Smallscreen News

Spike hugs it out with Entourage

By April MacIntyre Jan 7, 2010, 22:47 GMT

US actor Jeremy Piven is the star of Entourage EPA/PAUL BUCK

Join Ari, Turtle, Drama, Lloyd and the guys as they keep Vince's career in high gear and cruise the city of Angels in HBO series "Entourage," coming to Spike network.

"Entourage" will now be seen on the quintessential network for guys.  Beginning in January 2010, Spike TV will be the exclusive basic cable network home for broadcasts of the wildly popular series, announced John Griffin, vice president, programming, Spike TV.  

The off-net acquisition rights cover all seasons to date (78 episodes) including the upcoming sixth, as well as rights to those yet to be produced.  This marks the first time the Emmy, Golden Globe®, and Peabody Award-winning series will be telecast on basic cable.

“Entourage is the epitome of aspirational television for guys,” notes Griffin. “Who wouldn’t want to hang out with Vinnie Chase and his crew? And now our audience of young guys can do just that beginning in 1st qtr next year.”

Entourage, executive produced by Mark Wahlberg, draws on the experiences of Hollywood insiders and stars Adrian Grenier as Vince Chase, a hot young actor who is enjoying life in the limelight. 

His posse from Queens includes Eric, played by Kevin Connolly, Vince's manager and closest confidant who tries to help him make the right choices; half-brother Drama, played by Kevin Dillon, whose own career has been eclipsed by Vince's success; and Turtle, played by Jerry Ferrara, the house manager who's always up for a good time.

The series also stars Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince's frenetic agent; Rex Lee as Lloyd, Ari’s put-upon assistant; Perrey Reeves as the long-suffering Mrs. Ari; Debi Mazar as Vince's publicist Shauna; Emmanuelle Chriqui as Eric’s girlfriend Sloan; Beverly D’Angelo as Ari’s partner Babs; and Carla Gugino as Ari’s nemesis Amanda. 

Doug Ellin is the creator of Entourage and serves as an executive producer along with Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Rob Weiss and Denis Biggs.  Co-executive producer is Mark Mylod; producers are Wayne Carmona, Lori Jo Nemhauser and Ally Musika.