'In Treatment' to return

Great news. HBO just annouced that it has renewed "In Treatment" for a third season. The half-hour drama will begin production in New York in early 2010, with debut scheduled for later in the year. Gabriel Byrne will star once again as Dr. Paul Weston, with additional cast members to be announced. I'm really pleased HBO has decided to stick with this series, despite its lack of large-audience potential. Maybe the success of "True Blood" is enabling the cable channel to stand by a prestige project?

And there's a small local angle to the news. Anya Epstein and her husband Dan Futterman (above) are joining the show as executive producers, along with returning executive producers Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Hagai Levi, and, most likely, Paris Barclay. Epstein is the older sister of Theo Epstein of the Red Sox, the daughter of B.U.'s creative writing director Leslie Epstein, and one of the "Homicide" writer-producers; Futterman is an actor and a screenwriter who was nominated for an Oscar for his "Capote" script.