Showtime announced that it has ordered the series “Happyish” with Philip Seymour Hoffman as a frazzled ad man and “The Affair,” with Dominic West, Joshua Jackson, Maura Tierney and Ruth Wilson as two couples in troubled relationships.
Showtime president of entertainment David Nevins announced the new shows Thursday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. He didn’t announce premiere dates, but said they would not debut before late summer.
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Nevins also announced that “Nurse Jackie” and the final season of “Californication” will premiere April 13.
“Happyish” finds Hoffman playing an advertising man who worries he’s been rendered obsolete as he struggles to function in a world obsessed with Twitter and branding. It is written by Shalom Auslander and co-stars Kathryn Hahn and Rhys Ifans.
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A preview shown to critics found Hoffman’s characer struggling with how much selling out is okay. At one point, he gets Louis C.K. to hawk sneakers.
Nevins said the network has been patiently developing “Happyish,” finally getting it to the point that it could lure Hoffman.
“It took us a while to get to Philip Seymour Hoffman,” he said, adding that it was “totally worth it.”
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“The Affair,” from “In Treatment” veterans Hagai Levi and Sarah Treem, follows the fallout from an affair between a husband and father (West) who begins an affair with a woman in mourning (Wilson).
Nevins said he believes “particularly women will be fascinated by it.”