Can fans save a show? Well, if they act quickly, try hard enough, and use financial pressure, the answer seems to be “Yes!” When it was announced that HBO would we cutting the wild-west Deadwood series short after three seasons, fans of the HBO series got, well, downright ornery! They signed petitions, took out an ad in Variety (a Hollywood trade paper), sent letters and made calls indicating that they would cancel their HBO subscriptions at the end of Deadwood’s third season (which recently started airing).
As a result, HBO and Deadwood creator David Milch have now come to an agreement. Deadwood will return following the third season… sort-of. Rather than a full-blown 12-episode season to complete the series (which would have been quite costly and now, very difficult to coordinate), HBO and Milch will instead produce a pair of two-hour movies.
But wait, hadn’t HBO previously offered to pay for a six-episode fourth season? How is this better? Milch has said that he wasn’t in favor of doing a six-episode season because each episode of Deadwood has typically represented one day in the lives of the characters and South Dakota area. Shifting to two-hour movies will allow him to break that format and to be able to complete the storytelling he had for the final season. Milch has said that he’s thrilled that they worked out a way to continue Deadwood past the third season.
But what about the series actors that were released from their contracts over a month ago. Can HBO get them back? Though Deadwood cast members have not been signed for the movie projects as yet, it seems clear that HBO intends to do all it can to work out this aspect as well. One source has reported that HBO intends to “make it worth their while.” No doubt. Wouldn’t want to upset these fans . . . 
I love Deadwood and have waiting anxiously for it to come back on! I am very disappointed to hear that it has essentially been canceled. PLEASE! BRING IT BACK!
For pity sake please at least wrap up the story lines before you cancel Deadwood. Everytime there is a Great show that takes a little concentration to understand it get cancelled!!!!!!!!!!! I have heard that George RR Martin’s Fire and Ice saga will be made into a series by HBO. If that is true please don’t bother. That would also be a great series but the subject matter is fantasy so I am sure it would be cancelled! It could not possiblly survive in a culture where I love New York and Celebrity Fit Club are considered fine viewing. Smarten… Read more »
I simply cannot understand why this show is not considered the best ever ! F**k HBO,and F**k all the idiots of America for not watching !
yOU FINNALY COME UP WITH A GOOD SHOW (DEADWOOD) AND YOU CANCEL IT WITH NO EXPLANTION. bRING IT BACK
The Sopranos was a disappointment last year and all we really have to look forward to is DEADWOOD for 2007. Is HBO caving and ending the best show on premium channels because of pressures from the Religious Right or the FCC and their ridiculous rating standards? We spend well over $100 a month because of programs on HBO like Deadwood, Bill Maher, Carnivale, etc.
I can’t fathom why they cancell the best show on tv.
I so look forward to every episode and don’t want to see it end.
Someone at HBO should grow some brains and figure out how to keep Deadwood going.
Everybody I know watches the series .
Such a shame!
i really loved to watch deadwood i love the word f**k and hbo f**king sucks for cutting the only show i looked forward to during the week without deadwood i really have no reason to continue subscribing to hbo
As much as I love the show and as disappointed as I am with it being cancelled, I think it’s the perfect way for it to be. Specifically, it’s a top notch show going out on top, not slowly falling apart over a number of years with declining writing and forced storylines. Three seasons of memorable television (and the supposed movies) to be cherished via the box sets for years to come. Good job, HBO – now do it again!
I am a television producer and very rarely watch any kind of program with the exception of movies on DVD. After veiwing Deadwood at a friends house, I was instantly hooked. I have never seen a better job of writing. While the language may seem harsh to some, one must remember that this is an accurate depiction of the era. I can not believe that it has been cancelled! Let´s just shoot ourselves! Paramount did it with Firefly, another great series with tons of potential and now HBO. Just when I think there is hope for my artform!
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We really like the Deadwood HBO Series. We live so far out that we don’t have cable and the satelite HBO just got turn OFF so we ordered the whole series to watch and keep….Now What! are we going to get the Third series to buy and what about thees movies…Why can’t they just stay with the program. There just aren’t any WESTERN shows any longer. They were part of our Baby Boomer TV life style. Seems that older I get, the more they forget about US Baby Bomers. We spend 2 weeks almost every year in the BLACK HILLS… Read more »
I used to think that network execs thought the viewers were too stupid to understand good tv when it came around. Now, HBO is doing it too. We subscribe to HBO for the quality of the shows, the exceptional actors and the interesting stories. Please don’t lower yourselves to the network’s level. We need some intellegence here! The Sopranos scheduling is just a joke and many of our fellow watchers say “who cares?” now. It has been jerked around so much that we’re not interested in waiting a year or two for it to air again. Carnivale? That was a… Read more »
Yes….once again we are screwed by HBO. The only reason I pay for the channel is for the original programming. I realize that the production costs are high for quality, however I thought this was offset by not using A list actors. HBO needs to make a decision on what direction they are going to go and then inform the subscribers. They are either going to be just another cabel channel with old films and sophmoric series or they are going to be high quality viewing worth the subscription price. Personally I would pay a higher premium for premium offerings… Read more »
I have been watching HBO since 1997. First was OZ , which I thought was ground breaking, you took that away from me.Then you tease me with the Sopranos, forcing me to wait years between seasons. Thankfully , I won’t have to suffer waiting for the Sopranos to finalize, much longer.Now another great HBO show: DEADWOOD , an enjoyably graphic western that I really got into. You have partially taken that from me too. All I have left is ROME.Keep this up, and you won’t have me watching HBO anymore, because i’m going to cancel my subscription.
I really like Deadwood so much as I took a vacation to Deadwood 2 years ago. It looks like the show for sure.
While we were eating lunch in the Gem we were told that some of the cast were in town for the day and we got to go to a meet and greet it was cool.
Please continue with this interesting story.
Thanks…