Today was a big day for the Showtime network as they gave their presentation at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.
First, David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. announced that Shameless has been renewed for a 12 episode sixth season with production due to begin later this year. The hit series is Showtime’s highest rated comedy and just kicked off its fifth season this past Sunday.
The network announced that it has picked up Happyish to series. The show stars Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Emmy® Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Bradley Whitford. Coogan will star in the lead role of Thom Payne, a 44 year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25 year-old “wunderkind” boss arrives, saying things like “digital,” “social” and “viral.” Is he in need of a “rebranding,” or does he just have a “low joy ceiling,?” Maybe pursuing happiness is a fool’s errand? Maybe, after 44 years on this ludicrous planet, settling for happyish is the best one can expect.
This spring, Showtime will bid farewell to one of its signature series with the premiere of Nurse Jackie’s final season on Sunday, April 12th at 9 P.M. ET/PT, followed by the highly-anticipated second season of the hit drama series Penny Dreadful on Sunday, April 26th at 10 P.M. ET/PT.
Finally, Golden Globe winner and Emmy® Award nominee Kyle MacLachlan will reprise his role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper when the critically-acclaimed, ground breaking television phenomenon Twin Peaks returns as a new limited series on Showtime. Series creators and executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost are on board to write and produce all nine episodes of the limited series. Four-time Oscar® nominee David Lynch will direct every episode. Twin Peaks will go into production in 2015 to air on the network in 2016, marking the 25th anniversary of when the program last aired. Set in the present day, Twin Peaks will continue the lore of the original series, providing long-awaited answers for the series’ passionate fan base.