Capping off a busy morning of cable renewals, Showtime has picked up new seasons for “Shameless,” “House of Lies” and “Californication.”
The Showtime renewals came on the same morning as BBC America and Cinemax picked up second seasons for “Ripper Street” and “Banshee” respectively. [If the networks would maybe space out their renewals, they all might get a little bit more exposure.]
All three Showtime offerings have been up year-to-year, with all three shows hitting series highs for their January premieres, so none of the renewals was exactly surprising.
“‘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,” blurbs Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins. “I am incredibly excited to see what each of these series has in store for their next seasons.”
The renewal is for a fourth season of “Shameless,” which is averaging 5.4 million weekly viewers across all platforms this month, up by 22 percent over its second season average.
“House of Lies,” which recently won a Golden Globe for star Don Cheadle, is averaging 3.2 million viewers across all platforms, up by 10 percent from its first season average.
And the unkillable “Californication” is currently in its sixth season, averaging 3.1 million weekly viewers on all platforms, up by 21 percent from last season.
All three shows will begin production on their new season later this year in Los Angeles.