THE guys on “Entourage” are growing up this year.
After five seasons of living under one roof — the one provided by Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), the Hollywood star at the center of the series — supporting Chase’s movie career and gawking at the endless parade of willing girls he’s sampled, the co-stars of the series are finally developing — financially and emotionally.
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“I wanted to reinvent [‘Entourage’] without making it a different show,” says Doug Ellin, the HBO series’ creator and executive producer. “I think it has the feeling of Season 1, with more maturity.”
Ellin admits it was hard to juggle all the show’s best elements — male comraderie, laughs, hot girls, huge parties –while trying to push his characters into the real world.
But “it’s time to see the boys flex their muscles,” says Ellin. “Their characters are finally evolving.”
At the outset of Season 6 — which begins next Sunday night at 10:30– Eric Murphy (played by Kevin Connolly) becomes the second guy in the entourage to get a place of his own. (Johnny Drama, played by Kevin Dillon, left the nest late in Season 3).
It’s a natural step for Murphy, who has been living in the guest house of the luxurious mansion the four guys share. He’s also become extremely ambitious trying to get his management agency rolling — refusing to use Chase as a crutch any longer.
“This is a very eventful season . . . especially for me,” Connolly told The Post.
Murphy, known as “E,” is hoping the reward for paying his own rent will be the love of Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui), his stunning on-and-off love interest, who’s back in the fold.
“My character is a hopeless romantic,” Connolly says.
Which is exactly where Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) finds himself, too.
Although Turtle hasn’t officially changed addresses, the pot-loving wise ass spends most of his nights at Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s pad and is falling head-over-heels in love with her. (In real life, the two already have an off camera relationship. But that’s another story.)
Sigler, best known for her role as the loyal daughter Meadow on “The Sopranos,” plays herself on the series. She is trying to help Turtle find a career in show business — and recover from the nose dive he took back in Season 3 after failing to sign rapper Saigon to a major label.
“Turtle’s watching the other guys and learning the business,” said Ferrara. “I think [Ellin] is moving slow with him. No pun intended.
“But I believe there are going to be a lot of openings for him soon. Deep down, he’s a hustler and it will pay off.”
Until then, he will spend quality time with Sigler.
The relationship “is perfect — on and off the show,” Ferrara says.