SHOWTIME® GETS “HAPPYISH” ON APRIL 26
NEW SERIES STARS STEVE COOGAN, KATHRYN HAHN AND BRADLEY WHITFORD
LOS ANGELES (January 12, 2015) – SHOWTIME will pick up the new series HAPPYISH starring Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominee Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Emmy® Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Bradley Whitford, it was announced today by David Nevins, President of Showtime Networks Inc. The series is a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness and why it continues to be so elusive. HAPPYISH, which shoots in New York, will premiere on April 26th at 9:30 p.m. ET./PT, immediately following Nurse Jackie airing at 9 p.m., and followed by the premiere of the second season of the SHOWTIME drama series Penny Dreadful at 10 p.m. Emmy and Tony® Award winner Ellen Barkin, Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston (The Good Wife), Molly Price (Third Watch) and Andre Royo (The Wire) will guest star.
“Shalom has a unique comedic voice. He is smart, provocative and thoughtful. I know he’s going to make viewers laugh, but he’s also going to push a few buttons while doing it,” said Nevins.
HAPPYISH was created, written and executive produced by critically acclaimed author and regular This American Life contributor Shalom Auslander. Emmy Award nominee Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not That Into You, A Walk In The Woods) will executive produce and direct the pilot. Kwapis' producing partner Alexandra Beattie will co-executive produce, under their In Cahoots banner.
Coogan will star in the lead role of Thom Payne, a 44 year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25 year-old “wunderkind” boss arrives, saying things like “digital,” “social” and “viral.” Is he in need of a “rebranding,” or does he just have a “low joy ceiling,?” Maybe pursuing happiness is a fool’s errand? Maybe, after 44 years on this ludicrous planet, settling for happyish is the best one can expect.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, FLIX ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
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CONTACT:
Jackie Ioachim
212-708-1220
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GUEST STAR BIOS
NILS LAWTON
“Gottfrid”
NILS LAWTON grew up in San Antonio, Texas and moved to New York to attend an acting conservatory. His acting career was briefly put on hold when he was scouted in Madison Square Park to be a fashion model. He became immediately recognizable as he walked the runway in the US and Europe for major labels such as Versace, Roberto Cavalli, and Dsquared2. His popularity led to campaigns for Ralph Lauren and Gap and spreads in major magazines such as GQ, Vanity Fair and L’uomo Vogue. As his desire to get back to acting grew stronger, Lawton booked a Guest Star on Law & Order: SVU and from there he went to a three-episode arc on MTV’s Eye Candy and an episode of Deadbeat. He is thrilled to be recurring as “Gottfrid” on HAPPYISH and making good use of his Swedish roots and language skills.
CARRIE PRESTON
“Debbie”
Through her insatiable passion for the arts and natural gift as both a comedic and dramatic actress, Emmy® winner CARRIE PRESTON has landed standout roles from the stage to the big screen. Quoted as a “scene stealer” by the New York Post, she has been working on her Critics’ Choice and Emmy winning portrayal of “Elsbeth Tascioni” on the Emmy winning series The Good Wife; her recurring role in Person Of Interest, as well as her starring role as “Arlene Fowler” in True Blood. Preston was recently cast as a lead in the NBC untitled Suzanne Martin pilot. Some of her television credits include Lost, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Sex And The City and Getting On, while some film credits include My Best Friend’s Wedding, Duplicity, A Bag Of Hammers, Who’s Afraid Of Vagina Wolf? and Sironia. On stage, Preston earned an Outer Critic’s Award nomination for her work in George C. Wolfe’s Broadway production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Some of her other theater credits include Festen, The Rivals, Antony And Cleopatra and Chaucer In Rome.
MOLLY PRICE
“Bella”
MOLLY PRICE is a New York based actress, recently seen on the stage in Michael Nichols’s Broadway revival of Death Of A Salesman and the premiere of Tony Kushner’s new play The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures at The Public. Price’s film credits include Mike Newell’s Pushing Tin, Woody Allen’s Sweet And Lowdown, James L. Brooks’ How Do You Know, David Chase’s Not Fade Away (opposite James Gandolfini), and John Slattery’s God’s Pocket (opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman). Among her numerous television credits, Price has filmed standout roles in The Good Wife, White Collar, Shameless, Blue Bloods, Lie To Me, Sex And The City, Law & Order, Person Of Interest, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Nip/Tuck, and The Mentalist. Price also played Police Officer/Detective “Faith Yokas” on NBC's Third Watch for six seasons. Price can currently be seen on the NBC miniseries The Slap; as well as the upcoming second season of Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick.
ROB REINER
“Rob Reiner”
ROB REINER first came to fame as an actor in the landmark television series All In The Family but went on to become the acclaimed director of some of the most popular and influential motion pictures of the past few decades, deftly moving among many styles. His work ranges from the pure comedy of This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride to the intense drama of Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men and Ghosts Of Mississippi; to the romantic comedy of When Harry Met Sally, The American President and Flipped to the poignant comedy-drama, The Bucket List; and most recently And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. Reiner is also a vigorous political activist and was instrumental in establishing the California Children & Families Commission, which he chaired for seven years. Recently, he and his wife Michele joined with the American Foundation for Equal Rights to bring the landmark federal court challenge to California’s Prop. 8, the ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
TOBIAS SEGAL
“Gustaf”
New York actor TOBIAS SEGAL works regularly in film, television and theater. Film roles include studio fare The Drop with Tom Hardy, R.I.P.D. and Men In Black 3 and independent films Petunia, B-Side, She’s Lost Control, Reservoir, This Is Where We Live and Martha Marcy May Marlene. On television, Tobias recurs on CBS’s The Good Wife. Guest star roles include Fringe, Medium and Law & Order: SVU. Segal made his Broadway debut opposite Abigail Breslin in The Miracle Worker. Segal has worked internationally with director Sam Mendes on The Bridge Project. Numerous productions Off Broadway include Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Theatre and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Segal has been nominated for both the Drama Desk and Drama League Awards for his performance in From Up Here at Manhattan Theatre Club and won the Barrymore Award for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actor’ in Equus.
ANDRE ROYO
“Barry”
ANDRE ROYO has that rare ability to give the characters he plays depth and emotion without overshadowing his cast mates. As evidence, see Royo’s amazing turn as “Bubbles” on the critically acclaimed drama The Wire, “Henry Arliss Higgins” on Fox’s Fringe and “Stephen Canfield” in Heroes. Royo has also appeared on a diverse range of shows, including Agent Carter, Kingdom, Elementary, Prime Suspect, How To Make It In America, Party Down, Numb3rs and Criminal Minds. The first time Royo appeared on the big screen was in John Singleton’s Shaft. He’s also appeared in an eclectic array of features such as Red Tails, Hellbender The Collection, August, Super, Calloused Hands and The Spectacular Now. He appeared in Lila & Eve, co-starring with Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Lionsgate. Beyond acting, Royo executive-produced the independent feature film Would You Rather and is attached to produce two additional features. Most recently, Royo is a series regular on the upcoming Amazon series Hand Of God.
CAST
Thom Payne................................................................................................... STEVE COOGAN
Lee Payne....................................................................................................... KATHRYN HAHN
Julius Payne............................................................................................... SAWYER SHIPMAN
Jonathan................................................................................................. BRADLEY WHITFORD
GUEST STAR CREDITS
(In Alphabetical Order)
Dani................................................................................................................... ELLEN BARKIN
Gottfrid................................................................................................................. NILS LAWTON
Debbie........................................................................................................ CARRIE PRESTON
Bella..................................................................................................................... MOLLY PRICE
Rob Reiner........................................................................................................... ROB REINER
Gustaf............................................................................................................... TOBIAS SEGAL
Barry.................................................................................................................... ANDRE ROYO
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Created by ........................................................................................... SHALOM AUSLANDER
Executive Producers .................................................. SHALOM AUSLANDER, KEN KWAPIS
Co-Executive Producer...................................................................................... ALEX BEATTIE
Produced by.......................................................................................................... KATHY CIRIC
Co-Producers.................................... BRAD CARPENTER, SEAN FOGEL (Los Angeles Unit)
Director of Photography................................................................................... BEN KUTCHINS
Production Designer............................................................................................ HENRY DUNN
Edited by........ …MICHAEL BERENBAUM, A.C.E., GARY LEVY, A.C.E., ANNETTE DAVEY
Animation by................................................................................................... VADIM TURCHIN
Music by ....................................................................................................... NATHAN LARSON
Casting by ........................................................................................................... CINDY TOLAN
Costume Designer ........................................................................................ TOM BROECKER
