The new season of HBO’s series “Entourage” had not one but two premieres. Last week's El Lay premiere featured a blow-out bash in Hollywood complete with belly dancers, roller derby girls, burlesque babes and drag queen bingo. This week's Big Apple premiere also had a celeb-packed post-party at the trendy Buddha Bar.

By contrast, Tuesday's premiere of HBO’s Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series, “Deadwood,” felt a little lifeless. Even the after-party at the Cabana club was nothing like last year’s down n’ dirty Wild West decorated bash. This year’s décor was a few scraggly desert scrub trees and a mechanical bull ride that no one wanted to get on.

The somber mood was due to the shocking news that HBO was not going ahead with a fourth and final season for the hit series. All weekend, tense wrap-up negotiations were being finalized, culminating in HBO’s decision – agreed on by creator/writer David Milch -  not to do a fourth season but to do 1/3 of a 12-show fourth season.

That means two 2-hour episodes that will put a bow on the groundbreaking series about life and death in the American West.

“This is similar to what we did with “The Sopranos,” explained HBO press honcho Mara Mikialian.”But instead of eight one-hour episodes for the final season, we are only doing four.”   

“Deadwood was envisioned as going for four seasons,” she explained. “So this is a little shorter but David is comfortable with the fact that he will be able to resolve the story line.”

Maybe he's comfortable. And maybe he’s not. “Yes, I think there will be a satisfactory conclusion. But if it’s all wrapped up nicely, then someone else will have written it,” Milch said at the after-party. “I don’t believe in wrapping things up nicely.”

Is he bitter and twisted about “Deadwood”s early demise? “I never think anything is guaranteed,” Milch said. “So it wasn’t ever that kind of a living reality to me and therefore there is nothing to be disappointed about.”

Although the timing was kinda weird – just a few days after the plug is pulled on his critically hailed show - Milch seemed to enjoy getting his star on Hollywood Blvd this week. He even smiled. Hey, life goes on. Besides, he's not exactly unemployed. He's working on a pilot for a new HBO series about surfing, called "John From Cincinnati."

Photo Credits: "Deadwood" creator/writer David Milch takes his Hollywood Walk of Fame star with a grain of salt, just days after his Emmy and Globe winning HBO series gets its fourth season shortened.
WireImage/Mark Sullivan