Showtime Renews Shameless, House of Lies, and Californication

Showtime is on fire! The network has renewed newcomer comedy House of Lies, fan favorite Shameless, and veteran series Californication for additional seasons.

House of Lies, which just so happens to star Don Cheadle was one of the first series to premiere strong following the dark dramedy Shameless (William H Macy, Emmy Rossum), the latter which has built a solid fan base into their sophomore season. That’s not all that points to Shameless’ success, winning the ratings night against its HBO rival Luck, which has been a heavily promoted show for HBO.

The president of Showtime, Devin Nevins had a lot to say following the renewals stating, “These three shows are clearly resonating with audiences as evidenced by their steady growth on Sunday nights. We are extremely pleased with the creative work being done by the casts, producers and writers – and I so appreciate that each of these series has such a clear and distinctive voice.”

Following the trend that started years ago with network cable’s Desperate Housewives, Sunday nights are on fire for the premium cable network. posting double-digit increases year-over-year. Shameless is averaging 4.75 million weekly viewers across multiple platforms and encore airings, and is up 30 percent year-over-year. Specifically Shameless is number 2 behind HBO’s veteran series Dexter.

Freshman series House of Lies starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell opened with the network’s second highest rated premiere for a comedy.

Lastly, David Duchovny’s racy series Californication averages 3 million viewers in its fifth season — not an easy feat.

Looks hopeful for the network.