Boardwalk Empire, the Emmy winning Prohibition Era drama on HBO, returned for its second season on September 25, 2011. The acclaimed series stars Steve Buscemi as Atlantic City Treasurer Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson. Boardwalk Empire also stars Kelly MacDonald, Michael Pitts, Michael Shannon, Dabney Coleman and Shea Whigman.
Boardwalk Empire and Nucky Thompson
Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), as the treasurer of Atlantic City, New Jersey, runs the city. As a politician, Nucky depends on votes to keep his power and is a master glad-hander, adept at telling people what they want to hear in order to keep their support. He also consorts with the gangsters of the era, profiting in the illegal bootlegging operations, forbidden during the Prohibition that he publicly endorsed.
Nucky Thompson and Margaret Schroeder
In season one of Boardwalk Empire, Nucky had the abusive husband of Margaret Schroeder (Kelly MacDonald) killed and offered her financial assistance. Their attraction became an affair and Nucky jilted his mistress, Lucy Danzinger (Paz de la Huerta), and made Margaret his mistress.
Nucky has a dependance on Margaret, as she represents stability to him. During the first season, Margaret left Nucky after a nasty argument, but they reunited .. As season two commences, they have settled into a domestic situation and Margaret asks Nucky to pay attention to her son, who misbehaves at school.
The season premiere ended on a dramatic note, as Nucky was arrested for election fraud and taken to jail, as Margaret and her two children waited for him at the theatre.
Nucky Thompson and Jimmy Darmondy
James 'Jimmy' Darmondy (Michael Pitt) was Nucky's protege until recently. Darmondy is responding to overtures from his natural father, Commodore Kaestner (Dabney Coleman) to help him regain control of Atlantic City. Jimmy has married his common-law wife, and mother of his son, Angela (Aleksa Palladino),
Jimmy's showgirl mother, Gillian (Gretchen Mol) had him when she was a tteenager, after an affair with his much older father, a powerful man in Atlantic City. His father neglected his son and Nucky Thompson became a father figure to Darmondy, but their relationship is changing.
Chalky White and the Ku Klux Klan
Season two opened with a shootout at the warehouse run by Nucky's African American counterpart, Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams). The shooting resulted in the deaths of Negros at the warehouse, but it was Chalky who got in trouble for killing a white KKK member. Nucky promised to protect Chalky and then told the white community that he would protect them.
Agent Nelson Van Alden
Agent Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) is an enemy of Nucky Thompson, and Prohibition as a whole. Outwardly self righteous and religious, Agent Van Alden has a dark side. During season one he drowned a Jewish agent, after insisting on baptizing him. He also started an affair with Lucy, Nucky's ex-mistress, and got her pregnant.
Agent Van Alden's wife visited him in Atlantic City and he took her out for their 13th anniversary dinner, where he ended up busting the restaurant for selling alcohol. His wife decided that she could never live in a city as sinful as Atlantic City and returned home. Agent Van Alden returned to Lucy, now several months pregnant, and gave her money taken from the restaurant bust.
Boardwalk Empire Awards
Boardwalk Empire picked up eight Emmy Awards at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18, 2011. The main Emmy was for Martin Scorsese and Outstanding Director of a Drama Series. HBO a big winner at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The series was also a big winner at the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards, earlier in the year. Boardwalk Empire won SAG Awards for Best Ensemble Cast and for Best Lead Actor for Steve Buscemi on January 30, 2011. The series won Golden Globes for Best Television Series and Best Performance by an Actor (Steve Buscemi) on January 16, 2011.
Prohibition Explored in PBS Film and HBO Series Boardwalk Empire
