Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 10: “Alibi” Written by Terence Winter Directed by Allen Coulter Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Prior to the penultimate episode of Vinyl’s first season, HBO announced that co-creator and showrunner Terence Winter would be leaving the show, supposedly over creative differences (usually code for low ratings and/or critical disapproval). Although filled with …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 9: “Rock and Roll Queen” Written by Debora Cahn Directed by Carl Franklin Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Ever since Richie lost all the money gained from selling American Century’s private jet, a shoe has been hanging over the show. Zach is Richie’s most loyal lieutenant, and one who’s really more of …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 8: “E.A.B.” Written by Riccardo DiLoreto & Michael Mitnick Directed by Jon S. Baird Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO So far, a fairly reliable indicator of the strength of a Vinyl episode is how much humor it has. That’s not to say that the show needs to veer toward broad …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 7: “The King and I” Written by David Matthews Directed by Allen Coulter Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO If Vinyl has managed to convey one thing about Richie’s personality, it’s that he never does anything halfway. He has to run his business with a constant pipeline of cocaine direct to his nose. …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 6: “Cyclone” Written by Carl Capotorto & Erin Cressida Wilson Directed by Nicole Kassell Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO If it succeeds at anything, Vinyl knows how to do a good coke scene. Bobby Cannavale has perfected the wild-eyed look of someone who’s been doing cocaine for three days straight, …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 5: “He in Racist Fire” Written by Adam Rapp Directed by Peter Sollett Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO The revelation from last week’s episode of Vinyl was that the show can be hilarious when it wants to be. It was a necessary discovery, because Vinyl would eventually implode if it chose to …
Vinyl, Season 1, Episode 4: “The Racket” Written by Debora Cahn Directed by S. J. Clarkson Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Perhaps Vinyl has regained its footing. The first three episodes of the series were filled with drama – Richie falling off the wagon, murdering Buck Rogers, and threatening his already shaky marriage. The episodes were …
Richie takes a backseat in an episode that introduces a particularly sedate real-life rock star.
A more streamlined second episode still has some kinks to work out.
Vinyl, Season One, Episode One: “Pilot” Written by Terence Winter and George Mastras Directed by Martin Scorsese Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO It seemed inevitable that Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger would work together at some point. After all, The Rolling Stones have created the essential music of Scorsese’s life, and his films would …