It's not TV... It's Showtime via HBO
Talent raid includes Ullman, Hall, Falco, 'NFL'
By JOHN DEMPSEY / Variety (Source)

Showtime spent years bristling at comparisons to HBO. But lately it's been more than happy to pick up talent and projects from its rival.

Cabler is now taking over "Inside the NFL," which HBO canceled in March after a 31-year run. But the move is nothing new.

Showtime just renewed "Tracey Ullman: State of the Union" for a second season. HBO had a similar Ullman-produced sketch show from 1996 to 1999 called "Tracey Takes On ..."

"Dexter," the hit serial-killer melodrama on Showtime, stars Michael C. Hall, who was one of the ensemble stars on HBO's "Six Feet Under."

"Secret Diary of a Call Girl," the comedy-drama premiering on Showtime June 16, was brought to Showtime by one of its exec producers, Chris Albrecht, who was fired as chairman and CEO of HBO a year ago May.

And Edie Falco, co-star of "The Sopranos," just completed an untitled pilot for Showtime dealing with the head nurse of a hospital and her dysfunctional family.

On a side note, Showtime has the better ratings momentum for its programs as well. According to the Hollywood Reporter (Source), Showtime's "The Tudors" averaged 852,000 total viewers at 9 p.m. Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's an 83% increase over the first-season finale, which drew 465,000 viewers at 10 p.m. June 10, and an 11% increase over the Season 2 premiere, which averaged 768,000 viewers at 9 p.m. March 30.

The telecast ranks as the second-most-watched episode for the show, behind the April 1, 2007, series premiere (870,000).

A repeat airing of "Tudors" at 11 p.m. Sunday averaged 210,000 viewers. Combined, the 9 and 11 p.m. telecasts brought in 1.1 million viewers.

"Tudors" is set to go into production on Season 3 this month for a spring premiere.

In the time that I have watched the channels, I have preferred Showtime series to HBO series. However, two shows I never saw were The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. So I try not to be partisan about it.

I agree that Showtime seems to have replaced HBO as the cable network that has the most buzz worthy series, but perhaps "Variety" is giving HBO too much credit.

It is true that Tracey Ullman, Michael C. Hall, and Edie Falco all have had prominent roles on former HBO series, but are these actors not free to helm other non-HBO projects? The series that these three starred in are all defunct, and in Ullman's case by quite a few years, so it isn't like Showtime lured away Hall from "Six Feet Under" or Falco from "The Sopranos".

Revenge may have been a motive for Chris Albrecht bringing his "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" to Showtime, but let's face it, if another network had given the series a better offer, it wouldn't be airing on Showtime.

I believe that there are two factors to the recent success of Showtime. First, it has had a growing number of successful and/or buzzworthy series of late. That list includes "Weeds", "Dexter", "The Tudors", "State of the Union", and "Californication" (which features another ex-HBO star, David Duchovney, of "Red Shoe Diaries"). The upcoming "United States of Tara", "Call Girl", and Falco's series may join them.

Another factor is the decline at HBO. Truthfully, the network only had three true hit series: "Six Feet Under", "Sex and the City", and "The Sopranos". When those series wrapped up, HBO had only second-tier series (more buzz than viewers) to replace them.

Finally, the pressure is actually on the Showtime executives more so than the HBO execs. All HBO has to do is find one hit to put it back on the map. Showtime needs to keep viewers watching its current hit series and (unlike HBO) foster new hits to replace those when they eventually end.