As to what the odds of it happening are, "I don't know, you could probably put it at 50-50," Plepler said.

"Look, we're in business with David Milch," Lombardo said. "We intend to be in business with David Milch for the foreseeable future. So, trust me, we're going to sit down and figure this out."

Don't hold your breath.

IT'S NOT GOOD NEWS for "Deadwood" fans, but it is good news for fans of any other series on HBO. The suggestion that, given the extremely long periods between seasons of "The Sopranos," maybe David Milch could take time to do "Deadwood" before returning to "John" was rejected by the current HBO leadership.

"The truth of the matter is — waiting a year-and-a-half between shows I think we've discovered is probably not ideal for the viewer," Lombardo said. "We have in fact pushed that hiatus on 'Sopranos' a number of times. It's not preferable for us, and I think viewers have expressed that to us."

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