Pressure has been on for HBO to come up with its next big hit, as old ones like “Sex and the City” and “Six Feet Under,” and soon “Sopranos,” end their runs.
 
The network has tried, with often disastrous results, as with Lisa Kudrow’s quickly canceled “The Comeback,” or simply disappointing results, as with “Carnivale,” which was canceled after two seasons. 
 
But in the meantime the network appears to have set its mind to mastering the craft of developing series that will prove solid performers with the network’s core viewers, relying on elements that have worked for HBO in the past.

Enter “Big Love,” the new series about the ever-so-complicated lives of polygamist Bill Henrickson, played by Bill Paxton, and his three wives. If "Sopranos" is a super hit, “Six Feet Under” was a solid performer, and certainly the model for "Big," as a drama about an unusual family.
 
Last week the show averaged a 2.7 household rating, up 23 percent from the previous week and down just a tenth of a point from its premiere average. The show is averaging a 2.5 through five episodes, 47 percent more than what “Under” averaged when it concluded its final season last year.
 
“Big" is far from a breakout hit, routinely losing about half of lead-in “Sopranos’” audience. And in a highly competitive Sunday 10 p.m. timeslot, it slumps against original episodes of the ABC hit “Grey’s Anatomy.” Last week it faced a repeat.
 
Yet it could very well prove to have the staying power of “Under,” which lasted five seasons, with the endless twists and turns one comes to expect from an HBO series. It also has some shady undertones in the tradition of the “Sopranos.”
 
“The soup starts out cold, but give it a chance to warm up,” says the Philadelphia Inquirer. “‘Big Love’ is big and lovely enough to keep Sundays on HBO bubbling on for a few years.”
 
Residing in suburban Salt Lake City, Bill and his clan are just like any other dysfunctional family, only multiplied three times over.
 
First wife Barb, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, wants a life outside of the home. Second wife Nicki, played by Chloe Sevigny, has secretly racked up some $60,000 in credit card debt. And third wife Margene, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, struggles to assert her position as more than just the babysitter.
 
Work is equally complicated for Henrickson, who is being squeezed for more payback by the Prophet, head of the cult/clan to which he used to belong, for money he borrowed to start his growing chain of Home Depot-type stores. The Prophet, played by Harry Dean Stanton, also happens to be a father-in-law. 
 
All the while the family has to keep their unique arrangement a secret, even in Utah. The Mormon Church has outlawed the practice of polygamy since 1890.