Good Show / Bad Accents

With its season finale upon us this Sunday night, Showtime's Brotherhood has been a beacon of light in an otherwise dark sea of (mostly) bad reality shows and Summer reruns. Dark and brooding, Brotherhood has over the course of the season developed into a compelling, richly-drawn character study. The acting is top-flight (even if the attempts of the cast to affect a Rhode Island accent aren't), and the cinematography is spectacular. Of course, the fact that the entire series was shot in Rhode Island doesn't hurt my opinion of the show.

With that in mind, I now have some good news and some bad news about Brotherhood to share with you.

The bad news? Well, the ratings haven't been good. Not good at all. In fact, the ratings have been pretty soft. And that's in the Summer, when competition is minor.

The good news? Despite the low ratings, Showtime has renewed Brotherhood for a second season. The premium network has signed on for an additional 10 episodes of the series. So why would Showtime pick up the show for another season? Easy - the critical acclaim. The critics of America adored Brotherhood. Showtime hasn't rececived this typre of exceedingly-positive press for one of its original series since the days of It's Garry Shandling's Show almost twenty years ago.

If you haven't had a chance to catch the first season of Brotherhood, then you're in luck: the series is currently available via Showtime on Demand. If On Demand is out of your reach, then be sure to pick up the Brotherhood season-one DVD, hitting store shelves on September 26. Believe me - you'll be glad that you did.