Boardwalk Empire takes a bow

by Adam SweetingWednesday, 02 February 2011

It's here! HBO's Boardwalk Empire finally arrived last night, the big news on the opening day of the new Sky Atlantic channel. Already staggering under a burden of Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild awards, Boardwalk looks likely to enjoy a long and glittering career, with a second series already in production.

With a $20m budget and Martin Scorsese in the director's chair, the pilot episode has been hailed as a TV milestone. The garishness and grotesquerie of Atlantic City at the start of the Prohibition era is vividly rendered, with its chorus girls, freak shows and roaring saloons. And the show is onto a winner with the central character of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the corrupt County Treasurer making a mint from gambling, prostitution and illegal bootlegging. But it's going to take a while for the hordes of characters and multiple plotlines to bed in. Episode two follows tonight (Wednesday), and there'll be a full artsdesk review of the Boardwalk story so far tomorrow.

Watch a summary of episode one of Boardwalk Empire

Explore topics

Share this article

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

Music Reissues Weekly: Andwella - To Dream How a cult psychedelic band laid the ground for a massive Demis Roussos hit

Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - fun with abandon Approaching the final goal of ‘Mozart, made in Manchester’

Album: Barry Adamson - Cut to Black The coolest Mancunian returns with a lesson in style

Carmen, Glyndebourne review - total musical fusion Production tells the story, mostly, but it’s the lead and the conductor who electrify

Fawlty Towers: The Play, Apollo Theatre review - lightning strikes twice John Cleese's sitcom masterpiece makes seamless transition to the stage

Laufey, Royal Albert Hall review - fans in heaven The sequence of heartbreak songs sounded same-y

The Great Escape Festival 2024, Brighton review - a dip into day one and the elephant-in-the-room An opening snapshot of Brighton's multi-venue showcase

Bermondsey Tales: Fall of the Roman Empire review - dirty deeds done dirt cheap Michael Head's gangland drama is a bit of a dog's breakfast

Album: Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft Desire and longing are the submersibles that propel Eilish’s riveting third album

Dunedin Consort, Mulroy, Wigmore Hall review - songs of love old and new First-rate chamber choir explore contemporary and Renaissance approaches to amour