The 3rd season of Entourage just wrapped up on HBO this past weekend, and at only 12 half-hour episodes, the season felt all too short (as usual). However, word on the street is that HBO will be looking to step up production on Entourage very soon. They are currently shooting 8 new episodes to air as a new “mini-season” as early as January, paired up with the final run of The Sopranos in order to maximize exposure. Then they are hoping to have as many as 15 or 16 episodes ready for the following summer.

Clearly HBO has high hopes for the future of this show, which has been steadily developing a following since its debut back in 2004. With Six Feet Under and Sex and the City finished, and both The Sopranos and Deadwood wrapping up, there’s a lot of pressure for the cable giant to find another flagship title real soon. People have been responding well to Entourage, and now the powers that be are hoping to foster the good buzz into a true blockbuster. Don’t get me wrong, I love Entourage, but I’m just a little worried that this could lead to too much of a good thing. The appeal of Entourage has always been the fact that it’s a silly half-hour comedy in the midst of all these dark dramas. Put too much focus on it and it may lose that spark that makes it such fun, easily digestable fluff. But hey… more Entourage in January! Right on!