It’s fairly easy to look back on HBO’s “Entourage” with a bit of snark. The series hasn’t aged very well, to say the least. But there’s no denying the show earned its fair share of acclaim, collecting various Emmys and Golden Globes along the way. But the truth is, “Entourage” is a series that just doesn’t have the longevity of its HBO brethren such as “The Sopranos” or “The Wire,” and that’s why the series doesn’t get honored years later in the same way that those shows do. But according to Doug Ellin, it probably has more to do with “PC culture” than any sort of actual critique.
Speaking to Yahoo, Doug Ellin, the creator of “Entourage” and the man behind an “Entourage”-based podcast, believes the reason that HBO doesn’t promote his series like the network does for the other acclaimed series is because of “a wave of righteous PC culture.”
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I resent it tremendously because I don’t think ‘Entourage’ was this vulgar boyfest that people like to paint it as now,” he explained. “When we came out, The New York Times said we were the smartest show on television. And then, all of a sudden, this wave of righteous PC culture — and again, you’re talking to a liberal who wants equality for all and wants everybody to be kinder and gentler … Most people know [‘Entourage’] was a very realistic portrayal of what Hollywood was like at that time and people will write about it as if something [Jeremy Piven’s bullying agent character Ari Gold] said is how I express myself. Nobody says that about ‘The Sopranos,’ where they murder people, that maybe we should re-address whether murdering people on TV is OK … [but] a small group with loud voices started criticizing [‘Entourage’] out of nowhere. Every day I’m getting Google alerts telling me how bad I am.”
As for his issues with HBO not showcasing “Entourage,” he talks about the series’ placement on HBO Max.
“[‘Entourage’ was] hiding in, like, architectural ‘wish-fulfillment shows’ [on HBO Max],” said Ellin. “Which was weird. We were nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe almost every single year, so to not put us in front and to put other shows on the ‘must-see comedy’ list, I thought, was pretty bizarre. It seems to have changed because fans have started downloading the show again [after the podcast] … [But] it would be nice if HBO was like, ‘We have this great 96 episodes of content and we should let our audience know it was there.’ I would type in ‘E-N-T-O’ into HBO Max and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ would come up! What the hell was this? And I love ‘Curb’…”
Of course, just like most other acclaimed shows that no longer exist, the idea of a revival or reboot is always mentioned. And for Ellin, he would definitely reboot “Entourage,” and he would likely have the series evolve for the times, as well.
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“If we did reboot the show, it’s not that I would make it any more PC, but I would write it to the best of my abilities to reflect the reality of the world right now,” he explained.
As of now, there don’t seem to be any discussions about rebooting “Entourage.” And yes, the general consensus is that the show isn’t up to the same level as “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Deadwood,” or other HBO series of that era. But as we’ve seen with many people in today’s world, if it’s not popular, no matter the valid criticisms or reasons, it must be because of woke people, right? Oh well.