HBO has never thought much of the kindness of strangers. In the four years since the pay channel had its clock cleaned by AMC with Mad Men (and promptly cleaned house in response), HBO has slowly rebuilt its reputation by investing in familiarity: Boardwalk Empire, from Sopranos scribe Terence Winter (and Entourage producer Mark Wahlberg); True Blood, from Six Feet Under undertaker Alan Ball; Tremé, from The Wire’s David Simon. Now comes news that the network’s next big splash is likely to be in a pool already located in their backyard. Deadline is reporting that HBO has given a pilot order to Criminal Justice, an adaptation of the 2008 BBC series of the same name that chronicles the journey of a single defendant lost in the labyrinth of a metropolitan legal system. The names behind the scenes are big: Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian and acclaimed crime novelist Richard Price (who did time on the writing staff of The Wire). But the name in front of the camera is bigger: James Gandolfini, returning to the small-screen home where he made his considerable bones. Badaboom, badabing.

It’s over. No more surges or collapses, no more micro-measurements of momentum, no more fingers to the wind. Voting for the Oscar nominations has closed, and the results will be announced bright and early on Tuesday, January 24, so every day this week I’ll be rolling out my predictions. Take these to the bank! Actually, please don’t. It’s not easy trying to crystal-ball the collective, aggregated taste of Pedro Almodóvar and Ernest Borgnine and Peter Dinklage and Olivia de Havilland and the guy who shot The Wedding Planner and the costume designer of Vanilla Sky. Throw in more than 5,000 other voters and you have, at best, barely educated guesswork. With that in mind ...