Entourage's Creator Called the HBO Show 'the Worst Idea Ever'

Arguably, Doug Ellin, the writer of HBO's 30-minute comedy-drama series "Entourage"One of the most enjoyable and rewatchable series of the 2000s. Looking back, some viewers and fans may point out its flaws, such as the overly masculine (and deliberately chauvinistic) atmosphere, but it continues to be one of the most significant shows ever created about Hollywood and its competitive, male-dominated film and television industry, with well-known actors, directors, and writers appearing as themselves. Surprisingly, it originated from an idea that Ellin initially found ridiculous.

In an interview with ComplexIn 2019, the creator shared that everything began when Mark Wahlberg's manager, Steve Levinson, came to him with the idea of creating a series centered around Wahlberg and his friends. Ellin remembered saying, "That was the worst idea I've ever heard." Levinson then responded, "You'll figure it out." That's essentially where it all began, though there wasn't much of a concept beyond that.

So Ellin spent some time thinking about it and created more than two dozen drafts before he eventually discovered how this could truly become a real series. After a year, he put it all together and sold the pilot. "We thought we were running the town," he recalled. And soon enough, they actually were, as "Entourage" turned into a huge success.

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Ellin had difficulty defining the main characters of the series.

Before "Entourage" became appointment TV, Doug Ellin struggled to determine how the friend group of a male movie superstar — rather than the movie star himself — could become the central focus. Reflecting on the process, he said, "[In one of the initial drafts], there were 12 characters. I hadn't worked on TV before, I hadn't written a pilot script, I hadn't really written anything for television. And I had 12 characters."

He added, "Then I just kept narrowing it down, narrowing it down, and eventually, we were left with the four plus Ari [Jeremy Piven]." Well, 12 main characters would likely have been a bit too much (to put it mildly), and the chemistry wouldn't have flowed as well as it did with the final group.

Interestingly, Ellin and Kevin Dillon (who portrayed Johnny "Drama" in the show) launched a podcast titled "Victory The Podcast" in 2020, with the goal of reviewing each episode individually.including the series finale) of the show and exploring insightful behind-the-scenes stories and humorous memories they recall. It's evident that Ellin is proud of his contribution to the show, which he initially believed was a terrible idea.

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