By: Melissa Girimonte
With the season finale of Showtime’s hit series CALIFORNICATION just around the corner and the recent news that KING OF THE HILL is preparing to end its highly successful twelve year run on FOX, we could not have picked a better time to chat with actress Pamela Adlon about her CALIFORNICATION character Marcy Runkle and what it’s like having an animated teenage boy for an alter ego.
What was it that attracted you to CALIFORNICATION?
Pamela Aldon: Well, mostly because they offered it to me (laughs). And it’s one of those things that people go, “When you signed on to this show, were you okay with all the stuff they were going to have you do.” The reality is, from the pilot to now, I never knew what my involvement in the show was going to entail, never knew that it was going to have all these twists and turns and all the craziness. It’s not like I had a crystal ball and could look into it and say, “Do I really want to get myself into this?” It’s one of those things that Tom Kapinos just kept writing for me, and my character morphed into something that was important to the storyline and to the show. I don’t think that they ever knew that I was going to be such a central part of everything.
Some of the storylines are really over the top, but at the same time, the characters are very human and familiar. As a viewer, I really think a lot of people, on some level, can relate to the characters and what they’re going through. Did you expect the viewers, especially the female contingent, would respond so favorably to this show, especially with subject matter that takes “the line” and just throws it away?
That’s actually one of the things you’ll hear me say over and over, when I first read the pilot and saw a rough cut of it, I said to my husband, “This show is not for women at all. There’s no way, this is just a guy’s show.” And the people who love this show the most are women. They go crazy. They love it. They just relate to it so much. And it’s not only the women who want to have sex with Hank (David Duchovny); it’s totally the opposite. It’s women who relate to Hank as a character. Everything from that, to women who love this relationship between Hank and his daughter, or with Karen (Natascha McElhone). I think women have a more visceral response than the men.
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Simply follow theTVaddict on Twitter. I’ll be randomly posting codes throughout the Comic Con weekend for free downloads of DEXTER and CALIFORNICATION via iTunes. 
By: Kevin Kelly, Special TCA Correspondent
Talk about Showtime!
The little network that could, or as we around theTVaddict.com are now calling it — HBO 2.0 — decided to pull out all the stops my rolling up the WEEDS, CALIFORNICATION, DEXTER and BROTHERHOOD panel into one enormous joi…. ummm fantastic panel.
Heck, even one of the executives joked, “This is the Showtime mixer!” Granted, I’ve never seen Brotherhood, but at least I hear it’s good. The other shows I can vouch for. And I admittedly had a chill go up my spine when Michael C. Hall walked onto the stage. How can people not be afraid that this guy is going to stick a knife in their backs?
What’s really impressive was how much everyone looked like they had tried to dress like their characters, except Michael C. Hall who wore a sharp suit. David Duchovny was wearing a black button up shirt with a wrinkled black sportcoat, and Mary Louise Parker had on a sharp little cocktail dress and looked radiant in her gleaming white skin. How she’s lived in California all this time and not become tan, I’ll never know. She’s sitting on the far left, right next to David Duchovny, who’s sitting next to Michael C. Hall, who’s sitting next to Jason Clarke in an awesome row of Showtime star power.
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There’s only two things you need to know about Showtime’s new series CALIFORNICATION. David Duchovny completely steps out of Fox Mulder’s shadow, and the show itself is straight from the HBO playbook (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Duchovny’s return to television has everything we’ve come to expect from a cable series. A dysfunctional family, gratuitous nudity, an endless supply of drugs and alcohol and what’s now become the obligatory casting of a SEX IN THE CITY alumni — in this case, Evan Handler who plays Duchovny’s literary agent.
Yet after watching the series premiere, one can’t exactly fault Duchovny’s character Hank Moody for having somewhat of a personal meltdown. After-all, how else would you respond if you just just discovered that your ex-wife (Natascha McElhone) was getting remarried, your career options have whittled down to an offer to write a blog and your one hit novel God Hates Us All has been unceremoniously adapted into a insipid Hollywood romance starring none other than ‘Tom and Katie’?
Sounds depressing, sure — but rest assured CALIFORNICATION is no JOHN FROM CINCINNATI. Duchovny perfectly encapsulates the down-on-his-luck Hollywood writer, quite possibly because he knows the feeling. It’s been years since his own hit show was cancelled, yet with CALIFORNICATION, he’s just now stepping out of the shadow of his most infamous alter-ego Fox Mulder.
The question of course remains, will Hank Moody be able to do the same? Get both his life and career back on track. Honestly, we have no idea — but we’re certainly going to enjoy watching him try.
CALIFORNICATION premieres tonight on Showtime at 10:30PM (est). Canadians can catch it on TMN at 9PM.
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