Showtime has given renewals to one of longest-running dramas and one of their newest. Both Weeds and The Big C will be back in 2011.
Weeds revolves around a suburban housewife and mother (Mary-Louise Parker) who turns to selling marijuana after her husband unexpectedly dies. The cast also includes Alexander Gould, Allie Grant, Elizabeth Perkins, Hunter Parrish, Justin Kirk, and Kevin Nealon.
The Big C follows another wife and mother with a different set of problems. Cathy Jamison (Laura Linney) is a high school teacher who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and must face the many ways it impacts her life. The series also features Oliver Platt, John Benjamin Hickey, Gabriel Basso, Phyllis Somerville, Gabourey Sidibe, and Reid Scott.
Both series are expected to finish airing their current 13 episode seasons in November.
Here’s the official press release from Showtime…
JUST TWO GOOD! SHOWTIME PICKS UP NEW SEASONS OF THE BIG C & WEEDS
LOS ANGELES, CA – (September 20, 2010) – On the heels of record-breaking premiere night ratings for both original series, SHOWTIME has picked up new seasons of its hit comedies THE BIG C and WEEDS. Season 2 of THE BIG C (from Sony Pictures Television) and WEEDS (from Lionsgate) will premiere on the network in 2011.
THE BIG C took the country by storm last month as more than 6.5 million people viewed the premiere episode across various platforms, making it the network’s highest-rated original series premiere in 8 years. The night kicked off with WEEDS, which also garnered over 6 million viewers – a record premiere episode for the series.
“The unprecedented viewership for both THE BIG C and WEEDS proves that audiences love these shows as much as we do,” said SHOWTIME President of Entertainment David Nevins. “There are definitely more comedic adventures in store for these fascinating, complex women. For six seasons, we’ve happily traveled along with Nancy Botwin and we’re equally as excited to follow Laura Linney and THE BIG C team as they chart Cathy’s unique journey through such a provocative and personal subject as cancer. We’re thrilled that these two signature shows will be returning to the network in 2011.”
Hailed by critics, including a four-star rave from People magazine, THE BIG C stars three-time Academy Award(R) nominee, three-time Emmy(R) winner and three-time Tony Award(R) nominee Laura Linney (who the Boston Globe contends “…earns THE BIG C a big ‘A’…”) as Cathy Jamison, a reserved, suburban wife/mother/teacher whose terminal cancer diagnosis forces her to shake up her life and find hope, humor and the light side of a dark situation. The series also stars Oliver Platt (Huff, Frost/Nixon) stars as her immature but well-meaning husband, John Benjamin Hickey (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Phyllis Somerville (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Gabriel Basso (Alabama Moon). Season one special guest stars include Gabourey Sidibe (Oscar(R) nominee for Precious) as a precocious student and Idris Elba (Luther) as a love interest for Cathy.
Additional guest stars include Reid Scott (My Boys) as her oncologist, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) as a flaky, long-lost friend, Brian Cox (X2) as her emotionally distant father, and Liam Neeson as “Bee Man,” an eccentric character who Cathy consults for a possible treatment for her terminal cancer. THE BIG C is created by Darlene Hunt, who serves as executive producer, along with Jenny Bicks, Linney, Vivian Cannon and Neal H. Moritz. It is produced by Sony Pictures Television.
SHOWTIME’s critically acclaimed comedy series WEEDS took to the open road for season six, to hilarious ends. Dubbed by TV Guide as “….TV’s most compelling bad mama,” Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker in her Golden Globe Award-winning performance) and family are now on the lam after Shane (Alexander Gould) killed Mexican VIP Pilar (Kate del Castillo) with a croquet mallet. To elude the Mexican FBI, police and mafia, they grab what they can, toss their cell phones and IDs and get rolling, taking odd jobs and meeting new characters along the way (season six guest stars include Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton, Mark Paul Gosselaar, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alanis Morissette and more). WEEDS is executive produced by creator Jenji Kohan, Roberto Benabib and Matthew Salsberg and produced by Lionsgate.
What do you think? Are you glad to hear these shows will be back? Do you like one over the other?
Images courtesy Showtime.
I LOVE WEEDS! PLEASE continue with new seasons! My husband and I can’t get enough! And I think that the show will do even better now than it did in the past! Come on guys … Pleeeaaase!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 me
Hope the show (weeds) doesn’t stop at the 7th season. I did not like the way this season ended, but I think they can bring it back after 7th. Love the show.Come on guys, get creative again. One of the best shows on TV now.
MY WIFE AND I STARTED WATCHING WEEDS BY ACCIDENT AND WE LOVE IT. IT IS ONE OF THE FEW SHOWS WHERE EVERFYTHING SEEMS TO FIT. WE ARE GLAD THERE WILL BE A SEVENTH SEASON AND WILL MISS IT WHEN IT GOES, BUT NOTHING LAST FOREVER. I READ A COMMENT ABOUT THE SHOW NOT BEING ABOUT WEED ANYMORE, AND THAT’S TRUE BUT JUST AS WEED IS THD GATEWAY DRUG, IT IS ALSO THE GATELWAY TO OTHER DRUGS,PEOPLE AND SITUATION. WITH THAT IN MIND I THINK THE CREATOR OF THE SHOW HAS GOOD INSITE. I HOPE IT’S NOT FROM EXPERIENCE AND THAT’S… Read more »
when does season 2 of the big c come out ???
I’m really hoping that WEEDS turns things around in the 7th season!
Very glad to know that The Big C is coming back for a second season. Laura Linney and Oliver Platt are astounding! Weeds did not entrance me, but I am glad that it has survived, as well. There is a dearth of edgy programming for people with brains.
How can you not like The Big C. Superb! Excellent! Probably the Best! Glad to see it is returning.
Weeds is not for me but it must be good or it would not survive on MJ alone. It is way to dysfunctional for me but what do I know.
I love Weeds and I am fine with the direction its taken (it is sexy, fun, dangerous, exciting, and addictive) I will be so disappointed if they end it. I do have to say, that I really miss Elizabeth Perkins as Nancy’s nemesis, Celia; and Conrad was hot as both their love interest, but then I love the whole crew, all of em; guest stars and recurring characters alike, and the kids have grown into their parts well; Shane gets down right scary/gangster at times, and I love the actors playing the parts of Doug, Andy, and Silas. Please don’t… Read more »
weeds and the big c are the best shows to ever appear on television period if you don’t watch them your a dumb a**
Those sex scenes are getting hotter and hotter and so are those dazed and confused eyes of May Louise Parker. She is hot! Now pass me the bong prop 19 or not.
Looking forward to season 7. I wonder where they will be next time around.
I LOVE the Big C. I have had cancer, and I absolutely love this show. The humor is just fantastic, and I can’t wait for Monday to come just for that half hour of hilarity. Every single character on the show fits to a tee, but I love Laura Linney. She can be funny, serious, and just fits the role perfectly. Thank you Showtime for bringing back the Big C!!
“Weeds revolves around a suburban housewife and mother (Mary-Louise Parker) who turns to selling marijuana after her husband unexpectedly dies.” That is the show’s tag, even listed in this article as it’s plot. But really has nothing to do with that now. I agree with other’s that the show has lost it’s charm and relateablility with Nancy marrying the drug kingpin mayor of Mexico, can’t really relate to that, where as I can relate to a single mom trying to juggle working (be it legal or illegal work), kids, finances, and keeping up a family’s lifestyle when one partner is… Read more »
I loved Weeds when it came out, laughed my tush off but now it’s turning into a dead end drama. I think the writers started to pidgeonhole themselves first with the fire and then with the whole Esteban fiasco, what I am trying to say really is it’s lost it’s quirkiness and has nowhere to go unless they pull a really big rabbit out of the hash bag…
Yes very happy to hear both shows have been picked. I’ve loved weeds for years now. I agree I’ve noticed it’s so much about weed anymore. Honestly I’m not so sure that’s bad though. They just took the show in a different direction. I know when they started the show was the premise was a newly single mom selling weed to help her family, but really it just started there and we’re seeing this character really try and get over a lot of bumps in the road, with competiton, protection needed and characters like Andy and Doug helping sometimes and… Read more »
While I loved WEEDS when it first came out, now not so much. The story lines have gotten so crazy! NOTHING to do with weed anymore. Nacy was likeable in the first few seasons. Now, I don’t really like her. But since the shows I DO watch are disappearing, I watch out of having nothing else.
Now BIG C…LOVE this show. Though I wonder since she is dying, how long can it go on.
I think that’s the idea, if they were still in suburbia the show would’ve lost interest seasons ago — i like how the business isn’t the carefree endeavor it was in the pilot. But i agree with the crazy.