''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, '' Bored to Death'' ( HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' ( STARZ). In the late '90s and early ...

, and stars

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjeeling Limited'' (2 ...

as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, who moonlights as an unlicensed

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

. The show also stars

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...

as George and

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show '' Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''T ...

as Ray, both friends of Jonathan. On December 20, 2011, HBO cancelled ''Bored to Death'' after three seasons and twenty-four episodes. Development of a television movie subsequently began in January 2013.

Cast

Main

as Jonathan Ames, struggling novelist, ''Edition'' journalist, and bumbling private investigator *

as Ray Hueston, comic book artist and Jonathan's best friend. The character is loosely based on comic book artist

Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel (born May 31, 1967 in New York City) is an American comic book artist, writer, and playwright. He is known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his '' American Splendor ...

, a friend of the real Jonathan Ames. Haspiel also provides Ray's artwork used in the show. *

as George Christopher, libertine editor of fictitious New York magazine ''Edition'', friend and

father figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal te ...

to Jonathan *

Heather Burns Heather Burns (born April 7, 1975) is an American actress, known for her role as Miss Rhode Island Cheryl Frasier in the 2000 film '' Miss Congeniality'' and its 2005 sequel, '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous''. Her other film appearan ...

as Leah, Ray's on-and-off girlfriend

Recurring

Olivia Thirlby Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film ''Juno'' (2007),Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008).Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". '' Daily News, location ...

as Suzanne, Jonathan's ex-girlfriend (Season 1) *

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

as Richard Antrem, fictional editor of '' GQ'' and rival of George Christopher *

Laila Robins Laila Robins is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), ''Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ''She's Lost Control'' ...

as Priscilla, George's ex-wife and Richard's current wife (Seasons 1–2) *

John Hodgman John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as '' The Areas of My Expertise'', ''More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is All'', he is known for ...

as Louis Green, a pompous author and rival of Jonathan *

Jenny Slate Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the ...

as Stella, an organic food

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

member and pot smoker who becomes Jonathan's lover (Seasons 1–2) *

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), ''Revol ...

as Nina, Jonathan's student who later becomes his girlfriend (Season 2) * Bebe Neuwirth as Caroline, Jonathan's literary editor *

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

as Howard Baker, the owner of a spy shop that Jonathan, Ray, and George occasionally visit for gear *

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...

as Jennifer "Trouble" Gladwell, a barfly and one of Jonathan's first clients (Seasons 1–2) *

as Irwin, a Jewish man who Ray finds sleeping with Leah (Season 2) *

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

as Ira Ames, Jonathan's father (Seasons 2–3) *

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series ''Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a mor ...

as Florence Ames, Jonathan's mother (Seasons 2–3) *

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emm ...

as Kathryn Joiner, a frank employee of a company that is helping ''Edition'' tighten its financial belt (Season 2) *

Halley Feiffer Halley Feiffer (born November 20, 1984) is an American actress and playwright. Early life and education Feiffer was raised in a Jewish family, the daughter of famed satirist and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, and writer, actor, and comedian Jenny Alle ...

as Emily, George's daughter who disturbs him with her engagement to an older man (Season 3) *

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

as Belinda, an older woman with whom Ray cheats on Leah (Seasons 2–3) * Mary Steenburgen as Josephine, George's singing teacher and girlfriend (Season 3) *

Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal ...

as Rose, Jonathan's girlfriend. She is later revealed to be his

half-sister A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separat ...

, conceived in a fertility clinic that subsequently burned down as part of an insurance scam (Season 3) *

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...

as Jonathan's biological father, operator of the fertility clinic, insurance scammer and con man (Season 3) *

Michael Chernus Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013 ...

as Francis Hamm (Season 1)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2009)

Season 2 (2010)

Season 3 (2011)

Production

Although loosely based in the

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...

neighborhood of Brooklyn, the series is shot primarily on location in nearby

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

, Brooklyn.

Reception

The first season received favorable reviews, and holds a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

score of 64/100, based on 27 reviews. In a ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' blog, James Poniewozik praised the "interplay between the low- and high-life of New York" and the casting choices, calling Danson's portrayal of George a "scene-stealing role". Nancy Franklin of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' determined that "excellent casting and good writing" supported the series. However, in a blog for ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', Maureen Ryan called the story "tedious," although she praised Danson and Galifianakis' performances. '' Variety's'' Brian Lowry called the series "too precious and quirky for its own good," instead wishing the series revolved around Danson's character. Reviews of the second season were favorable. Jennifer Armstrong of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said "the charm is in the details" and added that the "genius of Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis" strengthened the program. '' TIME's'' Poniewozik wrote positively of the second season. Following ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Bored to Death'' had an audience retention rating of 92 percent of the total 1.1 million person audience according to

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. ''Bored to Death'' won the 2010

Primetime Emmy Award for Main Title Design This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design presented for the best main title sequence in television programming. Prior to 1997, the award was presented for Outstanding Indivi ...

, against other nominees including '' The Pacific'' and ''

Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015. The show stars Edie Fal ...

''. On December 20, 2011, the day ''Bored to Death'' was canceled, petitions on several websites including Facebook started circulating. Jonathan Ames responded to this by stating "It's very sweet. I don't want to discourage it, but I'm embarrassed."

Distribution

HBO Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video released the complete first season on September 21, 2010, the complete second season on October 4, 2011, and the third season on September 4, 2012.

Potential movie

After much speculation, it was announced in early 2013 that HBO would revive ''Bored to Death'' in the form of a feature-length network film. In March 2014, Jonathan Ames announced he was nearly done writing the script. In an interview in August 2015, Ames said he had done two iterations of the script, neither of which was quite right, and planned a third. In an interview in April 2018 however, Ames said that a movie is unlikely to be made, though he was considering rebooting the series as a book.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bored To Death 2009 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American crime drama television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2000s American mystery television series 2010s American mystery television series Fictional amateur detectives HBO original programming Television shows set in New York City Neo-noir television series English-language television shows Television series created by Jonathan Ames Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Home Box Office Television shows about writers