Last summer, as HBO emerged from a double blow of losing its longtime top executive and its hit “The Sopranos,” the cable network plunged into filming “12 Miles of Bad Road,” a comedy about ultra-wealthy Texans starring Lily Tomlin. It was one of several new shows it hoped would silence the endless chatter about its lack of fresh hits, the Wall Street Journal reports.
But HBO’s run of poor fortune was far from over. When the first few episodes of “Bad Road” rolled in, HBO’s new management decided that the show — a darling of the old team — wasn’t what it wanted. It took the unusual step of canceling it, even though six episodes were already complete — at a cost of $3.6 million each.
The “Bad Road” incident highlights the tumult HBO finds itself in these days. Once the gold standard for television, the Time Warner Inc. network is struggling to make its mark in the way it did with must-see shows like “Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.” Its new drama “In Treatment” made an impact with critics but not viewers. Other recent offerings such as “Tell Me You Love Me” and “John from Cincinnati” missed the mark, too.
Behind the scenes, HBO is reeling from turmoil in its remarkably stable leadership. The 36-year-old network’s creative guru Chris Albrecht was fired from his post of chief executive last year over an incident for which he pleaded no contest to battery against his girlfriend. He was succeeded by a team of HBO veterans from the business side: his No. 2 Bill Nelson stepped into his shoes, flanked by no less than three new co-presidents.
