HBO said:

Created by Mick Jagger & Martin Scorsese & Rich Cohen and Terence Winter, this new drama series is set in 1970s New York. A ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop, the show is seen through the eyes of a record label president, Richie Finestra, played by Bobby Cannavale, who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path. Additional series regulars include Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger and Paul Ben-Victor. Scorsese, Jagger and Winter executive produce along with Victoria Pearman, Rick Yorn, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, John Melfi, Allen Coulter and George Mastras. Winter serves as showrunner. The 10-episode first season debuts February 14th.

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jett said:

Hope it's good.

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Kuroyume said:

Pieces of vinyl boff!

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Working from a teleplay written by Winter and George Mastras (Breaking Bad), this feature-length is a treat if only because it's fundamentally a Scorsese property: an impeccable soundtrack - check; the occasional burst of violence - check; lots of cocaine-snorting - all the checks.

Cannavale impresses despite clearly being in awe over his transition from supporting player to the filmmaker's leading man. If he sometimes struggles with the weightier material, he shines most in the scenes where Finestra's uptight corporate traits melt away in favour of a wide-eyed adulator of plain old music.

It's these scenes where Vinyl hits its peak - the plain and simple innocence of being taken prisoner by an emotive lyric, a killer hook or an unrivalled beat; those are universal feelings that will resonate with every viewer. Quite simply, Cannavale runs away with those moments.

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Vinyl is so in love with the period that it stylizes elements of it hyperbolically, by way of getting inside the character’s own mythologies and self-delusions. Some of these sequences take you out of the particulars of the business the scripts outline so well, and feel vestigial. Throughout the show there’s a push and pull between effective neorealism and indulgent, sometimes inadvertently funny, cinematic wild-outs that are more than an acquired taste. Eventually, one becomes acclimated to the style, but, by then, Vinyl has begun to function as serviceable, stock prestige TV.

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RatskyWatsky said:

I'm looking forward to this, but as a fan of Winter's previous show, Boardwalk Empire, I'm really hoping that he and his team of writers will avoid repeating some of the mistakes they made on it, namely having far too many characters and storylines with not enough time and energy devoted to any one in particular.

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RatskyWatsky said:

I'm looking forward to this, but as a fan of Winter's previous show, Boardwalk Empire, I'm really hoping that he and his team of writers will avoid repeating some of the mistakes they made on it, namely having far too many characters and storylines with not enough time and energy devoted to any one in particular.

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Jigorath said:

Hopefully they also avoid killing off the show's best character again

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hokahey said:

Michael Pitt was supposedly a nightmare to work with.

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The attention to detail is near perfect, the outfits, the music and especially the scenes in dirty, filthy early 1970s New York City illustrate just how banged up and battered, unrestful the city was at the time. 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The pilot for the musical drama Vinyl is one of Martin Scorsese’s best films, an explosion of amplifier feedback, nose candy, wide-lapeled shirts, and borderline chaos; the next four episodes are almost as good, and on the basis of the first half-season, it already feels like the first new must-see series of 2016.

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Cornballer said:

- Matt Zoller Seitz for NY Mag: Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl Might Be the Year’s First Must-See Show

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Blader said:

The premiere is two hours long, but does that count as one episode or two then?

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Was the pilot meant to be two hours or that's just what the cut came in at?

Terence Winter: It was long. I think the final shooting script was 70-something pages. When Marty started cutting it, he goes, "I'm getting into the scenes and when the New York Dolls were performing a song, I don't want to cut it away. I'm just letting it go. As long as I'm in it, I'm in it, and I'm letting it run." I finally said, " How long is this thing?" He said, "It's close to two hours," and it's like a full-blown Martin Scorsese film.

Bobby Cannavale: But he always called it the movie. He always would say, "The movie."

Terence Winter: Well, when we first started talking about TV, literally the first conversation about Boardwalk Empire, he really needed to have it explained, like, what's the difference between a series and a miniseries, and was really not interested in TV at all. So I said, "It ongoing series, of course, it could go on for seasons and we did 86 episodes of The Sopranos, for example. There's the pilot, and then you continue. And with Boardwalk, you would do the pilot." So he goes, "So there's the movie and then there's everything that happens after the movie." "Exactly." He goes, "Yeah, it's like you come to the movie and then you get to go back the next day to see what happens to the people in the movie." I was like, "That is exactly it right. Yes. That is exactly true."

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“Vinyl” comes outfitted with such a gaudy band and intoxicating setting – reuniting the “Boardwalk Empire” pairing of Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese, coupled with producer Mick Jagger, star Bobby Cannavale and a 1970s rock ’n’ roll backdrop – that it’s hard not to root for it. The two-hour premiere, though, is a big, messy affair, sometimes mesmerizing, occasionally aggravating, providing a taste of what’s to come while feeling too caught up in stylistic flourishes. All told, this is a huge project that perhaps only HBO could deliver. But so far, the album isn’t quite as good as the liner notes.

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Scorsese directed the pilot. If you're a fan of his, you'll love the premiere as his fingerprints are all over it. Trademarks such as long tracking shots, use of slow motion and having the lead actor provide voice-over narration tell you this is a Scorsese production. And of course, there's plenty of cursing, drug use and violence. None of these are used frivolously, however, they're just part of what makes for a captivating subtext that's appropriate to the story.

A stellar soundtrack, a breakthrough role for Ato Essandoh, an almost unrecognizable yet perfectly cast Ray Romano and a deft performance from Cannavale will keep viewers intrigued. An insiders' look at the evolution of the music industry is a secondary plot line but complements the main story arc well. Grade: B+

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How could you go wrong with such a guest list? But Vinyl is made in the spirit of a great party, rather than a great TV show. It looks fantastic, and it’s lively and rambunctious, with good music, an endless supply of drugs, and enough ill-considered drama to give everyone something to gossip about the morning after.

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Holding it all together is Cannavale. In the past, I've found him to be a difficult actor to embrace. Here, however, it's amazing to watch him tear into the role like a man possessed and summon all the passion, frustration and emotional heat it requires. He's a powerhouse.

That's not to say "Vinyl" doesn't have room to improve. At times, the story loses some traction as it veers off into soapy "Empire"-like territory. "Vinyl," after all, is at its best -- and most interesting -- when it sticks to the music industry with its oddball characters, egos and hedonistic ways. As someone once said, "I know it's only rock 'n' roll, but I like it."

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Steelyuhas said:

Do we know if critics saw more than the 2 hour premiere?

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Cornballer said:

First five episodes iirc.

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