"Describes the complexities and ambiguities of the channel, its history, its unique business model, and its individual programs. Gary Edgerton and Jeffrey Jones have assembled a dream team of television scholars, some of whom have been paying attention to HBO since its debut in 1972. There are a lot of essay collections about television out there these days"—Robert J. Thompson Director, Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture Sy
"This is a splendid collection of scholarship and critical thinking. The authors have managed to tame and corral a very important aspect of American media history and yet allowed it to remain daring and unconventional."—Terry Lindvall, author of Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis
"In the ever-expanding universe of cable, satellite and digital broadcasting, the authors explore how HBO fights to remain the frontrunner in innovative programming. Essential reading!"—Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, author of At the Picture Show: Small Town Audiences and
"Coeditors Edgerton and Jones have added a critical component to the study of television and American culture. The result is a fascinating book that is indeed essential reading for anyone with an interest in media history."—Mary Ann Watson, author of Defining Visions: Television and the American Experi
"Comprehensive and informative on a topic that deserves to be analyzed in-depth. HBO really did write an important new chapter in television history and has not received the scholarly attention that is its due." —Michael T. Marsden, coeditor of In the Eye of the Beholder: Critical Perspectives
"An important assessment of the original programming HBO has created in the past few decades—how these programs are derived and what impact they have had. Recommended."—Choice
"Because Edgerton and Jones offer such a thorough treatment of HBO's programming, their volume is a useful addition to a growing number of books about American television in the 'post-network' era."—American Studies