Showtime has announced the premiere of their new Happyish series. The show’s pilot had to be remade last year following the untimely demise of the project’s original star, Philip Seymour Hoffman. The 10 episode season will debut on April 26th, sandwiched between Nurse Jackie and Penny Dreadful.

SHOWTIME GETS “HAPPYISH” ON APRIL 26: NEW SERIES STARS STEVE COOGAN, KATHRYN HAHN AND BRADLEY WHITFORD

LOS ANGELES (January 12, 2015) – SHOWTIME will pick up the new series HAPPYISH starring Oscar(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Emmy(R) Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Bradley Whitford, it was announced today by David Nevins, President of Showtime Networks Inc. The series is a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness and why it continues to be so elusive. HAPPYISH, which shoots in New York, will premiere on April 26th at 9:30 p.m. ET./PT, immediately following Nurse Jackie airing at 9 p.m., and followed by the premiere of the second season of the SHOWTIME drama series Penny Dreadful at 10 p.m. Emmy and Tony(R) Award winner Ellen Barkin, Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston (The Good Wife), Molly Price (Third Watch) and Andre Royo (The Wire) will guest star.

“Shalom has a unique comedic voice. He is smart, provocative and thoughtful. I know he’s going to make viewers laugh, but he’s also going to push a few buttons while doing it,” said Nevins.

HAPPYISH was created, written and executive produced by critically acclaimed author and regular This American Life contributor Shalom Auslander. Emmy Award nominee Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not That Into You, A Walk In The Woods) will executive produce and direct the pilot. Kwapis’ producing partner Alexandra Beattie will co-executive produce, under their In Cahoots banner.

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.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(TM), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R), FLIX ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME(R). SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel(TM). SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV(R).

What do you think? Do you plan to check out Happyish on Showtime?