HBO's 'Bored to Death' Kicks Off Second Season, 9/26

Jonathan Ames has a "day job" as a writer  but there's plenty to keep him busy on other fronts. His work as an unlicensed private detective is flourishing, he's moonlighting as a teacher of fiction writing, and he's getting in and out of trouble with his best friends George and Ray.

Created by the real-life Jonathan Ames ("The Extra Man," "The Alcoholic"), BORED TO DEATH kicks off its eight-episode second season with the episode entitled "Escape from the Dungeon!" on SUNDAY, SEPT. 26 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), followed by other half-hour episodes debuting on subsequent Sundays at the same time, exclusively on HBO.

Starring Jason Schwartzman ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "Funny People") as the fictional Jonathan Ames, BORED TO DEATH follows the misadventures of this noir-fiction-obsessed writer, who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective listing his services on Craigslist. Having recently finished his second novel (which remains unpublished) and started up a new romance, Jonathan continues to put his sleuthing skills to the test while teaching a night class on fiction writing.

Meanwhile, Jonathan's needy mentor George Christopher, played by Ted Danson (HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), struggles with his magazine's new cost-cutting publisher and some sobering medical news. And Jonathan's confidant, cartoonist Ray Hueston, played by Zach Galifianakis ("Dinner for Schmucks," "The Hangover"), deals with his own personal crisis by creating a new self-modeled comic-book character named Super Ray, resulting in a measure of success.

Also returning as a cast regular this season on BORED TO DEATH is Heather Burns as Ray's girlfriend Leah. Guest stars this season include series veterans John Hodgman, Patton Oswalt, Oliver Platt, Laila Robins, Jenny Slate and Kirsten Wiig, as well as F. Murray Abraham, Kevin Bacon, Allyce Beasley, Olympia Dukakis, Jim Gaffigan, Joel Marsh Garland, Jessica Hecht, Kristen Johnson, Zoe Kazan, Domenick Lombardozzi, Richard Masur, Jim Norton, Mary Kay Place, John Rothman, Finnerty Steeves and Jonathan Ames himself.

Taking time out from his new gig as a night-school fiction-writing teacher, Jonathan (Jason Schwartzman) is hired by a mounted policeman (Lenny Venito) whose name is on the client list of an S&M dungeon that's about to be busted. Meanwhile, George (Ted Danson) is flummoxed to learn that his new publisher plans to cut costs on every front, and Ray (Zach Galifianakis) fails a yoga test with Leah (Heather Burns), putting their relationship in final jeopardy.

Written by Jonathan Ames; directed by Alan Taylor.

The eight-episode first season of BORED TO DEATH, which concluded in Nov. 2009, was hailed as "the best new comedy of the season" by the New York Times, while the Wall Street Journal praised the show for "flat-out inspired comedy" and the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "charming as well as quirky and funny," calling the series "another gem unearthed by HBO."

In addition to widespread critical praise, BORED TO DEATH recently received an Emmy? in the category of Outstanding Main Title Design (Tom Barham, Marci Ichimura, Dean Haspiel, Anthony Santoro).

Winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Jonathan Ames (creator and executive producer) is the author of eight books, including the graphic novel "The Alcoholic" (illustrated by Dean Haspiel), "I Pass Like Night," "The Extra Man," "What's Not to Love?," "Wake Up, Sir!" and "I Love You More Than You Know." His latest book, "The Double Life Is Twice as Good," was published in 2009. "The Extra Man" was recently adapted for a feature film of the same name by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, with Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, John C. Reilly and Katie Holmes starring.

BORED TO DEATH was created by Jonathan Ames; executive producers, Jonathan Ames, Sarah Condon, TRoy Miller, Stephanie Davis and Dave Becky; co-executive producers, Tracey Baird and Donick Cary; supervising producer, Martin Gero; producers, Anna Dokoza and Michael Stricks.