Following record-setting premieres earlier this month, Showtime is renewing its Sunday night line-up of Shameless, House of Lies and Californication.
"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. I am incredibly excited to see what each of these series has in store for their next seasons," said Showtime entertainment chief David Nevins in a statement announcing the news Tuesday. Production for the new seasons of all three Los Angeles-based series will kick-off later this year, with debuts set for 2014.
The John Wells produced dramedy Shameless is currently up 22 percent in its third season, with 5.4 million viewers, on average, tuning in weekly across multiple platforms. The premium cable network's Don Cheadle led management consultant ensemble House of Lies is garnering 3.2 weekly viewers, up 10 percent from its first season, while David Duchovny's Californication is set to return for a seventh season as its sixth is currently averaging 3.1 million weekly viewers, up 21 percent from the series’ fifth season.
The renewal news comes as Showtime continues its rise, both in subscribers (now more than 22 million) and accolades (led by CIA thriller Homeland) . Looking ahead, the network is set to add two new dramas later this year: Liev Schreiber's Ray Donovan, which will be paired with Dexter in June, and Lizzy Caplan's Masters of Sex, which will run with Homeland beginning in September.
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose
