Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004, and ended on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons. The series was created and largely written by Doug Ellin and chronicles the acting career of Vincent Chase, a young A-list movie star, and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City, as they attempt to further their nascent careers in Los Angeles.

Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson served as the show's executive producers, and its premise is loosely based on Wahlberg's experiences as an up-and-coming film star 
According to Mark Wahlberg, Entourage was initially conceived when his assistant asked if he could film Wahlberg and his friends, calling them "hilarious." Other reports credit Eric Weinstein, a long-time friend of Wahlberg, with the idea of filming the actor's group of friends. However, according to Donnie Carroll, who was the inspiration for the Turtle character, the idea for a show involving an actor and his friends had come from him. It had originated as a book idea, centered on Carroll's own life and his experiences with Wahlberg, titled From the 'Hood to Hollywood, A Soldier's Story 

To be more satirical of the Hollywood lifestyle, a fictional approach was chosen rather than a straight documentary in order to keep the content light, and avoid directly depicting Wahlberg's violent past Vincent Chase was envisioned to be more similar to Wahlberg, but it was decided that some of his and his friends' activities (particularly some elements of their criminal past) would not work well on television.[3] A lighter approach was subsequently decided upon. 
The main characters of Entourage. From left to right: Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Eric "E" Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Vincent "Vince" Chase (Adrian Grenier), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon).

Entourage revolves around Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier).[7][8] His best friend and manager is Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly)."E," as his friends call him, is based on Mark Wahlberg's friend and associate producer Eric Weinstein. He's also been reported to be inspired by Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg's manager. 

Vincent's older half-brother, Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), is Vince's personal chef, trainer and bodyguard. Drama is a C-list actor who was in the fictional show Viking Quest during his younger days. His role in the new fictional hit show Five Towns had begun to resurrect his fame and career, although he still received less acknowledgment than he would have liked for it. As the show went on, Drama got offers for more and more roles. The show ended with Drama having his own animated TV show called "Johnny's Bananas" and him landing a new TV movie with the help of Vince. Drama's character is based on Johnny "Drama" Alves (cousin of Mark Wahlberg), whom Donnie Wahlberg had hired to keep his younger brother out of trouble. 
Rounding out the entourage of friends is Salvatore "Turtle" Assante (Jerry Ferrara), who is another of Vince's old friends from childhood. Turtle's official role is as Vince's driver and assistant, though his value as such is often brought into question. This character is based on Wahlberg's former "gofer" Donnie Carroll aka "Donkey" Carroll auditioned for the role, but the Boston native was turned down when it was decided the actors would have to be New Yorkers. Carroll died on December 18, 2005, after an asthma attack 

Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is Vince's abrasive but lovable agent. The role has led to several nominations and Emmy Awards for Piven. Ari is based on Wahlberg's real-life agent Ari Emanuel. 
Connolly, Grenier, Dillon, Ferrara, and Piven are credited in every episode in the opening credits of the entire series. Debi Mazar, who has a recurring guest star role as Shauna in season 1, is promoted to opening credits billing in season 2. Her appearances in season 3 were limited due to her pregnancy and Mazar made her final regular appearance in episode 42 (season 3 finale). Mazar made appearances in seasons 4 through 8 and is credited as a special guest star. Melissa Gold (Perrey Reeves) and Lloyd (Rex Lee) have recurring roles in the first two seasons. Starting in season 3, Reeves and Lee are credited as "starring" in the end credits in the episodes they appear in. Reeves receives opening credits billing starting with season 4, and Lee is added to the opening credits starting with season 5.

In season 4, Rhys Coiro, who portrays recurring character Billy Walsh, is credited as "starring" in the end credits for the first six episodes of the season. However, when his character returns in episode 52 (season 4, episode 10), he is again credited as a guest star; he returns in season 7 as a recurring special guest star and is credited as "starring" in the end credits again in season 8. Emmanuelle Chriqui portrays E's on-and-off girlfriend Sloan McQuewick as a recurring guest star from season 2 to 5, and beginning with season 6, she is credited as "starring" in the end credits. Gary Cole guest stars in three episodes of season 5 as agent Andrew Klein, and beginning with season 6 he is credited as "starring" in the end credits and returns in season 7 as a special guest star. Scott Caan guest stars in two episodes of season 6 as Scott Lavin, and in season 7 and 8, he is credited as "starring" in the end credits.