'Entourage' moves into final season
Say goodbye to Hollywood. Well, almost. The whip-smart and Emmy-winning HBO showbiz-insider comedy series “Entourage” starts its eighth and final season Sunday, July 24, while rumors abound about a possible feature-film spinoff a la HBO's “Sex and the City.”
For the time being, a movie figures in anyway, as just-released-from-rehab actor Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) gets excited about launching another project that those around him aren't quite as sold on: a drama about trapped miners. His manager and close pal Eric (Kevin Connolly) now works with former nemesis Scott Lavin (Scott Caan, reprising the role he began before becoming a co-star of CBS' “Hawaii Five-0”); Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) goes into business for himself; and Vince's half brother and fellow actor Drama (Kevin Dillon, who moves on to CBS' “How to Be a Gentleman” this fall) does everything possible to reinforce Vince's newly sober state.
And, of course, there is Ari Gold ... the ferociously whirling dervish of a talent agent played by Jeremy Piven, who has earned three Emmys for the role. Ari's marriage to the so-called Mrs. Ari (Perrey Reeves) is on the rocks, prompting him to make some moves unexpected even for him — with mild comfort from Lloyd (Rex Lee), formerly Ari's browbeaten assistant but now an agent in his own right.
“There's definitely a sad undercurrent, because this is really a close group,” says “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin, also an executive producer of the show along with Mark Wahlberg. “Everyone's a little sad, so everyone stayed a little longer. Nobody was rushing home.”
If the situations in the last “Entourage” season seem familiar, that's exactly what Ellin was aiming for. “I was really trying to get back to the roots of Season 1. What the show ultimately is about is relationships, friendships and family. We're dealing with some deep stuff with Ari, but with the guys, we're getting back to guys hanging out and trying to look out for each other.”
Piven appreciates the depth of his material in the “Entourage” victory lap, such as Ari's uncomfortable steps back into the world of dating, and he's glad for the chance to take a different tack with the frequently short-fused character he has made iconic.
“This year has been like no other,” the actor confirms. “You have all the trademarks of Ari in terms of his blustery and incredibly abrasive behavior, but now, his world is turned upside down. The thing that means the most to him is his family, and it's being taken away from him.
“You get to explore this transformation with this guy. He's incredibly vulnerable, and it's what you live for as an actor. If you hang in there and wait eight seasons, it'll happen.
“That's what's so fun about a series,” Piven says, “and I'm sure what's very enjoyable for Doug to write. He's created all these really authentic and interesting characters that have such bite, and the entourage has been beefed up in a way.”
Also back for the “Entourage” swan song are Emmanuelle Chriqui as Eric's ex-fiancee Sloan; Beverly D'Angelo as Ari's agency partner, Barbara “Babs” Miller; Constance Zimmer as studio executive Dana Gordon; and Rhys Coiro as unpredictable moviemaker Billy Walsh. Guest stars include Christian Slater, Andrew Dice Clay, Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory”) and fashion's Rachel Zoe. For Caan, returning to “Entourage” meant coming straight off a long and physically demanding first season of “Hawaii Five-0,” but he maintains he wouldn't have missed it.
“I don't know how to explain it,” Caan adds, “other than to say that you're literally happy to have to get up early to go to work on ‘Entourage.' I never saw a bad vibe or an argument go down there. They had eight years — five of them without me — so maybe there's stuff I didn't get to see, but it's been a really pleasant place to work.”
And it could be again. In weighing a possible movie version of “Entourage,” Ellin reasons, “If the script could come together, which is on my shoulders, of course I'd love to do it. I'm not really ready for this to end; it's been almost 10 years since I started this, and eight years with the guys and the crew. We've shot big episodes that felt like movies, so it could be interesting to see what we do with this on a bigger screen.”
<b>“Entourage”</b>
Returns at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, July 24, on HBO