Despite ups and downs in popularity, BOARDWALK EMPIRE remains a significant program for HBO and one with a dedicated fan base. While many were saddened by the announcement that the show would be ending with the upcoming fifth season. With each season roughly covering a year of the Prohibition era of American history, it would seem that the fifth season would follow last year’s 1924 set season, leaving quite a bit of history untouched.
According to BOARDWALK EMPIRE star Michael K. Williams in an interview with Den of Geek, showrunner Terence Winter is taking a different approach to wrap up the plot threads in Nucky Thompson’s Atlantic City: the final season will jump ahead seven years and be set in 1931.
“The Depression has set in. The days of the shiny shoes and fancy suits are long gone.” Yep, it looks like the new season will be set in 1931, and Williams’s character Chalky is just as down and out as everyone else. “It ended very badly for Chalky last year. His family life is no more, and he is desperately seeking [Jeffrey Wright‘s] Dr. Narcisse to settle old scores,”
As much indifference as I have begun to feel about the characters on BOARDWALK EMPIRE, I have been intrigued to see where the endgame of the series would be. With real life characters like Al Capone and Arnold Rothstein a part of the series fabric, jumping ahead seven years almost feels like a cheat. But, what else are you going to do with so many years left to reconcile and only 13 episodes to do it?
BOARDWALK EMPIRE’s final season premieres this Fall on HBO.