Game of Thrones, Veep and Girls - Premiere dates and artworks (updated)

HBO has set a premiere date for the eight-episode first season of its new satirical comedy Veep, created by Armando Ianucci and starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice-President Selina Meyer : Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 10/9c.



Also, Variety tells us that Game of Thrones will kick off its second 10-episode season on Sunday, April 1 at 9/8c while the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Girls will start its first season (10 episodes) on Sunday, April 15 at 10:30/9:30c.

But before they all arrive, we have the epic new drama series Luck in the starting blocks for January 29 (actually February 5, the pilot is rebroadcasted on January 29). If I may express my opinion here, putting the second episode against the Superbowl (after having previewed the first episode 2 months earlier, so the real original run starts on Feb 5) is not the best way to build an audience. First they put Bored To Death up against Two and a Half Men last fall (with the predictible, disastrous results that we know) and now this, that's two very questionable programming choices, but they know what they're doing, I guess. Then, the third (and probably final) season of Eastbound and Down will unfold before our amazed eyes and amused mouths on February 19 at 10pm, followed by Ricky Gervais' Life's Too Short making its US début on the same day at 10:30pm (the show will return for a second season in early 2013, by the way).


Probable schedule (it's not 100% reliable, but it gives an idea of how things will shape up) :

— Luck season 1 (9 episodes) : from January 29 to March 25, at 9pm.
— Eastbound and Down season 3 (8 episodes) : from February 19 to April 8, at 10pm.
— Life's Too Short season 1 (7 episodes) : from February 19 to April 1, at 10:30pm.
— Game of Thrones season 2 (10 episodes) : from April 1 to June 3, at 9pm.
— Veep season 1 (8 episodes) : from April 22 to June 10, at 10pm.
— Girls season 1 (10 episodes) : from April 15 to June 17, at 10:30pm.
— True Blood season 5 (12 episodes) : probably from June 17 to September 2, at 9pm.
— The Newsroom season 1 (10 episodes) : probably from June 24 to August 26, at 10pm.
— Boardwalk Empire season 3 (12 episodes) : probably from September 16 to December 2, at 9pm.
— Tremé season 3 (10 episodes) : probably from September 16 to November 18, at 10pm.
— Enlightened season 2 (8-12 episodes) : in 2013.
— Curb your Enthusiasm season 9 (10 episodes) : in 2013 (I know, Larry hasn't decided yet, but it's always better to be optimistic so I'm assuming he will choose to produce another batch of comedy gold).

Both The Newsroom season 1 and Tremé season 3 have started production for their 10-episode run in Oct-Nov 2011. EW reports that the Aaron Sorkin drama is expected to "bow next summer" while the third season of the David Simon series was supposed to air "in the spring" (but it turns out that won't be the case). Nothing is set in stone for those two.

But HBO original programming is not just about series, it's also about made-for-TV films. The Hollywood Reporter also announced that the HBO film Game Change will premiere on Saturday, March 10. It follows John McCain's presidential campaign with his running mate Sarah Palin from August to November 2008.

Recent HBO films include Recount (starring Kevin Spacey and Laura Dern), Taking Chance (Kevin Bacon), Into the Storm (Brendan Gleeson), Grey Gardens (Drew Barrymore & Jessica Lange), You Don't Know Jack (Al Pacino & Susan Sarandon), The Special Relationship (Dennis Quaid & Michael Sheen), Temple Grandin (Claire Danes), The Sunset Limited (Tommy Lee Jones & Samuel L. Jackson), Too Big To Fail (Paul Giamatti & William Hurt) and Cinéma Vérité (Tim Robbins & James Gandolfini).

And in 2 months, four-times Oscar nominee Julianne Moore (playing Sarah Palin), four-times Oscar nominee Ed Harris (playing John McCain) & two-times Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (playing Steve Schmidt, McCain's senior campaign strategist) will add their names to this list of prestigious Oscar and/or Golden Globe winning actors and actresses, which HBO seems to collect (and they also help widening their collection of trophies). Here is the trailer for Game Change :



Furthermore, there's another HBO film premiering this year : Hemingway & Gellhorn, starring Oscar winner Nicole Kidman as journalist Martha Gellhorn and Oscar nominee Clive Owen as writer Ernest Hemingway, both caught in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) resulting in the beginning of Franco's dictatorship. The movie was shot between March 10 and June 3, 2011. No precise premiere date has been announced, but last September it was scheduled for May 2012.

UPDATE : I added artworks for Veep and Girls, they were posted on HBO's Facebook page. R2D2's long lost brother, b3r4, posted the Game of Thrones artwork in another topic. Is it me or has Julia Louis-Dreyfus aged a little bit ? I've always pictured her as a woman aging very well, maybe it's just the clothes, the haircut or the look on her face. Because when she was on Curb your Enthusiasm or 30 Rock recently, she really didn't look 49. What do you think ? Discuss !

By the way, Julia Louis-Dreyfus actually turned 51 today (Friday, Jan 13), happy birthday !

UPDATE #2 : That settles it then : The Times-Picayune announces that HBO has confirmed the third season of Tremé won't air until next fall, meaning a probable pairing with Boardwalk Empire season 3, and also strongly suggesting that Aaron Sorkin's Newsroom will indeed air throughout the summer alongside the fifth season of True Blood.

It would also imply that Golden Globe-winning Enlightened would not start its second season until 2013, since HBO doesn't want to program original series on Mondays anymore. Same goes for the 10 episodes of Curb your Enthusiasm season 9 (*LD will do it, LD will do it*) which won't air until 2013, but we knew that already.