'Boardwalk Empire': What you need to know for Season Two

'Boardwalk Empire': What you need to know for Season Two

　　One of the best shows on television returns Sunday.

　　The award-winning period HBO drama was adapted from Nelson Johnson's best-selling non-fiction book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City." It centered on real-life criminal kingpin Enoch "Nucky" Johnson. On the show, the central character's name was changed to Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi). He portrays the Atlantic County Treasurer who rose to prominence during the Prohibition period of the '20s and '30s in Atlantic City.

　　The show is run by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Terence Winter of "The Sopranos." Producers include Emmy-winner Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg and frequent episode director Tim Van Patten.

　　Earlier this year, 'Empire' snagged a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing in a New Series. In addition, the cast won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, while lead actor Steve Buscemi won the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. The cast also won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series.

　　'Empire' also won a Golden Globe for best Dramatic Series with Buscemi also winning Best Actor in Dramatic Series. Martin Scorsese, who helmed the pilot, won the Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series.

　　Last Sunday, Martin Scorsese snagged a Best Direction Emmy for Season One's lavish premiere. Let's get brought up to speed on what you need to know about the characters before Sunday's Season Two premiere:

　　Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi)

　　The show's main protagonist, Thomspon is the Treasurer of Atlantic County. While he's beloved by his constituency, he's equal parts corrupt politician and cold-blooded gangster. When Prohibition was passed, Thompson capitalized on the public's thirst for alcohol and shrewdly aligned himself with many of the back-room dealers in the world of gambling dens and speakeasies in America's Favorite Playground. He also used his Republican machine to put the right power brokers in place -- a move that might haunt him in Season two. boardwalk empire box set

　　James "Jimmy" Darmody (Michael Pitt)

　　At the start of last season, he was Nucky's driver and right-hand man, but the young Princeton grad was every bit as ambitious as he was cunning. The World War I veteran wanted bigger opportunities and was perfectly willing to create them for himself. When Nucky tossed him out of Atlantic City, Jimmy found himself in Chicago where he was able to align himself with enough gangland muscle for Nucky to see that he was needed back home in New Jersey.