HBO Made A Mistake Canceling This Fantastical Drama From Deadwood's Creator

David Milch has written, produced, and created some of the hottest TV shows to air since the 1980s. (Oh, and he co-wrote Michael Bay's "Bad Boys," too.) He began his career serving as a story editor and executive producer on "Hill Street Blues" and co-created "NYPD Blue" with Steven Bochco. He also co-created "Brooklyn South" and "Total Security," both in 1997, and the short-lived cop series "Big Apple" in 2001. Milch then scored his biggest hit in 2004 when he created HBO's Western "Deadwood," which ran for three seasons before returning for a well-received feature-length finale titled "Deadwood: The Movie.".

After all his success (not to mention multiple Emmy wins), Milch seemed free to do whatever he wanted in the mid-2000s. So, in 2006, he decided to get ambitious and made the truly strange (but fascinating), far-reaching "surfer noir" series "John from Cincinnati."

"John from Cincinnati" was co-created by Kem Nunn, a novelist often credited for pioneering the surfer noir sub-genre. The show is set in a small surfside community and follows the adventures (kind of) of the titular John Monad (Austin Nichols), a strange, mysterious man who claims to be from Cincinnati. He repeats what other people say and has magical powers; for example, he can reach into his pockets and produce small objects as they are needed, among other things. Beyond that, John spends his days interacting with a large group of characters (all played by recognizable actors) and is seemingly attempting to change their lives for the better. 

Milch dropped in some hints right away about what he was trying to do with his new series. For one, the name Monad sounds like the Greek word "monas," which is essentially a term for God. One could alternatively look at the initials of the show for another hint. 

The "John from Cincinnati" cast is amazing. There's Mitch (Bruce Greenwood), the patriarch of a surfing family who runs a surf shop with his wife, Cissy (Rebecca DeMornay). Mitch loves surfing, but his glory days are definitely behind him. Meanwhile, their adult son, Butchie (Brian Van Holt), is addicted to heroin and still recovering from a traumatic incident in his youth. What's more, Butchie has a son named Shaun (Greyson Fletcher), who is longing for a parent in his life. Shaun's mom, Tina (Chandra West), is inattentive, so his default parental figure is Bill Jacks (Ed O'Neill), a retired cop who converses with his pet birds. 

And that's hardly the start. There's also Luis Guzmán as a local hotel manager who's having an affair and Luke Perry as Linc, a surfing talent scout who needs a new star surfer to get back on his feet after being bought out by some business partners. Finally, Willie Garson and Jennifer Grey play, in turn, a lawyer/surf enthusiast and his fiancée, with Marc-Paul Gosselaar and Garrett Dillahunt having small roles as well. 

Story-wise, there's a lot of talk in "John from Cincinnati" about the purity of surfing. Linc rhapsodizes about the glories and beauty of Shaun's abilities, and Mitch is so elated by surfing that he steps out of the water and literally levitates for a moment. And at the center of all this is John, who seems to be a catalyst for many mystical things. It's implied that his presence is causing positive things to happen to the show's unhappy, deadbeat characters.

Suffice it to say, there's a reason certain folks feel "John from Cincinnati" is one of HBO's all-time worst shows. It's a proper enigma.

Notably, John seems to be responsible for the miraculous healing of Shaun's broken neck. Partway through the series, John also reveals that he can teleport or bilocate. Indeed, he appears to several distant characters simultaneously and brings them all together to a motel to deliver a sorta sermon about togetherness and how we're all connected ... or something. Yes, fine, John is supposed to be the reincarnation of Christ. Or perhaps just a Christlike entity who's come to save this little surfing community from its misery. His true nature is never made explicit. 

No one really knows what's going on in "John from Cincinnati." Appearing on "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" in 2007 (via The Ringer), David Milch was asked point blank what the show is about. He replied with an unhelpful, "I don't know what it's about. I don't know the bottom line. [...] If God were trying to reach out to us. [...] Uh, and if he felt a certain urgency about it. [...] Um, that's what it's about." 

Okay, then. 

The Ringer article also includes a rather hilarious behind-the-scenes clip of Milch trying his hardest to explain a script to the series' cast during production. His 13-minute lecture is no help to anyone, but he does talk a lot about connecting with the world, prejudices, 9/11, and "the capacity of art to reorganize experience, to reorganize our sense of reality." One cannot fault Milch for trying something big and ambitious. 

Unfortunately, "John from Cincinnati" was, perhaps, too daring for HBO back in the day, and it was swiftly (and, dare we even say, unjustly) canceled after 10 episodes. It's still on HBO Max, though, so one can stream it and appreciate it for all its audacity.