Quote

There are only a few TV networks that really invest in production in the way that I think they should. HBO, obviously, is one of them.

In the U.S., HBO is a very aggressive service.

You know, people aren't watching a network: they're watching cable channels.

Television is really fertile ground, and it's because of platforms like Netflix and Hulu and, of course, the cable channels like HBO and Showtime.

It's nice that HBO is in business with the audience and not with the advertisers. There's a difference.

Cable has come along; many all-news 24 hour cable outlets in the United States. They have cut deeply into the traditional networks' viewing audience.

I forget sometimes that I'm in the HBO stable because I am such a fan of so much of their programming. Like, 'The Wire' is my favorite TV show of all time.

I just love shows that don't hand everything to you, that ask you to be smarter. I think that's something really important that HBO has done to change the landscape of TV.

But HBO is less interested in how many people are watching than in how much the people who are watching are liking the show. They didn't set up their business model to make writers happy. It's just a nice unintended consequence.

Cable series have more time to focus on characters, and a structure that allows for a development in character as you go along. Network shows have a pressure of time and space that is completely different.