On Monday, Showtime announced that doors will be closing for the network’s long-running program, Californication. The cancellation is not effective immediately. Way back in January, Showtime announced the series would be returning for a seventh season, earning a renewal order alongside House of Lies and Shameless. Now, it turns out Season 7 will actually prove to be the drama’s final 12 episodes.
While it seems like this new is coming out of the blue, the press release regarding the cancellation tells a bit of a different story. According to Showtime President of Entertainment David Nevins, Californication has had some time to carefully plan out its final set of episodes. Which is good, because it should mean the series will capably be able to wrap up storylines and character arcs. Here’s what Nevins had to say…
“We will always be indebted to Tom Kapinos for leading the creative charge on this memorable comedy, and to David Duchovny for making us root for an unapologetic hedonist like Hank Moody. Tom has carefully planned the final chapter of Hank’s journey and has brought it to a beautiful and satisfying conclusion for new and long-time fans alike.”
The final twelve episodes have been in the works for some time, and several awesome guest actors will be a part of the new season. Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli has signed on to play a television producer named Rick Rath, who is somehow involved in Hank’s Season 7 ventures (he’s likely involved with producing Hank’s TV project, Santa Monica Cop). Rob Lowe will also be back, reprising his role as Eddie Nero, an actor who is into partying and who has popped up in Moody’s life several times in the past. Additionally, Heather Graham and Mary Lynn Rajskub have also joined the show for guest stints.
Showtime has a penchant for letting its shows run for several seasons longer than they really need to. Weeds is probably the most prime example of this, but Californication isn’t too far behind. I’m not one to begrudge a show a few extra seasons past its prime if the going is still good, ratings-wise, but I’m also not shocked that Season 7 will be the show’s final hurrah, either. I guess it’s just a question of whether Hank will settle down through the final episodes or whether he will continue to be a bachelor extraordinaire. We’ll be able to find out soon enough; Californications will return to the schedule in April of 2014, and we’ll let you know when the official date and time are announced.
