The first season of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire premiered on September 19, 2010, and concluded on December 5, 2010, consisting of 12 episodes. The series was created by Terence Winter and based on the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. Set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era, the series stars Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. The first season takes place between January and November 1920, beginning with the start of national prohibition and ending with the 1920 presidential election.
The first episode, with a final cost of $18 million, was directed by Martin Scorsese and was the most expensive pilot episode produced in television history.
The first season was met with widespread praise, particularly for its visual style and historical accuracy. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season scored 88/100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The American Film Institute named Boardwalk Empire one of the ten "best television programs of the year".
Cast
Main Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, the treasurer of Atlantic County, New Jersey while also secretly a part-time bootlegger. Michael Pitt as James "Jimmy" Darmody, Nucky's impatient protege who wants to play a larger role in his empire. Jimmy is also a WW1 veteran who is scarred by events from his past. Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder, an abused housewife and member of the Women's Temperance League who later becomes Nucky's love interest. Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden, a religious FBI agent investigating bootlegging and prohibition in Atlantic City who is also at odds with Nucky and Jimmy. Shea Whigham as Elias "Eli" Thompson, Nucky's younger brother and the Sheriff of Atlantic City who yearns to get out of his shadow. Aleksa Palladino as Angela Darmody, Jimmy's wife, an aspiring artist who wants to be an independent woman. Michael Stuhlbarg as Arnold Rothstein, a famous gambler and gangster who is Nucky's rival in the bootlegging business. Stephen Graham as Al Capone, Johnny Torrio's protege eager to rise in the ranks of the Chicago Outfit. Vincent Piazza as Charlie Luciano, Rothstein's scheming and hot-headed protege who helps him in the battle with Nucky. Paz de la Huerta as Lucy Danziger, Nucky's mistress who he later dumps for Margaret. Michael Kenneth Williams as Albert "Chalky" White, a black gangster, leader of Atlantic City's Black community, Nucky's business partner and owner of one of his warehouses. Anthony Laciura as Eddie Kessler, Nucky's German butler who is the target of most of his anger and verbal abuse. Paul Sparks as Michael "Mickey Doyle" Kozik, a Polish-American bootlegger who schemes against Nucky after his warehouse is given to Chalky. Dabney Coleman as Commodore Louis Kaestner, the former "King" of Atlantic City and Nucky's mentor.
Recurring Brady and Connor Noon as Tommy Darmody, Jimmy and Angela's young son Josie and Lucy Gallina as Emily Schroeder, Hans and Margaret's young daughter and Teddy's younger sister Declan and Rory McTigue as Teddy Schroeder, Emily's older brother and Margaret and Hans's son William Hill as Alderman George O'Neill, one of Nucky's henchmen in his political machine. Robert Clohessy as Alderman Jim Neary, one of Nucky's henchmen in his political machine. Gretchen Mol as Gillian Darmody, Jimmy's mother, Angela's mother-in-law and Tommy's grandmother who has a past history with Nucky. Adam Mucci as Deputy Halloran, Eli's second-in-command officer secretly wanting to be sheriff. Erik Weiner as Agent Sebso, Van Alden's FBI partner and second-in-command. Greg Antonacci as Johnny Torrio, Al Capone's mentor, Colosimo's former protege and the leader of the Chicago Outfit. Edoardo Ballerini as Ignatius D'Alessio, one of the 6 D'Alessio Brothers from Philadelphia recruited by Rothstein and Luciano to help them kill Nucky and Jimmy. Max Casella as Leo D'Alessio, one of the 6 D'Alessio Brothers from Philadelphia recruited by Rothstein and Luciano to help them kill Nucky and Jimmy. Peter McRobbie as Supervisor Frederick Elliot, Van Alden's FBI superior wanting him to quickly finish the Nucky Thompson investigation. Jack Huston as Richard Harrow, a WW1 war veteran and former sniper who later becomes Jimmy's best friend and right hand-man in Chicago and Atlantic City. Anna Katarina as Isabelle Jeunet, the owner of a silk shop in the boardwalk who is also Margaret's boss. Megan Reinking as Annabelle, Nucky's former mistress before he dumped her for Lucy who befriends Margaret. Kevin O'Rourke as Edward L. Bader, an up-and-coming businessman and politician who later becomes the Mayor of Atlantic City. Anatol Yusef as Meyer Lansky, Luciano's friend and Rothstein's other protege who joins them in getting rid of Nucky and Jimmy. Tom Aldredge as Ethan Thompson, Nucky and Eli's abusive father who is now a sick and elderly man. Stephen DeRosa as Eddie Cantor, a comedian and friend of Nucky's. Pearce Bunting as Bill McCoy, a rum-running ship captain and bootlegger who is partners with Nucky. Emily Meade as Pearl, a prostitute working at the Four Deuces in Chicago for Colosimo, later Torrio and Capone. Geoff Pierson as Walter Edge, an Atlantic City politician and associate of Nucky's. Joseph Riccobene as Frankie Yale, a gangster and associate of Capone and Torrio and later Luciano and Rothstein. Joe Caniano as Jake Guzik, Capone's friend and Torrio's associate who helps in the Four Deuces. Christopher McDonald as Harry Daugherty, a politician helping Nucky with electing Warren G. Harding as president.
Production
Development Terence Winter, who had served as executive producer and writer on the HBO series The Sopranos, was hired to adapt the novel Boardwalk Empire on June 4, 2008. Winter had been interested in creating a series set in the 1920s, feeling that it had never properly been explored before. It was for this reason that he decided to focus his adaption of the novel on the Prohibition era section. On September 1, 2009, it was announced that Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese would direct the pilot. It would be the first time he had directed an episode of television since an episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories in 1986. The production would be very ambitious, with some even speculating it would be too large scale for television. "I kept thinking 'This is pointless. How can we possibly afford a boardwalk, or an empire? said Winter. "We can't call it 'Boardwalk Empire' and not see a boardwalk." The production would eventually build a boardwalk in an empty lot in Brooklyn, New York at the cost of five million dollars. Despite a reported budget of up to $50 million, the pilot's final budget came in at $18 million.
On why he chose to return to television, Scorsese said "What's happening the past 9 to 10 years, particularly at HBO, is what we had hoped for in the mid-Sixties with films being made for television at first. We'd hoped there would be this kind of freedom and also the ability to create another world and create longform characters and story. That didn't happen in the 1970s, 1980s and in the 1990s I think. And of course ...HBO is a trailblazer in this. I've been tempted over the years to be involved with them because of the nature of long-form and their development of character and plot." He went on to praise network HBO by saying, "A number of the episodes, in so many of their series, they're thoughtful, intelligent [and] brilliantly put together... It's a new opportunity for storytelling. It's very different from television of the past."
Casting "Scorsese is an actor magnet," commented Winter. "Everybody wants to work with him. I had all these pictures on my wall and I thought, 'I'd really better write some good stuff for these people. In casting the role of Nucky Thompson (based upon real-life Atlantic City political boss Enoch L. Johnson), Winter wanted to stray from the real life Johnson as much as possible. "If we were going to cast accurately what the real Nucky looked like, we'd have cast Jim Gandolfini." The idea of casting Steve Buscemi in the lead role came about when Scorsese mentioned wanting to work with the actor, whom Winter knew well having worked with him on The Sopranos. Winter sent the script out to Buscemi, who responded very enthusiastically. "I just thought, 'Wow. I'm almost sorry I've read this, because if I don't get it, I'm going to be so sad.' My response was 'Terry, I know you're looking at other actors'... and he said, 'No, no, Steve, I said we want you. Explained Scorsese, "I love the range he has, his dramatic sense, but also his sense of humor."
The casting of Buscemi was soon followed by Michael Pitt, best known for his roles in the Sandra Bullock film Murder by Numbers and in the television series Dawson's Creek. He was soon joined by Kelly Macdonald, Vincent Piazza and Michael Shannon, who had just received an Oscar nomination for his role in the Sam Mendes film Revolutionary Road.
Filming Filming for the pilot took place at various locations in and around New York City in June 2009. In creating the visual effects for the series, the company turned to Brooklyn-based effects company Brainstorm Digital. Says Glenn Allen, visual effects producer for Boardwalk Empire and co-founder of Brainstorm, "It's our most complex job to date. Everything is HD now, so we have to treat it like a feature film." "Anytime you get to work on a period piece, it's more fun," comments visual effects artist Chris "Pinkus" Wesselman, who used archival photographs, postcards, and architectural plans to recreate the Atlantic City boardwalks as accurately as possible. "We got to explore what the old Atlantic City was really like. The piers were one of the toughest parts because every summer they would change—new houses, new advertisements." It took two months for the firm to complete all the visual effects for the pilot.
Costume design Designed by John Dunn and tailored by Martin Greenfield, Boardwalk Empire's costumes were based on 1920s tailoring books from the Fashion Institute of Technology's research libraries and examples found at the Brooklyn Museum and the Met. The costumes have also been rented from the Daybreak Vintage Company located in Albany, NY which also exhibits at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show. Dunn's designs were meticulously detailed, including a collar pin for Nucky's shirts and even going so far as to incorporate specially ordered woolens for suiting. Dunn told Esquire magazine in a September 2010 interview, "With Marty and Terry Winters, I developed the feel for each of the characters. We all wanted it to be very, very accurate and specific to the period.... I don't like to do boring clothing, but you also have to make sure that you're not suddenly putting somebody in something that isn't going to make sense four episodes from now." These tailors were supplied by textile importer HMS fabrics and Gladstone ltd.
Martin Scorsese's contribution Martin Scorsese was involved in the filming even before creator Terence Winter. He directed the pilot and established the look of the show, which other directors later emulated to make the show feel seamless. He is also one of the executive producers of the show. Winter stated that Scorsese weighs in on the casting decisions, watches all the cuts and dailies. Up until the shooting of the show's first season, Scorsese and Winter would meet every Sunday afternoon to review what went on during the week where Scorsese would have comments and suggestions. Scorsese continued to be creatively involved in the ongoing production, but did not direct any more episodes.
Episodes