via datnewcudi.com

HBO’s new show “How to Make it in America” is the East Coast answer to “Entourage” that leaves the fantasy world of LA parties, quick fame, and booze and drugs behind for, well, parties, a desire for fame, and booze and drugs.

Ben Epstein is the protagonist - a Fashion Institute of Technology dropout who works in the men’s department at Barney’s (he must to afford the designer plaid, chocolate brown leather jacket, and obviously expensive jeans he constantly wears).

Ben and his ambitious but roughish-around-the-edges friend Cam have discovered their ideal hustle: designing jeans.  Inspired by New York City in the 1970s, they want to create a brand, Crisp Jeans NYC, based on the punk and early hip-hop movements.  They don’t have a business plan, but something makes you think they just might be able to pull it off-they score a meeting with John Varvatos after meeting him at a swanky cocktail party.

I am definitely an East Coast girl which might explain why I fell immediately in love with “How to Make it in America”.  Sure, “Entourage” is glamorous, a rags-to-riches tale, and exciting, but HTMIIA tells the story of guys I could see on the street.  Granted, they seem to walk out of a Detail’s Bloomingdales ad, but considering Ben went to FIT, I don’t know how unreasonable that really is.

This show also brings many of our favorite things together.  Beyond being an East Coast version of “Entourage”, it is also the hipster version.  The styling, their teeny-tiny loft apartments, art gallery parties, prevalence of skateboarding, and frequent pop culture references (Cobra Starship played in the first five minutes, Nylon has been mentioned more than once, and they are celebrating a model friend’s landing of a J.Crew campaign) scream of HBO’s desire to capture the hip, trendy crowd that is just that bit too young to have started watching “Entourage” when the first season aired six years ago.

Check out the New York Times review here and HBO’s website to listen to the great music in each show.

-KP