"Entourage": The boys of summer

"Entourage" is back in fine form, just in time to be a guilty summer pleasure.

As season six dawns, Vincent Chase's career fortunes have taken a turn for the better, which brings its own set of problems. The boys in general appear to be going through serious growing pains, making the show feel more like "Sex and the City" for guys than ever. Not that that's a bad thing.

There's great stuff going on with Rex Lee's Lloyd, the long-suffering assistant to Jeremy Piven's alpha-agent Ari Gold. And there's some intrigue in store for Gary Cole's character, Andrew, the old friend that Ari brought in as a partner to the Miller Gold Agency last season. Jami Gertz is a nice addition to the ensemble as Andrew's wife, Marlo.

Of the insider-y stuff, early on in the season opener there's a reference to Andrew having just signed Greg Garcia of "My Name is Earl" fame (no mention of the show's demise), and Andrew and Ari put the hard sell on two "UTA showrunners" (they don't have names, just agency affiliations in Andrew's mind). And ICM's Ted Chervin gets a name-check, as "Chervin," who Ari frets about beating on the golf course.

"Entourage" bows July 12 at 10:30 p.m., running in tandem with newbie "Hung," which preems on Sunday. I intended to watch the "Hung" pilot last night but I couldn't resist taking in the second "Entourage" episode on HBO's screener. I've got a date with "Hung" tonight fer sure.