HBO has renewed Boardwalk Empire for a second season just days after its debut, thanks to high viewer numbers and resounding critical acclaim, according to a Tuesday announcement from President, HBO Programming Michael Lombardo.
Sunday's premiere scored record numbers for the pay cabler, drawing 4.8 million viewers during its 9 p.m. ET airing--the largest premiere audience for any program on the network in over six years, since Deadwood debuted in 2004 with The Sopranos as lead-in.
The drama earned a total of 7.1 million viewers for the night after its additional plays at 10:15 and 11:30 p.m.
"All the ingredients aligned for this one, from Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson's initial pitch, to Martin Scorsese's enormous contributions as director and executive producer, to the genius of Terry Winter and the expertise of Tim Van Patten, to a stellar cast led by Steve Buscemi," Lombardo said. "The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing."
