Knight Ridder Newspapers
‘Deadwood’ premiere set back

Bad news, Dead-heads.

HBO has pushed back the third-season premiere of “Deadwood” to June from March, meaning there will be more than a year between seasons. (Bummer.)

Instead, “Big Love,” Tom Hanks’ highly anticipated drama starring Bill Paxton as a Morman polygamist and Chloe Sevigny as one of his three wives, will get the coveted time slot after “The Sopranos,” which launches its sixth season in March.

Since “Love” was a new show, HBO decided it would benefit more from “Sopranos” as a lead-in at 9 p.m., a network rep says. “Deadwood,” though loved by critics, has been less loved by viewers.

The June lineup has “Deadwood” at 9, followed by season three of “Entourage” and “Lucky Louie,” a new comedy starring Louis C.K.

“Deadwood’s” Powers Boothe, who plays conniving saloon owner Cy Tolliver in David Milch’s profanity-laced western, says the toughest part of his role is making the language real.

How’s this for art imitating life?

“Triumph,” a just-ordered ABC drama project from writer-director Rod Lurie, is about an 18-year-old who’s elected mayor of a small town. No casting yet.

In case anybody is wondering, “Triumph” was written before Christopher R. Seeley, 18, was elected mayor of Linesville, Pa., this month.

Lurie could use the work. ABC booted him from his freshman hit, “Commander in Chief,” starring Geena Davis as the first female president, because he was lagging behind the production schedule.

Lurie was replaced as “Commander’s” executive producer by Steven Bochco, who, astute viewers will recall, did a 1989-93 ABC series about a 16-year-old doctor (Neil Patrick Harris) called “Doogie Howser, M.D.”