real life experiences of being a 20 something star in Hollywood.
Men of A Certain Age has not been canceled, it was scheduled against Monday Night Football and that just took its core demographic audience “men” 30 to 55 away. It will be back in the summer to air the rest of the six episodes left for season 2 without having to compete with Monday Night Football.
Haha, I was just thinking about that show. I don’t think it got cancelled.
Yeah, no kidding!
If it keeps Ed Burns from writing and directing any more movies, then it is money well spent.
So first, they greenlight lena dunhams total knock off of sex and the city but YOUNGER, now they greenlight another total sex and the city rip, but GUYS. CANT PEOPLE fIND AN ORIGIONAL SPIN??? How bout girls in LA? Now THAT would get good and dirty
You mean girls trying to navigate the social strata of LA? Yeah, real original…
This show has been done countless times before, and it always fails, because there’s nothing more pathetic than seeing grown men whine about their lives (and two of these characters are RICH to boot!). Yep, it’s always fun to see rich people complain about how their lives didn’t turn out the way they wanted them to.
In fact, there’s one of these on the air right now: “Men of a Certain Age” on TNT, and I don’t think it’s doing very well, either.
Too bad cuz it’s a great show! There’s very little chance this rip-off is going to be any better.
it’s one thing when Showtime beats HBO to the punch, but when TNT does, it’s a cry for help
This show is on TNT and it’s called MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE. This is weak.
Am I the only 40 year old who’s okay with it?
Eh, if they cast it correctly and get another 3 good looking guys opposite Ed it’ll be fine and all of your wives and girlfriends are going to wanna watch… and you’re all going to be watching it with them, so enjoy : ) Go on, HBO. daring, groundbreaking and interesting has been done. you go ahead and toe the line when it comes to comedy and don’t let anybody tell you not to.
My analogy for Entourage: A show for douchebags, about douchebags, made by douchebags.
@kevster. Don’t know where you got that info, or where you worked with Ed- but you couldn’t be more wrong. He’s the best. To work with and just generally as a human.
I never comment on blogs, but I’ll do it to defend Eddie. I’ve worked with him a lot, he’s awesome.
LAME. Is this really the best Doug Ellen can do 8 years later? Such a boring and lazy idea. Meanwhile his manager Steve Levinson used Ellin’s heat to get 5 more series on the air.
so once again everyone is straight, right? Yeah we need more shows about rich, white, straight guys
Ed Burns grew up in Woodmere. He so far out surpassed all his classmates it’s a joke. He’s not only a great guy but real talented and focused. He deserves all the success. Having spent some time in the Long Island school system, specifically Woodmere, I’m proud to say I knew him once and it was a thrill to know him. All the talkers and posers from high school now coddle up to him hoping he says hi.
F off classies.
so lame and doug is a terrible writer. cheesy and untalented
Yawn……HBO has truly lost its mojo…
What does HBO have against women? Entourage is horrible to women and so is Boardwalk Empire. Whether you are a woman in LA in 2010 or in Atlantic City 1920 you’re a whore who wants to leech off rich guys.
Doug Elin can now write about 40 something guys in pursuit of a piece of ass. Really? Really? Ugh. He has nothing to say about anything.
i get it. it’s MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE’ but with assholes.