HBO makes plans for 'In Treatment' with Leight

LATimes.com, 6.3.08
By Matea Gold & Maria Elena Fernandez

HBO’s “In Treatment” has not been officially renewed for a second season, but there are signs that Gabriel Byrne’s therapist, Paul Weston, will be back in his chair next year.

The cable network has already made plans for a change in the management of the critically acclaimed drama should it continue, tapping Warren Leight, who has run “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” for the last two years, to succeed show runner Rodrigo Garcia.

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Leight said he plans to wrap up production on the seventh season of “Criminal Intent” by early August and begin breaking stories for “In Treatment” a few weeks later.

“In some ways, it’s 180 degrees from what I’ve been doing,” said the writer, who signed a one-year producing deal with HBO to run “In Treatment” and write a separate pilot.

“This show is so plot-driven,” he said of “Criminal Intent,” where he spent six years, while the HBO series is “an emotionally driven show.” “I’ve killed probably 150 people in last six years,” Leight added. “It will be nice to have people working their problems out in therapist’s office.”

He noted that it was a hard decision to leave “Criminal Intent,” which moved from NBC to sister cable network USA last year. The show, the youngest of Dick Wolf’s “Law & Order” franchise, was renewed last week for another 16-episode season.

“Dick gave me my shot as a show runner, and I’ll always been grateful to him for that,” Leight said.

Wolf has not announced who will replace Leight on the USA series but released a statement praising him for a “terrific job.” Full article