'Bored to Death' Trailer

Here is a brief synopsis of the new HBO series, 'Bored to Death', premiering Sunday night at 9:30 pm:

Jonathan Ames, a young Brooklyn writer, is feeling lost. He's just gone through a painful break-up, thanks in part to his drinking, can't write his second novel, and carouses too much with his magazine editor. Rather than face reality, Jonathan turns instead to his fantasies — moonlighting as a private detective — because he wants to be a hero and a man of action.

The series was conceived by the actual Jonathan Ames, a novelist/essayist whose bibliography can be found here and whose newest book, 'The Double Life is Twice as Good', consisting of essays and fiction, was just released this past July.

The National Post also has an intriguing article about the long-suffering author, who is described as being an overnight success after 26 years of struggle. His fiction also seems to deal with these kinds of hardships:

Ames' fiction is torrid, bizarre and uproarious. His essays are even better; Ames gleefully recounts stories most of us would want locked away with the skeletons: encounters with prostitutes, drug and alcohol abuse, difficulties with the opposite sex. While the material is often shocking, the themes he explores are the old standbys: love and life and family and friends. In the age of oversharing, Ames is somewhat of a pioneer.

With New Show, Jonathan Ames is an Overnight Success in 26 Years