NEW YORK — For a long time, the approximately 12
million viewers who subscribe to Cinemax have pretty much known what
they were going to get when they flipped to the pay-cable channel after
the kids had gone to bed: big-budget Hollywood movies long past their
moment and original series, such as “Zane’s Sex Chronicles,” meant to be
watched with the lights out.
But if executives at the network have their way,
Cinemax will soon become known for something else: a place to find
high-caliber new entertainment from top creators such as Alan Ball and
Luc Besson.
On Aug. 12, the network, so often the forgotten
little sister of pay-TV powerhouse HBO, began broadcasting its first
prime-time original series since it launched 31 years ago. “Strike Back”
is a buddy action series about a strong and silent British operative
(Philip Winchester) and his freewheeling American partner (Sullivan
Stapleton). The two gleefully globetrot from one military and political
crisis to another, using ingenuity and violence to settle their
problems, Jack Bauer style. The show’s co-executive producer and writer
is Frank Spotnitz, a key figure behind “The X-Files.”
It’s the first of several programs that will occupy a
Friday night time period that executives hope will become as much of a
destination as HBO’s Sunday night bloc. They include a television
adaptation of the “Transporter” action-film franchise; a show about an
ex-con in a small town that’s executive produced by “True Blood” and
“Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball; and a series from Spotnitz that will
be built around a female butt-kicking heroine a la “The Girl With the
Dragon Tattoo” and “Salt.”
The idea, the executives say, is not only to create a
new vein of entertainment but also to turn cable television’s penchant
for moral ambiguity and dislikable characters on its head.
“This is not dark programming,” said Eric Kessler,
the co-president of HBO, who also works heavily on Cinemax. “This is
fun, sexy programming with action and humor. We want people to get their
fill of things they don’t necessarily see elsewhere on cable.”
Kessler points out that, unlike a broadcast network,
which also has a mandate for fun and humor but is limited in the amount
of sex and violence it can portray, a pay channel like Cinemax can show
graphic content without fear of FCC reprisal.
Given these advantages, then, why now? Kessler says
that executives simply felt the time was finally right to jump into the
original-programming game. But there may be a more powerful business
reason.
HBO stood at the forefront of what has become a
revolution in original series when it created shows like “Sex and the
City” and “The Sopranos” more than a decade ago. Soon after, other cable
networks followed. These days, nearly every piece of cable real estate
is filled with original series. Direct Cinemax competitor Encore, the
Starz sister network known for feature films, is airing several original
miniseries this year. A network that just a few years ago was known for
broadcasting old movies, AMC, has some of the most acclaimed series on
television, while FX and Showtime take their share of the cable
audience.
But while some networks want original content so they
can add viewers and thus attract advertising dollars, Cinemax needs
content to maintain and increase its subscriber base. Right now, the
channel’s subscriber number is less than half of HBO’s 28.1 million
(and, as competitors are quick to point out, many of those Cinemax
subscribers receive the network because they get a discount with their
HBO subscriptions). If Cinemax hopes to persuade a critical mass of
viewers to pay full price, it needs to add something fresh. And fresh,
in an era of easily available online porn and movies, means original
series. (Not that the network is halting the movies or the soft-core
porn.)
Cable and satellite TV operators also must be
persuaded that Cinemax has content compelling enough that those
operators should then promote the channel in their advertisements,
mailings and customer-service calls.
The channel does hold an advantage in its bid to
create compelling original series: Many of its programming decisions are
made by people who also run HBO, giving the network relationships with
platinum-caliber creative types. “Transporter,” for instance, unites the
network with the French genre auteur Besson, who wrote and produced the
films and will executive produce the series. The show, about the life
of the mysterious criminal-world driver Frank Martin (played by Jason
Statham in the films and Chris Vance in the TV version), is shooting and
will air next year. “Banshee,” the Alan Ball show, looks to shoot in
the spring.
But those high-level relationships also could pose an
issue: Top-level producers and show runners generally want their work
to be taken seriously. The overall context of Cinemax is, by its own
executives’ admission, “high-octane” and “fun.”
This may have already led to a difference of
perspective on “Strike Back.” Although executives at Cinemax indeed use
the phrase “high-octane” to describe the series, its co-executive
producer and director, Dan Percival, said he resists the term.
“I’m a fan of action shows that aren’t just action
but have a point of view,” he said, pointing out that the series is
based on a memoir from a British special-forces agent and also uses
real-life operatives as consultants. “We think we have something to say
with our engagement with a world in conflict, that’s at conflict with
itself, and the human cost it takes on soldiers and civilians.”
The network will face other obstacles as it undergoes
its reinvention. On many cable systems, Cinemax itself is difficult to
find, usually appearing on the dial behind many of the HBO spinoff
channels such as HBO Family and HBO Comedy. And even with promotion on
HBO and an outdoor-marketing blitz — try driving five blocks in Los
Angeles without seeing a “Strike Back” billboard — educating viewers
that a network composed primarily of movies is now running an original
series is never easy.
Cinemax will try to build momentum by airing its
programs after similarly themed films. Friday’s episode of “Strike
Back,” for instance, followed an airing of “Machete,” Robert Rodriguez’s
2010 ode to exploitation cinema. “We want people to feel like they’re
getting a little mini-action movie every week, but in the context of a
larger series,” said Kary Antholis, who is president of HBO miniseries
and who also oversees the new original-series programming at Cinemax.
“Strike Back” is off to a respectable start: The
first episode premiered to 567,000 viewers, a decent if not overwhelming
number for a new pay-cable series. By comparison, “Game of Thrones”
debuted to 2.2 million viewers, although HBO has the advantage of being
in more than twice as many homes.
Cinemax executives say they are aware of the hurdles
but believe they have a larger mission. “There will be challenges, and
this will take time,” Kessler said. “We realize it’s a first step. But
we’re committed to this as a long-term plan. We think there’s a real
need for it in the cable universe.”
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