Showtime Cancels 'Weeds' After Eighth Seasons

Showtime's comic drama series Weeds, starring Mary-Louise Parker, has been cancelled, after eight seasons, Entertainment Weekly reports today (June, 13, 2012). The show, which tells the tale of single mother that finds herself selling cannabis to make ends meet, has been credited with paving the way for other daring television series to be made.

The entertainment president of Showtime, David Nevins, said "There were two shows, Weeds and Dexter, that really got Showtime taken seriously for cutting-edge original programming." He stressed that they were working on a top-class ending for the series, saying "How they get brought home is really important. In this case, both for the sake of the two women behind the show [Jenji Kohan and Golden Globe-winning star Mary-Louise Parker] and an audience that's really invested in the show. TV fans love nothing better than to complain about how shows end and we really want to end this one the right way."

It's expected that the final series will quickly wrap up the assassination attempt cliffhanger, before returning the story to the suburbs. The writer, Jenji Kohan, told Entertainment Weekly "We wrack our brains every year for crazy cliffhangers and we're trying to figure out how to top ourselves." She's admitted that she's sad about the show ending but added "I'm so proud of what we do here and that it's about a strong woman lead who's really flawed."