TV Talk: The End of “Entourage”

This weekend, HBO’s “Entourage” concluded its eight season run. At eight seasons long, it’s tied with “Curb Your Enthusiasm” for the longest run in HBO’s history.

Does that mean it’s one of the best things HBO has ever produced?

Uhm, no.

“Entourage” was a series which fluctuated wildly in quality over the length of its run, much like its protagonist’s (Vinny Chase’s) career, although the two aren’t directly correlated. Entourage was a show that could never quite figure out why people were watching it, unlike say, “True Blood”, which knows exactly why people are tuning in and dishes out what they come to see in healthy portions each week. “Entourage” began as the Hollywood Fantasy – the dream of making it big, realized. It was always a “Dramedy”. But it was supposedly a comedy with dramatic elements (it’s in the Emmys as a comedy). Over the course of its run, however, it often diverged from the Hollywood fantasy and became somewhat of a soap opera revolving around the four leads, and instead of being a comedy with dramatic elements, it became a drama with comedic elements.

They weren’t changes I welcomed.