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Showtime has renewed both of its freshman series, drama Shameless and comedy Episodes, for a second season. The William H. Macy-Emmy Rossum-starring family drama Shameless received a 12-episode order, while the size of the order for the Hollywood-centric Episodes starring Matt LeBlanc is yet to be determined. Production on both series will begin later this year. With the pickups for Shameless and Episodes, Showtime is now bringing back its entire winter Sunday lineup. In January, the pay cable network gave an early renewal to veteran comedy Californication. “The viewer loyalty and critical acclaim that has met both SHAMELESS and EPISODES since their January debuts makes it clear that these two brash and sophisticated series are burgeoning hits,” said Showtime entertainment president David Nevins. “John Wells is carving out a tone that is truly unique in the television landscape—equal parts drama and comedy. And Episodes marks the universally embraced and hilarious return to television of an inspired comedy triumvirate: Matt LeBlanc, and creators Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane.”
From John Wells and Paul Abbott, Shameless is based on the long-running hit UK series and stars Macy as a working class patriarch of an unconventional Chicago brood of six kids headed by the eldest sibling (Rossum) who keep the home afloat while their dad is out drinking and carousing. The series averages nearly four million weekly viewers across multiple platforms and is on pace to be the network’s second-highest rated drama series behind Dexter (5.2 million). Shameless hails from with John Wells Prods. and Warner Bros. TV, with Wells, Abbott and Andrew Stearn executive producing. Episodes is a co-production between Showtime Networks in the U.S. and the BBC in the UK, written and executive produced by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. Jimmy Mulville also executive produces through his Hat Trick banner. The show centers around a husband and wife producing team who are forced to navigate the many pitfalls of the Hollywood television business when their successful British show is brought to America.
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Woot! I love ‘Episodes.’
Episodes was a hit with me.. I loved it and the story was very enjoyable..
So glad for a second season of Shameless!! This show is by far one of my favorites in a reall long time!!
Sweet Shameless is AWESOME
Love Shameless—–go glad they are having another season. Never before been hooked on a show—its so funny, and true to life—am sure its like this in places. Glad same actors/characors are coming back, would destroy it to change, never miss it. Keep up the good stories.
Yes!!!!!!!!! Congrats to both!!!!!!!!!
shameless is great! episodes eh
Shameless Is Awesome!!!! this story is real and very believable. Fiona and how she is trying to take care of everyone.. Macy is playing the dad to the hilt.. a deadbeat to a point. I LOVE This show..I can not wait to see the next episode..
Yeah, me too, Nobby… Episodes is great! I was a bit worried for a second after seeing Episodes ratings but I’m thrilled that it’s back. If the Season Finale is any indication, the show is going to get funnier and funnier as it goes along. I cannot wait!
Episodes isn’t painfull or anything, it’s just a watered-down version of Entourage before it jumped the shark. Neither particularly fresh, timely, funny or insightful it is the slightly above average TV that is the hallmark of Showtime comedy.
When is Penn and Teller: Bullshit coming back?
It probably isn’t. The last thing heard about the show was that Penn & Teller were deciding whether to stay another season or move to a new show for Discovery. That was back in November, so I think it’s safe to say that the lack of news means the show’s done, since Showtime announces their renewals pretty quick.
Great news. . both are terrific efforts.
What aboy shameless is sophisticated? I love how Hollywood morons through around ‘sophisticated’ to describe a show. I mean, seriously? You did an episode about a little girl kidnapping another kid. Sure, the subtext of the eps was supposed to say something about the little girls need for a parent, buy sophisticated it was not. The show is clearly running out of story in season one and Macy has never been worse, IMHO. Moral here is: just because something is on cable doesn’t make it (ding,ding) that’s right — sophisticated.
I love how “non-Hollywood morons” misspell words like throw, make-up phrases like ‘What aboy” and use pretentious acronyms like IMHO. Shameless is a very smart comedy with great writing. It may not be sophisticated, but it’s one of the best shows on TV right now.
Not to mention the fact that, given the show is based on a British series going into production on its ninth season which has over 100 episodes produced, the idea that the U.S. version could be “running out of story” is preposterous. “Shameful” is a dolt. The Macy at his worst comment is just the icing on the cake too. I get the feeling that the show insults this person’s puritanical sensibilities… To Shameful: don’t watch the show then douchebag!
Dude you’re retarded, Will Macy is putting in his bid for an Emmy nod with his performance on Shameless. Absolutely incredible performance week in and week out.
Hey Shameful, Shameless is gonna be a cult hit……you must be living under a sophisticated rock
Can’t disagree with you more. The show started picking up steam after the 3rd episode and there is not one episode that has disappoint me, granted I haven’t seen last night’s yet. Wouldn’t matter even I had because Shameless is one of the best new shows on television. Just because you may not agree with the subject matter doesn’t mean you condemn the whole show. Simple solution for you, don’t watch and don’t comment on it if you don’t know your a$$ from a hole in the ground. It shouldn’t shock you, the show is called Shameless for a reason. What would you expect from a show with that title? The notion that Macy is at his worst is also quite laughable. The man is doing his BEST work I have ever seen him do. He plays that part to perfection week in and week out. I agree with someone else and I said it after the 2nd episode, William H. Macy will be nominated for a Best Actor in a Drama Emmy and I’ll even go out on the limb now and say he will win it.
Its a show for heavens sakes!!! Are you going to pick apart every movie out too???????
Not really interested in Episodes but Nevins went up a notch in my book
by staying in business with Paul
Abbott, who is an exceptional
television writer/producer.
Yay! Absolutely adore ‘Episodes’.
Gr8! Episodes to come back – Goodie! Will look forward to seeing it again. it was so good in the last 3 episodes so it will be good to see it grow and deepen. Humor was also good.
EPISODES is the most interesting dramedy on Showtime. It’s honest, and funny and totally compelling. Congrats to Showtime for recognizing this.
EPISODES is horribly wonderfully disgustingly TRUE! Love it.
Good news! Episodes is a GREAT show!!
William H Macy has become about as interesting as a dirty diaper.
To shameful…….. u wouldn’t know something good if it F’D u up the rear… get a sense of humor and a life!
@ Simon then I guess u need to watch PBS instead of SHOWTIME..!!!!!
Both Shameless and Episodes are fun. Shameless is absolutely terrific, and Episodes is still getting its footing and direction while it provides another humorous slant on Hollywood.
Shameless is already tight. William H. Macy is wonderful, and Emmy Rossum is hot and good…and, the entire family works so well together.
Looking forward to many more seasons for both shows.
Nobody is watching Episodes. Its perfectly boring. Shameless is what rich executives think poor people are like. Its grim and joyless.
Hey Oops,
It takes one to know one. You must be a “rich executive. How else would you know what they think “poor people are like”?
Because I live in LA. Shameless is just bad, I dont care if there is a brilliant English show it’s based on, that does not make this good, it just doesn’t.
Of course…how stupid of me…you live in LA…and, as such have insight into how ‘rich executives’ view the poor.
If you live in LA, you should understand more than others that Shameless is a television show. (as in show business)..not a documentary on the poor.
You, certainly, have a right to your opinion about the quality of the show…so, when it wins Emmys and runs for many years…don’t forget how bad it is…and, then you can blame the ‘rich television community’ for their stupidity honoring this ‘joyless, grim’ program as you so clearly state it is.
I’m willing to admit the show may have improved, but I’m with Oops on “Shameless.”
I’ve never seen anyone in real life–in upscale OR sketchy neighborhoods–who looks anything like William Macy’s deadbeat. That hair single-handedly killed any chance of me buying into that show’s world.
Agree. Shameless is an insider’s parody on a world that no one in Hollywood, particularly television’s Hollywood, has a clue about. Now maybe that’s the joke on us all, that it’s high parody and we’re reading too much into it. But it’s arguably unwatchable in it scenery-chewing performances and abundance of Emmy Rossum attributes. As to Episodes, at least it’s funny. It may not be groundbreaking but it’s funny. The question for all the “insiders” here on DHD is what it’s doing for Showtime’s subs. Do any of these shows drive the subscriber base? For all of Bob Greenblatt’s personal love from the press, his subs were pretty much flat to slightly up. That’s the bottom line for Viacom/Paramount/CBS; can they build the kind of cash cow that HBO has been for Time Warner? Not with these shows for sure, but with a certain larger push to a broader demo that includes sports. But that’s for a different topic.
Don’t watch it then. We love it, funny, and true, interesting, never miss it. Looking forward to round 2!! The cast all work great together.
Grim, definitely. Joyless? Nope. Perhaps you’re just used to having all your joy delivered to you in neatly packaged boxes that make it obvious to you when to feel happy? Most people actually find joy in the little things in life and the Gallaghers are the epitome of that ideal.
Episodes is better than I expected. The concept seemed like a ripoff of an arc of the old Brit series “As Time Goes By” with Judi Dench, looping endlessly on PBS. But the Leblanc casting is novel and ingenious, and he’s really good (and has aged well). The Brit couple, Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan, are charming and attractive in that imperfect British way that makes them even more appealing. Great supporting cast (good to see John Pankow back in a series) and the writing is first-rate. Glad Showtime is giving it a vote of confidence.
OMG! I missed spelled a word! I must be a moron (or typing on an iPhone)! And I must be a puritan or a lutheran nailing up the 99 theses because I don’t like Shameless. But let’s really get to the root of my discontent. I simply loathe the attempts of TV execs proclaiming something is sophisticated (new Hwood buzzword, mind you) when it clearly is NOT. Say it’s a raunchy, fun hour of mindless television with a bunch of awesome actors and be done with it. OH AND ONE MORE THANG — Macy is NOT doing his best work on this show. If he got an emmy it would be the equivalent of Brainwash selling millions in the street art world. HYPE does not a performance make. So stop hating on someone who disagrees with you. As you may’ve noticed I didn’t take one personal swipe at any of you idiots.
Episodes belongs on network television. I find it particularly odd that Showtime would pick up a comedy staring Matt Leblanc as himself. More over, Shameless, is a spectacular series, especially one with promise. In a film class the other day we (as students) were asked to breakdown HBO’s lineup with that of Showtimes, and I have to give it to Nevins…Showtime seems to be taking all the thunder lately–certainly with the female demographic, quality writing, and “fun” casting.
So glad to see Episodes renewed. Finally, a funny, non-animated show!
I don’t know…Bill looks pretty animated to me.