''How to Make It in America'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television 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 February 14, 2010, to November 20, 2011. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein (

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series ''How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the WB series '' One Tree ...

) and his friend Cam Calderon (

Victor Rasuk Victor Rasuk (born January 15, 1984) is an American actor. Early life Rasuk was born in New York City, to Dominican parents. His mother worked as a seamstress, and his father at an auto shop. He has one brother, actor Silvestre Rasuk, with whom ...

) as they try to succeed in New York City's

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

scene. The show's second season premiered on October 2, 2011. On December 20, 2011, HBO announced the cancellation of the show citing failure to generate a large audience and buzz. Executive producer

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

expressed hope in an interview for '' GQ'' magazine in January 2012 that the show would return on another network.

Synopsis

''How to Make it in America'' followed two enterprising twenty year olds hustling their way through New York City's talent show, determined to achieve their vision of the American dream. Trying to make a name for themselves in New York's competitive fashion scene, Ben Epstein (Greenberg) and his friend and business partner Cam Calderon (Rasuk) use their street knowledge and connections to bring their ambitions to fruition. With the help of Cam's cousin Rene (Guzman), who is trying to market his own high-energy drink, and their well-connected friend Domingo ("Kid Cudi"), the entrepreneurs set out to make it big, encountering obstacles along the way that will require all their ingenuity to overcome.

Cast and characters

Main Cast

as Ben Epstein *

as Cam Calderon *

Lake Bell Lake Siegel Bell (born March 24, 1979) is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She has starred in various television series, including ''Boston Legal'' (2004–2006), '' Surface'' (2005–2006), ''How to Make It in America'' (2010–2 ...

as Rachel Chapman *

Eddie Kaye Thomas Eddie Kaye Thomas (born October 31, 1980) is an American actor who rose to prominence as Paul Finch in the ''American Pie'' film series. His other notable appearances include Andy Rosenberg in the ''Harold & Kumar'' series, Jeff Woodcock in ...

as David "Kappo" Kaplan * Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi as Domingo Brown *

Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...

as Rene Calderon *

Margarita Levieva Margarita Vladimirovna Levieva (russian: Маргари́та Влади́мировна Леви́ева; born 9 February 1980) is a Russian-American actress. Early life Levieva was born in then Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, ...

as Julie * James Ransone as Tim *

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in '' Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...

as Edie Weitz *

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon () is an American actress, director, and musician. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' 40 Days and 40 Nights'', '' The Rules of Attraction'' (both 2002), '' The Order'' (2003), ...

as Gingy Wu (Season 1) *

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail (1988 film), Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat (1988 film), Red Heat'' (1988), ''Showgirls'' (1995), ''Bound (1996 film), Bound'' (1996), ''Face/ ...

as Nancy Frankenburg (Season 2) *

Nicole LaLiberte Nicole LaLiberté (born December 1, 1981) is an American actress. She has had recurring roles on the television series ''How to Make It in America'' (2011) and ''Dexter'' (2012–2013) and most notably played Darya in David Lynch's ''Twin Peaks ...

as Lulu (Season 2) *

Julie Claire Julie Claire (born May 31, 1971) is an American actress known for her recurring roles on the TV series ''Dirt'' and ''Devious Maids''. She's also appeared in '' 24'' as Eden Linley and in ''Web Therapy'' as Robin Griner. She appeared in the 2013 ...

as Robin (Season 2) *

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

as Felix De Florio (Season 2) *

Eriq La Salle Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is best known for his performance in the film ''Coming to America'' (1988) and especially as Dr. Pete ...

as Everton Thompson (Season 2) *

Andrea Navedo Andrea Navedo is an American actress, singer, and published author. She began her career on the daytime soap operas ''One Life to Live'' (1995–97) and ''Guiding Light'' (1999-2000), and in later years had several supporting roles on primetime te ...

as Debbie Dominguez (Season 2)

Recurring cast

Joy Suprano Joy Suprano is an American actress best known for her lead role in the Apple+ show ''Best Foot Forward'' as well as her role in Hulu's ''Fleishman Is in Trouble''. Early life and education Suprano was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania a ...

as Christen (Season 2)

Production

Ian Edelman wrote the pilot, which the ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'' crew of

, Stephen Levinson,

Rob Weiss Rob Weiss is an American television and film producer, screenwriter, actor, and director. His break came in 1993 when he wrote and directed the 1993 film ''Amongst Friends''. The film was well received at film festivals and scored Weiss a nomina ...

and

Julian Farino Julian Farino (born 12 December 1965) is an English film and television producer and director. He was the sports editor of ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and directed much of the first three seasons of the HBO series ''Entourage''. Farino wa ...

executive produced. Edelman and Jada Miranda were also executive producers. "This show is a fun ride through the downtown scene, examining the cross section of people and how they relate to the relevant subcultures in NYC," Weiss, who was executive producing the pilot, told the Hollywood Reporter. HBO made a free early online-only premiere available on various video sites including

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. Season 2 premiered on HBO on October 2, 2011.

Title sequence

The opening title sequence was created by Isaac Lobe and directing duo Josh & Xander and produced by @radical.media. The theme song, "

I Need a Dollar "I Need a Dollar" is a song performed by American singer Aloe Blacc, written by Blacc, Leon Michels, Nick Movshon and Jeff Dynamite. It is the intro song for the HBO show ''How to Make It in America'', and was featured as the iTunes Single of ...

", was performed by

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

of Stones Throw Records. Shot in

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 ...

, the sequence comprises a video and photography montage, bringing together the show's underlying themes of "grit, hunger, ambition, the multicultural whirl of New York and the culture-transcending pursuit of the almighty dollar".

Episodes

Season 1 (2010)

Season 2 (2011)

Reception

The first season received mixed reviews. On

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 ...

it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 26 critics. David Hinkley of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' gave the show a positive review, giving the show 4/5 stars, and calling it a "winner". Brian Lowry of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' was doubtful of the series, stating "barring a dramatic leap in quality" it probably wouldn't last on pay cable. Mark Perigard of the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' wrote critically, saying "this sad sack of a show plays like an East Coast, economically challenged version of his HBO hit ''

''." Randee Dawn of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' said the show "isn't as textured and riveting as it thinks it is". Other reviews favored the show in comparison to ''Entourage''. The second season did not get much positive reception. On

only two reviews are listed but both reviews are positive. Maureen Ryan of ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' wrote the show has "a little more discipline and focus than they did in season 1." Phillip Maciak of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' also added that the show is "anchored by gorgeous production design and the pop naturalism of its performances, How to Make It in America dramatizes this particular cultural moment with uncommon style and a little grace as well."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:How To Make It In America HBO original programming 2010 American television series debuts 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2011 American television series endings Television series by Home Box Office Television shows set in New York City Television shows filmed in New York (state) English-language television shows