Showtime has green-lit an unscripted series about the World Series champion San Francisco Giants and given “Californication” a fifth season.
Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins also announced that “Nurse Jackie” and “United States of Tara” will return March 28.
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He told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour Friday that the Major League Baseball reality series would likely start with a special. He said he hoped it would profile other teams down the line.
“Ideally it’s the beginning of a franchise with a different team every year,” he said.
The series goes even further than HBO’s four-episode “24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic,” an unscripted series last month that followed the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. And baseball draws much better ratings than hockey.
Talking to reporters about his network’s shows, Nevins stressed repeatedly that he wants them to be “premium and Showtime.” That was part of his explanation for why the network passed on “The Kennedys” after History axed it — he said it was well-done but felt wrong for the network — and his hopes for the second season of “The Real L Word.”
Nevins also said the network was inclined to continue “Big Brother After Dark,” a companion show to the CBS hit.
“We’re not making any announcements today, but it’s been successful for us,” he said.