Boardwalk Empire

Step onto the set of the highly anticipated HBO drama series "Boardwalk Empire" in this special behind-the-scenes look featuring interviews, clips from the show, and more.

A 30-minute documentary from HBO, "Atlantic City: The Original Sin City." It's a companion piece to the series, and originally aired on HBO just prior to the series premiere. It includes interviews with many of the experts on Atlantic City history, including Nelson Johnson (author of Boardwalk Empire), Allen "Boo" Pergament, Heather Halpin Perez, Ralph Hunter, Vicki Gold Levi, Turiya S. A. Raheem, and Bryant Simon. It also includes executive producers Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter, as well as the research advisor for the series, Ed McGinty.

See how it began before it ends. With one episode to go, the cast and creators share their memories of Boardwalk Empire.

January 1920. On the eve of Prohibition, Atlantic City's Treasurer, Nucky Thompson, condemns alcohol at a Women's Temperance League meeting, where he is noticed by Margaret Schroeder, a pretty, pregnant housewife who comes to him for help in getting her abusive husband Hans a job. Later that evening, the duplicitous Nucky privately tells his ward bosses about the opportunity to make huge profits selling bootleg liquor. At a countdown-to-midnight blast at Babette's Supper Club, he assures Jimmy Darmody, a recently returned WWI vet, that his appointment as "Man Friday" to the new Chief Clerk of the Fourth Ward, Paddy Ryan, will lead to bigger things. Jimmy, meanwhile, has higher aspirations and ends up making an alliance that could have dire consequences for both him and Nucky.

Nucky deals with the fallout from Jimmy's rogue heist, sending Eli to sow the seeds of doubt in the mind of Margaret, who seeks help in the wake of her husband's demise.

An unlikely witness to the woods massacre threatens to expose the perpetrators, sending both Eli and Van Alden rushing to the hospital. Margaret starts a new job at an upscale French dress shop at the Ritz, while Chalky's team pays a heavy price for taking over Mickey Doyle's bootleg operation.

Nucky is shocked by an insurrection among his inner circle. An attack threatens Chalky's life and livelihood. Margaret deals with her son's problems. Angela vies for Jimmy's affection. Van Alden shows his wife around town.

Despite being publicly embarrassed by legal trouble, Nucky's biggest concern may be holding on to his private army in a battle for control of Atlantic City. Meanwhile, Jimmy pitches a business deal to Arnold Rothstein in New York, but may have more in common with Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano. Margaret draws on past experience to retrieve some valuable information, Chalky clashes with a fellow inmate, and an Irish nationalist comes to town looking for support.

The Commodore throws his weight around with the Coast Guard to disrupt the delivery of alcohol, which creates an opportunity for Owen to demonstrate his value to Nucky and a struggling casino. Meanwhile, a letter dredges up painful memories for Margaret, Nucky calls in a favor with the U.S. attorney general, Meyer and Lucky learn the price of power, and Lucy searches for ways to cure her loneliness.

Nucky makes a resolution; Margaret considers a hospital expansion; Gillian builds a new business; Van Alden stumbles onto a confrontation.

Mixing business with pleasure in New York, Nucky bristles at the collection tactics of Gaston Means, a “special investigator” with ties to Attorney General Harry Daugherty. At St. Theresa’s, Margaret is troubled when her altruism is met with resistance by both a patient and an idealistic doctor. Gyp extends his stopover in Tabor Heights, a town halfway between Atlantic City and New York, with an eye towards establishing a strategic foothold. Chalky and his daughter Maybelle (Christina Jackson) fail to agree on her future with Samuel (Ty Michael Robinson); Eli gets a new boss and faces new realities at home; a major liquor shipment takes an unexpected detour.

Disturbed by a recent nightmare and Billie’s absence, Nucky reluctantly joins Margaret to receive a high honor from the Church. Meanwhile, Gyp makes a deal with Nucky for a onetime liquor shipment, though the mobster’s longtime intentions remain very much up in the air. Van Alden regrets trying to socialize with his co-workers; Margaret takes her women’s-clinic pitch to a higher authority; Lucky and Meyer (Anatol Yusef) protect their investments; Richard sets the record straight with Mickey, and with Nucky.

Following his battle with Gyp Rosetti, Nucky makes a peace offering to Joe Masseria while working the odds with Arnold Rothstein. While Chalky is busy running the Onyx Club on the Boardwalk, the impulsive Dunn Purnsley clashes with a booking agent. Fresh-faced Federal Agent Warren Knox arrives in Atlantic City to learn the ropes from Agent Sawicki. Gillian seeks custody of her grandson, Tommy, while trying to find a “good” man to keep the Artemis Club afloat. Eli’s college-age son, Willie, turns to Nucky for career advice. Al Capone enlists his brothers, Frank and Ralph, to help him expand his business in the Chicago suburb of Cicero. Richard Harrow returns to his violent ways.

Now working as a “delivery man” for Dean O’Banion, Van Alden is ordered to keep tabs on Al Capone, joining the ascendant mobster to help keep Cicero voters “informed” at a political rally. Dr. Valentin Narcisse arrives in Atlantic City, clashing with Chalky and Nucky over the loss of an employee. In Washington, Agent Knox aligns himself with J. Edgar Hoover, acting director of the Bureau of Investigation. Harrow fails to finish a job in Milwaukee, while Eddie demands a promotion after 11 years of service. With a business opportunity on the horizon, Nucky departs for Florida.

Nucky has reservations about investing in a Tampa land deal engineered by transplanted bootlegger Bill McCoy. While there, he meets speakeasy owner Sally Wheet. Valentin Narcisse books a sexy jazz singer, Daughter Maitland, to perform at the Onyx, and gauges Dunn Purnsley’s allegiance to Chalky. Willie, Eli’s son, turns to Mickey Doyle and his bootleg warehouse to elevate his social standing at college. Gillian agrees to pose as Roy Phillips’ wife to impress a possible partner. Harrow tries to bury his past, though not before taking care of some unfinished business with Emma.

Nucky reminisces about catching the Commodore's eye; Nucky joins Sally Wheet in Cuba; Margaret finds herself in the hot seat; Chalky tries to extricate himself from a difficult situation; Lucky Luciano sets a bold plan in motion.

Nucky pays a visit to Johnny Torrio; Eli and Van Alden must recoup money lost during a federal raid by Eliot Ness; Willie has a job interview; in 1884, young Nucky deals with the death of his sister.

Chalky heads in a new direction; Margaret finds herself in a quandary; Nucky hosts a prospective partner from Boston; Luciano and Siegel meet with Narcisse in Harlem; in 1884, young Nucky flirts with a girl.