Deadwood: HBO Says Movies Not Dead, Yet

Responding to the reports that the Deadwood sets have been dismantled, HBO counters that the movies are not a dead project, though they certainly aren’t committed to making them either.

An HBO representative told TelevisionWeek that series creator David Milch says the deconstruction of the Deadwood town has little to do with the fate of the movies because they wouldn’t be used anyway. The pair of movies would take place after the town has been destroyed by fires and flooding. The rep was also sure to add that there are still “no current plans to make the movies.”

The cable network is happy to remind us that Milch is working on a new drama for them about a New York Police Department in the 1970s. The drama will involve the Knapp Commission investigations which made officer Frank Serpico a household name and led to a book and movie. Milch is certainly familiar with this setting as since he wrote for NBC’s Hill Street Blues 25 years ago.

As was the case with John from Cincinnati, HBO expects Milch to focus solely on this new drama if it gets picked up as a series. If it fails, Milch may once again switch to another new project rather than return to Deadwood. So, in the end, little has changed. The movies aren’t any closer to being made but neither HBO nor Milch will rule them out either. Is this whole thing getting old or what? Stay tuned!