Summering On The Couch: The “Weeds”/“Californication” Debauchery Juggernaut

Television is a drug. Let’s use it.

Tonight is the season three premier of “Weeds” and we are beside ourselves with glee. If you’ve watched the show, you know what we’re talking about, but if not, lean in to your computer screen as we nose-hit you with info about the most fun hour on television. The Showtime original stars our girl Mary Louise-Parker who, with her outstanding performance in the lead role of Nancy Botwin, more than bounced back from personal heartache (Billy Crudup, who?) in 2004. Parker’s character is no stranger to hardship, either. Her handsome, strapping architect husband has a heart attack while jogging. (Played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the guy who died on Grey’s Anatomy, too. Poor dude better get a living role soon.) This leaves her with two sons to raise, one a tween and one a teen. Not wanting to give up her upper middle-class lifestyle, she decides to jump into the only industry that can get her rolling from the start: pot dealing. Add a dead-beat, lothario brother-in-law played by the ever humpable Justin Kirk, her totally down, pothead CPA played by high-larious Kevin Nealon, a titillating jungle love storyline with her supplier and grower played by “The 40 Year Old Virgin’s” Romany Malco, and a veritable cavalcade of upper middle-class dysfunction from her crazy neighbor played by Elizabeth Perkins, and you see why we say it’s the show we want to bogart the most. To add to this, the new season features the addition of Mathew Modine as a spiritually-based community developer who has the hots for Nancy. Sounds like we’ve got ourselves the most salacious show on TV, 4Real. That is, possibly, until this season.

Enter “Californication,” starring the luscious David Duchovny (We once saw him at the movies with freshly-showered hair and it was all we could do not to lean in and smell it.) Duchovny plays Hank, a one-hit wonder author who can’t stop having anonymous sex all over town. Which does nothing to impress his ex-wife (played by Natasha McElhone) and young daughter. Showtime always delivers on sidekick characters and this time is no exception. Playing Hank’s best friend is Evan Handler who is probably best known for his role as Charlotte’s lovable husband Harry Goldenblatt on “Sex and the City.” Latino Review says “Californication” offers more nudity than Showtime or HBO has ever provided in a series before. Which, if you ever saw “Huff”, is saying something. We didn’t think we’d ever get over the cancellation of that show, but as they say, with each new season, hope springs eternal.

“Californication” premeires tonight at 10:30 following “Weeds” at 10 on Showtime.

TV Review: Californication [Latino Review]
TV Review: Weeds, Season 3 (Episodes 1-4) [The Film Chair]