1. BIG LOVE
Starts June 11 · 9 p.m. · HBO
It's a tranquil Friday night in Santa Clarita, Calif., and the cast of HBO's Big Love is shooting a scene for an upcoming episode in which Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) is sipping cocoa on his backyard patio, spending some quality time with the wife. And wife. And, you know...wife.
Did we not mention that Bill's a closeted polygamist? He's trying to persuade spouse No. 1 to join him on a business trip as his ''public wife.'' But she suggests spouse No. 2 instead. No. 2 declines, while No. 3 only wishes she'd be asked. Before long, this family get-together devolves into a tangle of tension, and three of the four parties exit in a huff.
Between takes,a few producers start to rib Paxton. What are you guys drinking in those mugs? Are those really virgin cocoas? ''Polygamist alcoholics???'' exclaims Paxton. ''That's not until next season! We got a lot of places we can go!''
And oh, the places they've been. For those who have yet to embrace Love — which returns for season 2 on June 11 at 9 p.m. — here's the gospel: Henrickson is an aw-shucks home-improvement store owner and family man. Make that families man. A father of seven (with another on the way!), he lives in three discreetly connected houses in suburban Utah with his wives — conflicted peacemaker Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), insecure spendaholic Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), and naive optimist Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) — and a stash of Viagra. When he's not enmeshed in home crises or worried about being exposed, Bill is desperately trying to protect his business from the greedy advances of his father-in-law Roman (Harry Dean Stanton), the creepy self-styled prophet who rules the fundamentalist compound where Bill grew up and where his parents and brother live. These family dynamics are so complex, they could blow the mustache right off Dr. Phil's face.
Part familial saga, part sly commentary on modern mores, part black comedy, Love established itself last year as the most unorthodox family show ever. That was the easy part. Now looms a test: Can this quirky series become a legit hit and help HBO get over the loss of a certain Jersey Mafia family?
Big's daddy isn't shying from a challenge. In fact, he sees Bill and the brides as pioneers. ''We're like Bonanza for the 21st century,'' says Paxton. ''I'm like this New Age Lorne Greene, this patriarchal figure who instead of three sons has three wives, and we're building the new Ponderosa out in Utah. It's a brave new world. And we're trying to hit the mother lode.''
NEXT PAGE: ''There's a reckoning to come,'' hints Paxson. ''When goodness becomes righteousness, that's when you better batten down the f---ing hatches.''
