In news that is sure to produce a lot of balled-up tissues that are actually filled with tears for once, Cinemax is actively working to change its image as “Skinemax,” the unofficial sobriquet it’s held since it first began filling its late-night hours with softcore porn, and the heads of teens who didn’t have premium cable with fetishes for breasts that are purple and squiggly. Variety spoke to Chris Lombardo, president of Cinemax’s parent network HBO, who—like all parents—would prefer it if that sort of filth wasn’t in their house, so it’s actively trying to move the network away from gratuitous nudity to gratuitous nudity that’s occasionally interrupted by a gunfight, like in its original programming.
Indeed, much as a struggling young woman earns respectability by launching her own, bikini-oriented small business, recent years have seen Cinemax shift its focus to shows like Banshee and Strike Back, with Lombardo saying, “The hope is that I don’t hear ‘Skinemax’ any time after our original programming start to really take over the (lineup).” But for those whose search for pornography on the Internet remains long and fruitless—or for those traditionalists who demand some sort of story behind the carefully framed grinding—Lombardo reassures that the softcore isn’t going away entirely, which would threaten to send the likes of Beverly Lynne to the Bikini Career Placement Office (even though that would be hot). “We aren’t abandoning it,” Lombardo says. “It’s obviously enjoyed by our subscribers, and everyone is aware of it.” Yes, even the president of HBO knows what you were doing last night.