TV Review: Showtime’s ‘Weeds’ Returns For Promising Final Season

CHICAGO – Jenji Kohan’s “Weeds” was one of the best comedies on television in its first few seasons on Showtime. From 2005-2008, it was easily one of the best half-hour programs on TV, netting Emmy nominations every year, including ones for Best Comedy, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. Then the wheels came off. Seasons five through seven were often rambling messes and the show was a mere shadow of what it used to be. The cast was still great but the writing just felt unfocused. Will the fact that Kohan and her team know that this season, the eighth, will be the last one bring the focus that’s been missing? There’s reason to think that it will.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

It’s hard to believe that I’ve written about eight seasons of “Weeds” (sometimes multiple times given year-end features and Blu-ray/DVD reviews). I was one of the show’s biggest fans in its first few seasons. It was such smart satire of suburban life and the drug culture that’s so often portrayed without any truth in sitcom television. And the cast was amazing. Mary-Louise Parker has turned Nancy Botwin, the mother-turned-dealer-turned-criminal-turned-convict-turned-crazy, into one of the most interesting characters of the last decade. And whatever problems the show ran into over the latter half of its run, Parker never faltered. She’s a great actress and one hopes she finds another character as rich now that “Weeds” is ending.

Weeds
Photo credit: Showtime

Parker wasn’t alone. I think losing Elizabeth Perkins and Romany Malco was one of the problems in later seasons of “Weeds” but Justin Kirk and Kevin Nealon never got the credit they deserved. They’re fantastic supporting actors. Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould were required to carry more dramatic weight as the show progressed and one of the major problems of the show was I don’t think anyone quite figured out how to develop Nancy’s kids.

But why are we eulogizing “Weeds” before it’s over? We have one more season of drug-fueled chaos and I actually feel very confident that it will be the best since at least season four. Why? Well, the reason “Weeds” kind of lost its way when the Botwins left Agrestic is because the writing lost its focus. There were times were it felt like episodes were being written on-set. That is unlikely to be the case this season. I feel like Kohan and her team know where the finish line is now and are moving toward it with the confidence that the show has been lacking.

How are they going to get there? Well, I can’t really say a thing. The problem is that season seven ended with a cliffhanger. Someone looked through a scope at the extended Botwin clan around an outdoor table and we heard a shot fired. Naturally, Showtime has asked that we not reveal who was shot or the identity of the shooter. And, as you might imagine, that action takes up most of what happens in the season premiere, the only episode sent for review.

So I can’t really say anything other than to note that this season premiere is the most solid of the last few. The identity of the shooter hints at a season that could be about past sins, wrapping up previous action and plotlines in satisfying, fascinating ways. I’ve been with the Botwins this long. I’m curious to see how their story finally comes to a close.

[13]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [14] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [13]