PRESS RELEASE: After record-setting premiere ratings on the network’s Sunday night line-up and continued year-to-year audience growth, SHOWTIME has picked up brand new seasons of SHAMELESS, HOUSE OF LIES and CALIFORNICATION for 2014. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.  Season-to-date, all three series are pacing above their prior seasons across platforms. The third season of SHAMELESS is up 22 percent, currently averaging 5.4 million weekly viewers across platforms (vs. second season average of 4.4 million), and up 63 percent versus its first season (vs. 3.3 million). The second season of HOUSE OF LIES is averaging 3.2 million weekly viewers across platforms, up 10 percent from its freshman season (vs. 2.91 million), and the sixth season of CALIFORNICATION is averaging 3.1 million weekly viewers, up 21 percent versus season five (vs. 2.5 million). Production for the new seasons of all three series will kick-off in Los Angeles later this year.
 
“CALIFORNICATION, HOUSE OF LIES, and SHAMELESS possess highly distinctive comedic voices, and given that all three continue to grow their audience season after season – the pick-up decision was easy,” said Nevins. “I am incredibly excited to see what each of these series has in store for their next seasons.”
 
SHAMELESS, HOUSE OF LIES and CALIFORNICATION returned on January 13 with their highest-rated episodes ever, up double-digits versus their series averages and besting their prior season premieres and season finales. In its third week (January 27), SHAMELESS delivered 2.53 million viewers for the night, the series’ biggest total night ever, outperforming the season three premiere night (vs. 2.44 million – 2 plays). On Sunday, HOUSE OF LIES’ third episode was on par with its season premiere, which delivered the series’ best numbers ever, with 1.4 million viewers for the night across two plays. CALIFORNICATION’s third episode attracted 1.05 million viewers.

After years of praying and hoping and wishing and dreaming for Kristen Bell to return to the small screen medium that turned her into a household name, the artist formerly known as Veronica Mars is back.

Playing Jeannie Van Der Hooven, a bright and beautiful up-and-coming member of a cutthroat management consulting firm fronted by Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle) in Showtime’s newest series HOUSE OF LIES, Bell has finally been given the opportunity to grow up. And nobody is as happy about that fact than her.

“It’s a very very different role than anything I’ve ever played,” explained Bell of her flirtatious and mysterious new character. “For one it’s an adult, I’m playing my age — YEEEES — not acting my age! For another, the character is very flawed and I think that makes it interesting.”

Suffice it to say, interesting doesn’t even begin to describe Bell’s latest role that has her immersed in the often indefinable and murky world of management consulting. Said the actress, “Management consultants do anything and everything it takes to get the job. No one really knows what consultants do and I don’t think consultants actually know, but they know they need to walk in there and convince you they are necessary. Not unlike an actor’s job, I will say, striking similarities there. So there’s a lot of putting it together on the fly, which keeps the pace of the show up because you never know if it’s about to unravel.”

Which, let’s face it, is half the fun and much of the appeal of acting on a cable network like Showtime, where anything really does go.

“I think they’re [Showtime] not under the same restrains as the Networks so they can go a little further with subject matter, with what they show and how provocative they are.” admitted Bell when asked about the differences between Network and cable. “I think it’s a little more interesting and I had my eye and was looking for something to kind of come back to TV. It’s like a feeling that I’ve been away from home for too long. I love doing movies, but I look at TV like high school and movies like camp. You create these great relationship in movies and then they sort of dissipate and you sort of go your separate ways. With TV, I like the crew that I work with and going to the same job everyday, it appeals to my emotional stability a lot more.”

Also appealing — aside that is from the risk of putting out a bad movie (“Unlike that one bad episode of VERONICA MARS in season 3… which didn’t exist by the way, you can do one bad movie and it can be attached to you as a little barnacle for the rest of your career!”) and not having to face the burden of carrying an entire series on her own shoulders (“If I tried to explain how happy I am to get to take a backseat, yet still have completely relevant role that is interesting and dynamic that is not all resting on my shoulders that tape would run out.”) was how comfortable the producers made her feel with regards to the more provocative nature of the series.

“She [Referring to her character] gets around, which is interesting and awkward to shoot but feels surprisingly safe. I did it in Sarah Marshall a little bit but haven’t done a ton of those kind of simulated sex scenes but they’ve actually been feeling weirdly comfortable,” said Bell. “I was very measured about talking to the Producers and they were basically like, ‘You own it so tell us what you will do, tell us what you won’t do’ and it just made me feel very in control which is all you can ask for.”

Well, that and a run that lasts slightly longer than the dearly departed brilliant but canceled VERONICA MARS.

HOUSE OF LIES premieres on Sunday January 8th at 10PM on Showtime (Monday at 9PM on TMN in Canada). Watch Kristen Bell’s HOUSE OF LIES For Free Online Right Now!

Just how confident is Showtime in HOUSE OF LIES, their newest series starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell? So confident that they’ve decided to take a page from the Pringles “Once you pop, you can’t stop” playbook by offering up the series premiere for free via Sho.com, iTunes, YouTube and select television providers’ free On Demand channels and websites. Oh, and on the off chance you’re asking yourself just how you can possibly thank us for this incredibly awesome tip, by all means feel free to return to theTVaddict.com after watching the premiere and share with us what you thought. Enjoy.

SMASH
What do you get when you combine the Producing prowess of Chicago’s Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the musical stylings of songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray) and the singing/acting chops of the likes of Debra Messing, Brian D’Arcy James, Christian Borle, Katharine McPhee, Jack Davenport and Anjelica Huston? In short: An absolutely electrifying pilot that has easily earned SMASH the distinction of being heralded as our our most anticipated show of 2012. [Premieres Monday February 6th on NBC, CTV in Canada]

AWAKE
How does LONE STAR creator Kyle Killen follow up one of the best reviewed flops in recent television history? Well, if his latest project is any indication, by doubling down! No really. Clearly not content to tone down his penchant for complex storytelling for a Network audience, AWAKE will attempt to tell the tale of a police detective (Jason Isaacs) who — as the title suggests — awakens in two very different realities following a horrific car accident. The catch? One reality is where only his wife survived and the other is where his son did. And while we don’t pretend to know how this engrossing tale will play out, or what effect — if any — the recently reported behind-the-scenes struggles will affect the show, of this we are sure: Having watched and re-watched the pilot more times than we care to admit, we can’t wait to find out what happens next. [Premiere TBD]

TOUCH
If the first season of HEROES illustrated anything, it’s that creator Tim Kring knows a thing or two about building a series around ordinary people discovering that they have extraordinary abilities. So you can only imagine our excitement surrounding his latest project that features the likes of Kiefer Sutherland discovering that his mute son’s gift with numbers may be more than meets the eye. Adding to our excitement, the supporting cast that includes Danny Glover and UNDERCOVERS alum Gugu Mbatha-Raw. [Special Sneak Peek Monday January 25th on Fox, GlobalTV in Canada]

HOUSE OF LIES
Assuming of course you miss VERONICA MARS as much as we here at theTVaddict.com do, the only thing you really need to know about Showtime’s newest series that centers around a whip smart team of MBA-toting management consultants that according to a Network press release are “playing America’s 1 percent for everything they’ve got” is that it marks Kristen Bell’s much-anticipated return to the small screen. What’s that you say… you’re not familiar with the best thing to happen to female sleuthing since Nancy Drew? Well, do yourself a favor, check out Ms. Mars in action (Trust us, you’ll thanks us later) and mark you calendars for January 8th, when Showtime unspools the coolest cast of morally dubious characters — including Don Cheadle and Ben Schwartz (PARKS AND RECREATION’s Jean-Ralphio) — since that gang from Oceans 11 thru 13. [Premieres Sunday January 8th on Showtime, TMN in Canada]

ALCATRAZ
Where J.J. Abrams leads, this TV Addict follows. Especially if the destination is one of the country’s most mysterious and storied Prisons that just so happened to have housed a collection of the country’s most notorious and dangerous criminals who may-or-may-not have been part of some top secret government experiment involving time travel, Sam Neill, Jorge Garcia and Robert Forster. [Premieres Monday January 16th on Fox, CityTV in Canada]