Smallscreen News

Showtime's August features Mary-Louise Parker and Laura Linney, previews

By April MacIntyre Jul 4, 2010, 4:56 GMT

Eric Bogosian and Laura Linney - New York City, NY, USA © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Showtime has two top-notch series coming in August, starring two excellent actresses who are the epicenters of their respective shows.

The upcoming new season six of "Weeds" stars Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, who has gone from grieving widow to suburban pot-dealer, to Mexican criminal baby mama on the lam.  Her brainy son Shane (Alexander Gould) closed the series last season in a shocking cliffhanger that has set this season into high gear.  Nancy must handle the floating corpse of the late Pilar, shield Shane and try to escape the long arm of Esteban’s crew.

Showtime’s latest dark comedy "The Big C" sees three-time Emmy winner and three-time Tony Award nominee Linney resplendent as "Cathy," a Minneapolis teacher estranged from her husband Paul (Oliver Platt) who is dealing with an irksome son Adam (Gabriel Basso) who loves to pull upsetting pranks.

To top that off, Cathy is dealt a blow when she is diagnosed with Melanoma, and must face the treatment options.  How she processes the news is a "process" itself that leads to self-discovery and a new outlook on a life she is not sure how long will last.

Idris Elba and Cynthia Nixon are heading to the series to guest-star along with Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe as a surly student who is read the riot act by her teacher Cathy, "You can't be fat and mean Andrea, fat people are jolly for a reason, fat repels people but joy attracts them. Now I know everyone's laughing at your cruel jokes but nobody's inviting you to the prom. So you can either be fat and jolly or a skinny bitch, it's up to you."

Watch for stand-out performances from these side players: Cathy's homeless brother Sean (John Benjamin Hickey) who has excellent chemistry and great lines with Linney, and her character's lonely elderly neighbor (Phyllis Somerville) who with her scene-stealer dog has a break-through with Cathy at the end of the premiere episode.

The Big C will premiere August 16 at 10:30p, immediately following the Weeds Season 6 premiere.