Nellie Andreeva

Three weeks into its third-season run, HBO‘s Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire has been picked up for a fourth season, a nice present for series creator Terence Winter, who has a birthday today. “Terry Winter, Martin Scorsese and the rest of their outstanding team continue to produce a stunning show that never fails to surprise and entertain,” said Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. There is no word yet on Boardwalk Empire‘s companion Treme, though series co-creator David Simon recently announced that the series will get a renewal for an abbreviated fourth and final season. In their most recent airings Sunday, Boardwalk Empire drew 2.4 million viewers and Treme averaged 538,000.

Last season, Boardwalk Empire averaged 8.6 million viewers an episode on various platforms. To date, the first episode of the current season has already gathered 7.2 million viewers via multiple telecasts, DVR playback and HBO On Demand and HBO GO. The series was created by Winter, who executive produces with Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Tim Van Patten and Howard Korder.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.