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Showtime Pulls Plug on Series That Helped Define the Channel’s Original Programming

Jun 13, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Showtime revealed that it is bringing one of its most important original series to a close, Entertainment Weekly reports. The dark comedy "Weeds" will end its run at the conclusion of the upcoming season, the show’s eighth.

The groundbreaking comedy premiered in 2005 and ushered in a new era for Showtime programming. Said Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins: "There were two shows, ‘Weeds’ and ‘Dexter,’ that really got Showtime taken seriously for cutting-edge original programming. How they get brought home is really important — in this case, both for the sake of the two women behind the show [Jenji Kohan, the creator, and Golden Globe-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker] and an audience that’s really invested in the show. TV fans love nothing better than to complain about how shows end, and we really want to end this one the right way.”

Season eight will deal with the assassination attempt cliffhanger, followed by a time jump and a return to the suburbs for the characters. Kohan said she is not yet sure how to wind up Nancy’s tale. “We wrack our brains every year for crazy cliffhangers and we’re trying to figure out how to top ourselves,” she told the publication.

5 Comments

  1. What a diss to Queer As Folk, which gave Showtime the visibility in the original drama genre 5 years earlier to pave the way for Weeds and Dexter.

  2. Is there some rule that states everyone is required to bring up “Queer As Folk” in any article concerning original programing at Showtime? Showtime also built up a return audience for weekly dramatic programing with “Stargate SG1”, “The Outer Limits” & “Jeremiah”, none of which were mentioned by them or YOU. A severe “diss” indeed! If I were Richard Dean Anderson I’d be simply livid at the non-existent slight in an entertainment news story.

  3. The slight was made by David Nevins, not by the story. And Stargate and the other genre titles you mentioned didn’t quite have the same cultural impact as QAF, which is what Nevin was trumpeting in mentioning Weeds and Dexter as the supposed pioneers. Sorry to scuff up your action figures.

  4. The difference being that QAF was not original programming , it came from the UK where it starred Aiden Gillan and Charlie Hunnam.

  5. Actually Queer as Folk is an American remake of the UK series. And I think it is the flagship series for Showtime like how The Sopranos is for HBO and The Shield for FX.
    Weeds was good for the first three seasons and the rest of the show was a hit and miss.

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