Steve Buscemi in a scene from season 5 of “Boardwalk Empire”

End of an 'Empire': All empires must come to an end, but there's no reason they can't bring in some fresh blood for the grand finale.

HBO's hit period drama "Boardwalk Empire" is wrapping up its award-winning run with a fifth and final season this fall, and it's recruiting an out-of-nowhere up-and-comer to help sing the show's swan song.

Travis Tope has suddenly been in high demand lately, and "Boardwalk Empire" is just the latest spin he's taking. He'll be playing a young drifter named Slim who's come to Atlantic City to take on some work from Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks, "Deception," 2008).

Since landing a major role in the upcoming "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" (2014), Tope's been inundated with high-profile film offers and will soon be seen starring alongside Adam Sandler ("Happy Gilmore," 1996), Jennifer Garner ("Alias"), Sofia Black-D'Elia ("Gossip Girl") and Analeigh Tipton ("Warm Bodies," 2013) in various movies on the big screen.

He'll be in good company in "Boardwalk Empire," too. The Prohibition era crime-and-politics drama, which was inspired by the book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City" by Nelson Johnson, stars some fine acting talent, including Steve Buscemi ("The Big Lebowski," 1998), Stephen Graham ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," 2011), Kelly Macdonald ("No Country for Old Men," 2007) and Michael Shannon ("Man of Steel," 2013).

It's the end of a crime-filled era on HBO, but this is just the beginning of Travis Tope's acting career. Don't miss the final season of this stunning period drama later this year.

Girlfriends galore: Divorce can be a touchy subject, but an upcoming drama on Bravo is aiming to deal with it head-on.

It's not just the subject matter that has heads turning, either. "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," due to premiere in December, will also be the cable channel's first original scripted series.

The show's title may be ringing some familiar bells for moms out there. It's been inspired by the "Girlfriends' Guide" book series by Vicki Iovine, which deals with pregnancy and motherhood in a candid manner.

Divorce, though, is definitely a bit more of a downer than the joys of pregnancy, but Bravo's brought some excellent actors on board to tackle the tricky subject matter.

Lisa Edelstein ("House M.D.") will be taking on the starring role of Abby McCarthy, a writer of self-help books who tries to hide the fact that her own life isn't picture-perfect -- in fact, she's separated from her husband and suddenly finds herself trying to navigate the single life as a woman in her 40s.

Luckily, McCarthy has some single friends who are more than happy to help her out. Other cast members include Janeane Garofalo ("The Ten," 2007), Beau Garrett ("Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior") and Necar Zadegan ("Emily Owens M.D.").

"Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce" has already signed up some major guest stars, too. "Orange is the New Black's" Laverne Cox will appear in an early episode as Pulitzer Prize-winning war journalist Adele, and Broadway icon Bernadette Peters ("The Jerk," 1979) will play Annie, Garofalo's mother.

With the distinction of being Bravo's first foray into scripted fare, "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce" has a lot of pressure behind it, but its acting talent definitely gives it a leg up. Catch the show's premiere Tuesday, Dec. 2, on Bravo.

Walken on water: There were doubters galore, but in the end they pulled it off.

Last December, NBC broadcast a stunning live telecast of the seasonal favorite "The Sound of Music." Starring country music superstar Carrie Underwood and "True Blood's" Stephen Moyer, "The Sound of Music Live!" was a success for the network (a Christmas miracle?).

Is it any surprise, then, that 2014's holiday season will see another live musical event hitting the Peacock Network? Another classic Broadway hit will be hitting TV screens Thursday, Dec. 4, when "Peter Pan Live!" premieres, and while we're still several months out from this exciting broadcast, one of Hollywood's most respected actors has already signed on.

Christopher Walken has come on board for the classic story of Peter Pan, the little boy who ran away to Neverland where he'll never grow old. Walken, though, won't be sprinkling fairy dust or making rooster calls -- he'll be playing the villainous pirate Captain Hook.

Walken got his start as a child actor way back in the 1950s, and unlike far too many actors who get their start at such a young age, he translated his early success into a full-blown career. Following a stint as a circus lion tamer when he was a teenager (seriously!), he went on to star in a hugely diverse array of movies, including "A View to a Kill" (1985), "Batman Returns" (1992), "Pulp Fiction" (1994), "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), "Click" (2006) and "Hairspray" (2007).

He's no stranger to theater, either, making him the prefect candidate to play Captain Hook. He's performed on Broadway in "The Lion in Winter" (1966), "James Joyce's The Dead" (2000), "A Beheading in Spokane" (2010) as well as countless other Shakespeare plays.

Watch for more casting announcements as we get closer to "Peter Pan Live!" premiering Thursday, Dec. 4, on NBC.