According to an article on the website Deadline.com written by Nellie Andreeva, the executive producers of the critically acclaimed Showtime series Weeds, series creator Jenji Kohan and Matthew Salsberg, are trying to put together a new comedy series regarding the world of poker. The series would be called Whales and would potentially be a part of the Showtime lineup in the near future. The show centers on a group of young twentysomethings who, having finished their studies as such schools as Harvard and MIT, live in an apartment together in Las Vegas as they try to win the World Series of Poker.
While Weeds has been a huge critical and financial success for Kohan and Salsberg, the duo hasn’t been able to parlay that into further episodic television or movies. Andreeva points out in her article that Kohan is the writer and producer on a pilot called Tough Trade, regarding the music business in Nashville, and both Kohan and Salsberg, who is said to be a driving force behind the poker show concept because of his love for the game, worked together on a show called Me & Lee, starring Lee Majors. That show is currently in the hands of the SyFy Network and Kohan and Salsberg are doing some revisions.
On the Deadline website, the news of the potential poker comedy on the Showtime lineup has been met with something less than excitement. “Aren’t they at least 5 years behind the end of the whole “Texas hold ‘em” fad?,” asked poster “Bruce F” upon reading the news. Another poster going by the name of “Writer” simply states, “This just sounds like an incredibly weak concept. I’ve read a million feature scripts with this premise, and poker almost never translates well to the screen.”
The harsh truth is that, except for a few instances, poker as dramatic or comedic relief doesn’t play well. The seminal film Rounders, which starred Matt Damon, Edward Norton, and Famke Janssen, is cited by many as their first exposure to the world of poker. With that said, it is the “cult classic” nature of the film that drove it towards viewers. When it was released in 1998, Rounders made $8.5 million in its opening weekend on its way to a $22.9 million domestic box office revenues, very poor financial numbers overall. A sequel is supposedly “in production” on the Internet Movie Database.
As the new millennium began, playing poker was still much more popular than watching dramas or comedies about the subject. The World Poker Tour came on strong in 2003 and, along with the Main Event victory by Chris Moneymaker at the World Series of Poker, poker became the rage. Television sports giant ESPN picked up broadcasting rights for the WSOP and The Travel Channel held its alliance with the WPT. For these bright spots, however, there have also been some lowlights.
The Bravo Channel brought out “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” featuring celebrities playing poker (and in most cases, poorly) for their favorite charities. Phil Gordon and Phil Hellmuth took part in the program, alongside hosts Kevin Pollak and Dave Foley. It was widely recognized as a low point for poker on television until ESPN decided to try its dramatic skills out on the sport.
ESPN rolled out Tilt, starring Michael Madsen as a legendary poker player who was also a cheat and killer. Although created by the same gentlemen behind Rounders, the nine-episode series never caught on with poker players or fans and wasn’t renewed.
A similar trail of broken movies await the poker world on the silver screen. While the highly underrated The Grand only took in slightly over $110,000 in its release and an independent film called Freeze Out was highly acclaimed at independent film festivals, the highly unwatchable Lucky You was supposed to become the next great poker film. Featuring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, the film stumbled out of the gate to $2.7 million in first week ticket sales on its way to a disappointing $5.7 million in revenues during its theatrical release.
As the temperature has fallen on poker in the latter part of the last decade, it will be difficult for a show on the subject to draw a huge crowd. However, if a poker drama or comedy is done well, perhaps the players and fans will show up. Both Kohan and Salsberg have the ability to write excellent programs (in particular Weeds), so it is possible that they might have something for us with Whales.
A good show (well-written, well-acted, excellent characters, etc.) is a good show no matter what the subject. A bad show is a bad show no matter what the subject. Poker shows and movies have suffered because they have sought to capitalize on the poker boom with little or no regard for what makes a television show or series or movie good.
“Rounders” and “A Big Hand for the Little Lady” are examples of what a poker movie can be. (Nearly every poker player has seen “Rounders” — if you have not seen it, you owe it to yourself to find and watch “A Big Hand for the Little Lady” a 1966 film starring Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, and Paul Ford.)