Writers love to write about writers. It’s a well-known fact. They get the chance to portray themselves as they want to be seen - tormented, brilliant, flawed, but lovable. Even when writers are despicable people, they’re always fascinating. Writers in real life work without an audience, so they love the idea of people watching them, fascinated by their lives.

I can’t be the only writer who is sick of watching stuff about writers. It’s one thing when you take a show like 30 Rock, which is all about the production of a sketch comedy program, and have a writer as the star. It’s quite another when characters are writers for no particular reason - except, of course, to show off the dark but brilliant lifestyle of A Writer.

But those of you who are still charmed by the writer’s tale will be happy to hear this news. HBO, desperate to catch up with rival Showtime, will soon feature a new comedy series starring Jason Schwartzman.

He plays a writer, of course. But even if you aren’t sick if writers, aren’t you sick of Jason Schwartzman? He is always pretty much the same guy, and it has worn thin after a while. With a resumé full of titles like Freaks and Geeks, I ♥ Huckabees, Shopgirl, and The Darjeeling Limited, he has firmly established himself as That Indie Guy. But with a cousin like Sofia Coppola, did he really have any other choice?

Considering that he is part of the Cage/Coppola/Shire family, he’s probably not leaving show business anytime soon. Which is fine with me, as long as I don’t have to watch anything with him in it.

As far as I’m concerned, this series marries the worst of both worlds: pretentious, irritating actor, plus a pretentious irritating basis for a character. Just look at the official summary:

Jason Schwartzman will play the lead role in HBO’s comedy pilot “Bored to Death,” about a struggling thirtysomething writer with a drinking problem.

Following a painful breakup with his girlfriend, his character decides to emulate his heroes from the novels of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. He takes out an ad pretending to be a private detective and starts taking cases — solving some and making others worse.

I, just, ugh. There are no words.

Why, HBO?

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