On 20 September 2010, US channel HBO’s masterful crime drama Boardwalk Empire was re-commissioned for a second season. The speed at which that decision was made — a mere 24 hours after the first episode aired — suggests that it fell firmly into the ‘no-brainer’ category.
And why wouldn’t it? The stylish 12-part tale of violence, corruption and bootleg liquor in Twenties America boasted direction from Martin Scorsese (among others), writing from Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and star turns from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Stephen Graham and Michael Pitt.
It’s since bagged two Golden Globes, one Writers’ Guild Of America Award and is currently nestled comfortably on 18 different Emmy nomination lists (the results of which are announced on 18 September).
As you’ll note from our exclusive pictures, Buscemi is set to return as the impeccably-suited yet supremely crooked politician Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson while Jack Huston (inset) re-fits his unsettling tin face mask to play marksman Richard Harrow.
Early reports suggest that the new season will see Nucky’s former protégé Jimmy (Pitt) considering the addition of heroin handling to his CV, while an increasingly paranoid Nucky attempts to fend off potential usurpers from weakening his stranglehold on Atlantic City.
It’s due to hit UK screens in early October and, if the first season was anything to go by, you’d be ill-advised to miss a single second.
Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire starts on Sky Atlantic in early October