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"Deadwood", RIP? by Gina Serpe
May 12, 2006, 8:45 AM PT


Al Swearengen may be riding off into the effin' sunset a little sooner than expected.

HBO has confirmed that it will not pick up the contract options for Deadwood cast members, indicating that the upcoming third season of the cuss-happy western may be its last.

According to Variety, the ensemble's contracts will expire on June 11, the date of the third-season premiere, and while technically this makes any cancellation news premature, the chances of the show being resuscitated at this point are unlikely.

The decision to allow the contracts lapse means that the show's two leads, Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant, as well as the stable of supporting players, have no further obligation to the critically adored show and are free to pursue other acting gigs.

The news comes just three weeks after series creator and executive producer David Milch spoke to the Boston Globe and offered a decidedly different take on the fate of the show, which is set in the outlaw mining camp of Deadwood in the late 1870s.

"There's a time when creative and commercial intentions coincide," Milch told the newspaper. "Then they diverge. If a series is successful, the commercial interest is in keeping it on, even after the creative interest is in ending it.

"With Deadwood, my intention is to end at the end of the fourth season. I can't speak for anyone else, but that's where I'm getting off the bus."

While Variety suggests that HBO may reverse itself and pick up Deadwood for one more season, Milch is already working with the cable network on a new project, John from Cincinnati. Barring any last-minute negotiation hitches, work is expected to begin soon on a pilot episode to the show, which is described as a "surf noir."

Still Deadwood's apparent demise is a bit puzzling. Yes, the second-season premiere drew 2.8 million viewers--3 million fewer than the series premiere--but it still ranked as one of HBO's better performers last year.

The show has proved a critical favorite, as well. At last September's Emmy Awards, the show racked up five trophies out of 11 nominations; McShane took home the 2005 Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Drama Series; the American Film Institute named the show one of the Top 10 TV programs of 2005; and the series took home a Peabody Award for excellence in media and television.

In any event, the third and likely final 12-episode season kicks off June 11.

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Originally posted by Chindi:
I am in mourning... sigh. After Firefly this was one of the best, most intelligent and well acted shows on TV...

is this country really one of only lowest common denominators???

**turning up my Deadwood CD where Wu speaks to Al...*

CHindi news is NOT shiny

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Originally posted by werealljustfloating:
...and David Boyd even did the cinematography for some of the early episodes, so there's a nice Firefly parallel for us!!!

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XeroGravityAdvanced wrote:
Saturday, May 27, 2006 19:46
Good! Deadwood was a stupid, gay show for retards.

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Originally posted by Groosalugg:
There's also someone working on it (I think he wrote at least one of the S3 episodes)
named Zack Whedon, who's imdb page claims he's 'related' to Joss Whedon.
Can't be a son--brother or nephew, mayhap?

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