Vinyl

***Vinyl*** is an American period drama television series created by Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Rich Cohen and Terence Winter. The series stars Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, a record executive in the 1970s. It premiered on HBO on February 14, 2016, and concluded on April 17, 2016.

From a teleplay by Winter and George Mastras, and story by Cohen, Jagger, Scorsese and Winter, the pilot episode was directed by Scorsese. The first season consisted of ten episodes. Scorsese had hoped to direct further episodes of the series. Winter left his position as showrunner at the end of the first season due to creative differences, leaving the position to Scott Z. Burns.

HBO announced the renewal of *Vinyl* for a second season on February 18, 2016, soon after the pilot episode premiered. However, on June 22, 2016, HBO reversed that decision and cancelled the series. HBO head of programming Casey Bloys said of the decision, "It didn't land. With limited resources, we didn't think the retooling was worth the producers' time if it would only move the needle a little bit." In October 2018, Scorsese admitted to being heartbroken over the cancellation, describing the decision as "tragic", while also saying that in his opinion, the series would have had a better chance at succeeding if he had been more hands-on with his involvement and directed all episodes.

## Premise

The music scene in 1970s New York is still awash in sex and drugs, but rock 'n' roll is giving way to an era of punk, disco and hip-hop. Desperately trying to navigate the changing landscape is American Century Records founder and president Richie Finestra, whose passion for music and discovering talent has gone by the wayside. With his American Century Records on the verge of being sold, a life-altering event rekindles Finestra's professional fire, but it may leave his personal life in ruins.

## Cast

### Main

* Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra
* Paul Ben-Victor as Maury Gold
* P. J. Byrne as Scott Leavitt
* Max Casella as Julian "Julie" Silver
* Ato Essandoh as Lester Grimes
* James Jagger as Kip Stevens
* J. C. MacKenzie as Skip Fontaine
* Jack Quaid as Clark Morelle
* Ray Romano as Zak Yankovich
* Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Ingrid
* Juno Temple as Jamie Vine
* Olivia Wilde as Devon Finestra

### Recurring

* Susan Heyward as Cece
* Emily Tremaine as Heather
* Ephraim Sykes as Marvin
* MacKenzie Meehan as Penny
* Griffin Newman as Casper
* Jay Klaitz as Hal Underwood
* Annie Parisse as Andrea "Andie" Zito
* John Cameron Mitchell as Andy Warhol
* Bo Dietl as Joe Corso
* Lena Olin as Mrs. Fineman
* Jason Cottle as Detective Whorisky
* Armen Garo as Corrado Galasso
* Michael Drayer as Detective Renk
* Douglas Smith as Gary / Xavier

### Historical Figures

*Vinyl* featured portrayals of a number of musicians, singers and other historical figures of the period, including:

* Christian Peslak as David Johansen
* Jonny D'Ambrosio as Johnny Thunders
* Zebedee Row as Robert Plant
* Ian Hart as Peter Grant
* Vince Nudo as John Bonham
* Kareem Bunton as Bo Diddley
* Connor Hanwick as Lou Reed
* Natalie Prass as Karen Carpenter
* Dominique Johnson as DJ Kool Herc
* Dustin Ingram as Alice Cooper
* James Vincent Boland as Jeff Starship
* Matt Bogart as Robert Goulet
* C.P. Lacey as Little Richard
* Noah Bean as David Bowie
* Wesley Tunison as Gram Parsons
* Shawn Klush as Elvis Presley
* Gene Jones as Colonel Tom Parker
* Leslie Kujo as Bob Marley
* Stephen Sullivan as John Lennon
* David Vadim as Hilly Kristal
* Ben Mayne as Billy Name

## Music

The music for *Vinyl* was released by Atlantic Records & Warner Bros. Records. The first soundtrack album for the series, titled *Vinyl: Music from the HBO Original Series - Vol. 1*, was released on February 12, 2016, two days before the show's premiere date. Three months prior, Icelandic rock band Kaleo released their song "No Good" on November 20, 2015, which was later featured in the second trailer for *Vinyl*, as well as on the show's *Volume 1 & 1.6* soundtrack and EP respectively. After the release of *Volume 1*, Atlantic and Warner Bros. began featuring EPs for episode 2 to episode 9. Each one was made public on iTunes every week before the premiere of each episode, each featuring five songs.

The mix (some included on full-length CDs or digital EPs, released each Friday by Atlantic Records) includes background music; covers, lip-synced by actors playing real rock stars but voiced by other singers; and original songs composed for fictional artists such as R&B star Hannibal (Daniel J. Watts), whose repertoire is sung by The Gap Band’s Charlie Wilson.

Many of the songs featured on *Volume 1*, The EPs, and *Vinyl: The Essentials (Best of Season 1)* all consists of a mix of songs recorded from the period between the 1950s and 1970s. Many are covers of songs by contemporary artists such as The Arcs, Julian Casablancas, Trey Songz, Chris Cornell, and Andrew W.K., as well as original songs written for the show to fit with the style of the period by artists such as Ty Taylor's "The World is Yours", Royal Blood's "Where Are You Now?" and Alex Newell's & DJ Cassidy's "Kill the Lights". Aside from the soundtrack music, the majority of the music featured on *Vinyl* consists of many genres, including rock, blues, pop, jazz, soul, funk, R&B, reggae, and punk.

## Reception

*Vinyl* received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. The acting (particularly Cannavale) and directing were generally praised, while the writing and storyline, particularly in the latter half of the season, which many called "formulaic" and "familiar", were criticized.

On Rotten Tomatoes the first five episodes (which were given to critics in advance) holds an approval rating of 76%. The site's consensus reads: "*Vinyl* doesn't always keep the beat, dramatically speaking, but overall, it capably honors the rock pioneers of the '70s with absorbing stories, a spot-on soundtrack, and rich period detail." On another review aggregator, Metacritic, the first five episodes holds a score of 71 out of 100. But as the series progressed, reviews got significantly more critical.

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix gave the first season a B, writing that "there's an awful lot of excess in *Vinyl*, which perhaps makes sense for a show involving two icons of '70s rock in Jagger and Scorsese. But all of Richie's searching for the next idea, and all of the scenes involving the Nasty Bits or other rising forms of music, suggest a show that really wishes it could strip away all the glam and all the tropes and just do something simple and raw and powerful." Robert Bianco of *USA Today* wrote that "what follows is a sometimes humorous, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes bumpy ride through the era, with a story that often seems to halt just when it's picking up momentum. Still, every time the story falters, the characters' and the show's obvious love for popular music in all its forms lifts it back up."

On the other hand, Emily Nussbaum of *The New Yorker* had a mixed response, writing that "the show improves slightly after the jankily paced pilot, but it never sheds its air of leaden nostalgia." Verne Gay of *Newsday* reacted negatively, writing that the show "is a compelling idea in search of a compelling story. There simply isn't much of one, in fact, and--abhorring the ever-present vacuum--a lot of other elements rush in to fill the void. Scenes are padded, lots of flashbacks are even more flaccid, while actors devour the helpless scenery."

The show was nominated for two Emmy Awards: one for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) and the other for Main Title Design.

## Cancellation

*Vinyl*'s renewal for a second season was announced on February 18, 2016, by HBO's programming president Michael Lombardo. However, HBO announced on June 22, 2016, that they had decided not to proceed with a second season.