Showtime Slates New Series, Renews 'Shameless,' 'The Chi'

01.31.2019

Showtime has quite a bit on its programming plate, the network said via several announcements at Winter TCA in Pasadena, Calif., on Thursday.

Among its existing series, the premiere cable network has renewed Shameless, starring William H. Macy, for a tenth season, making it Showtime's longest-running series ever. In August, series star Emmy Rossum announced that season nine would be her last. Besides Macy, the series also stars Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Emma Kenney, Christian Isaiah and Cameron Monaghan.

"The Gallaghers are a force of nature, and they are coming back," said Gary Levine, president of entertainment for Showtime Networks, in a statement. "Shameless, with its ever-growing fan base, is like no other show on television. We are thrilled it will live on with its unique blend of love and larceny on Showtime."

The network also said The Chi (trailer above), created by Lena Waite and Common, would return for a second season on Sunday, April 7, with a new showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis. Waite, Common, Floyd Davis and Aaron Kaplan also serve as executive producers, along with Rick Famuyiwa, and Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of Freedom Road Productions. Fox 21 Television Studios produces.

The Chi stars Jason Mitchell, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Jacob Latimore, Alex Hibbert, Yolonda Ross, Tiffany Boone, Armando Riesco, Barton Fitzpatrick, Shamon Brown Jr., and Michael V. Epps.

In June, Showtime will premiere new one-hour drama, City on a Hill, starring Kevin Bacon as a corrupt FBI veteran and Aldis Hodge as assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward. The series also stars Jonathan Tucker, Mark O'Brien, Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks, Amanda Clayon, Sarah Shahi, Kevin Chapman and Jere Shea.

City on a Hill, which is set in Boston, is created and executive produced by Chuck MacLean with Tom Fontana serving as showrunner, executive producer and one of the writers. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Todd, Michael Cuesta, James Mangold and Barry Levinson also executive produce. MacLean wrote the pilot and Cuesta directed. Bacon and Jorge Zamacona serve as co-executive producers.

Showtime also is bringing back a new version of Penny Dreadful, with Penny Dreadful: City of Angels set to premiere later this year. Paco Cabezas will direct, who also lensed Showtime's Penny Dreadful and TNT's The Alienist, and John Local will executive produce the supernatural series set in 1930s Los Angeles.

Besides Logan, Michael Aguilar and Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris, both of Neal Street Productions, will executive produce with James Bagley serving as co-executive producer. Logan's Desert Wolf Productions will produce.

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston will star in 10-episode limited series, Your Honor, to be executive produced by Robert and Michelle King, the creative team behind CBS' The Good Wife and CBS All Access' The Good Fight. Peter Moffant will serve as showrunner, executive producer and writer.

"Peter, Michelle and Robert have crafted an original thriller with gut-wrenching suspense, raw emotion and moral complexity," said Levine. "And we are simply ecstatic that Bryan Cranston, one of the planet's finest actors, shares our enthusiasm and has agreed to play the lead."

Cranston stars as a New Orleans judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run that turns into a high stakes game of lies, deceit and difficult choices.

Finally, the network is bringing back The L Word in time for the 15th anniversary of the original's debut. The sequel will be composed of eight episodes to premiere by the end of the year. Marja-Lewis Ryan serves as showrunner and is executive producing with series creator Ilene Chaiken and original series stars Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey.

"Marja has brought her unique and contemporary vision to The L Word and blended it beautifully into the fabric of Ilene's groundbreaking series," said Levine. "This revered show was both entertaining and impactful when it originally ran on Showtime, and we are confident that our new version will do that and more in 2019."