Weeds (TV series)

*Weeds*
Weeds
	File:Weeds logo leaf k1.jpeg The show's logo.
Created by	Jenji Kohan
Written by	Jenji Kohan; Roberto Benabib; Devon Shepard; Michael Platt; Barry Safchik; Shawn Schepps; Rolin Jones; Matthew Salsberg; Rinne Groff; Blair Singer; Victoria Morrow; Christina Kiang Booth
Directed by	Craig Zisk; Scott Ellis; Brian Dannelly; Burr Steers; Lee Rose; Arlene Sanford; Tucker Gates; Robert Berlinger; Paul Feig; Lev L. Spiro; Bryan Gordon; Chris Long; Christopher Misiano; Martha Coolidge; Perry Lang; Ernest R. Dickerson; Julie Anne Robinson; Randy Zisk
Starring	Mary-Louise Parker; Elizabeth Perkins (season 1–5); Tonye Patano (season 1–3); Romany Malco (season 1–3); Hunter Parrish; Alexander Gould; Allie Grant (season 1–5); Andy Milder (season 1-5); Justin Kirk; Kevin Nealon;
Opening theme	"Little Boxes" (episodes 1–38 and 57)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	64 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jenji Kohan; Craig Zisk (co-executive); Roberto Benabib (co-executive);
Producers	Danielle Weinstock; Matthew Salsberg; Mark A. Burley (supervising); Devon Shepard (supervising); Shawn Schepps (consulting); Brian Dannelly (consulting);
Running time	26 minutes
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	August 8, 2005 –; present

Weeds is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan in 2005, and produced by Lionsgate Television for the Showtime cable television network. The show revolves around Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), a newly widowed suburbanite mother of two, who has turned to selling marijuana to support her family after her husband unexpectedly dies. Over the course of the show, Nancy is involved in illegal activities on a larger scale; the first three seasons deal mainly with selling and growing marijuana locally, in later seasons the show features the smuggling of more general contraband from Mexico to the United States and the dubious machinations of an election campaign for the Mexican state of Baja's governorship.

The show also stars Nancy's former neighbor, Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins); Nancy's eldest son, Silas Botwin (Hunter Parrish); Nancy's youngest son and Silas' brother, Shane Botwin (Alexander Gould); Celia's youngest daughter and Shane's later friend, Isabelle (Allie Grant); Nancy's brother-in-law and the boys' uncle, Andy Botwin (Justin Kirk); and Nancy's friend and accountant, Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon).

The first three seasons were filmed in Stevenson Ranch, California and took place in the fictional town of Agrestic. Later seasons were shot in Los Angeles, California and takes place in the fictional beachside border town of Ren Mar. The title plays on the word "weed", slang for marijuana, because American suburbs grow akin to weeds. The title sequence of the first three seasons, which features the satirical song "Little Boxes", showed suburbanites who dress the same, drive exactly the same sport utility vehicle, and live in identical houses. Seasons four and after depict intertitles.

The show aired on August 7, 2005 and has run five seasons to date. The sixth season premiered on August 16, 2010.^[1] The first season of the series delivered Showtime's highest ratings, and the debut of the fifth season had Showtime's highest viewership for a show with 1.3 million watchers. The show received and had been nominated for numerous awards. Mary-Louise Parker won a Golden Globe for her performance on the show, and Jenji Kohan earned a Writer's Guild of America award for her work on the pilot episode. The show was also nominated for 10 Golden Globes and 19 Emmy Awards.

Production

The exteriors for the show were shot almost exclusively in Stevenson Ranch, a suburban area of Santa Clarita Valley, California. The shot of the large fountain and Agrestic sign seen in the introduction of Seasons 1–3 was shot at the corner of Stevenson Ranch Parkway and Holmes Place. The name "Stevenson Ranch" was digitally replaced with "Agrestic" and with "Majestic" in later episodes. The overhead, satellite picture displayed at the beginning of the show's introduction (Seasons 1–3) is of Calabasas Hills, a gated community in Calabasas, California.^[2]

A version of this Wikipedia page served as the introduction for episode 7 of season 5 titled "Where the Sidewalk Ends".

Season synopses

Season 1

The series's fictional Los Angeles, California suburb of Agrestic is home to Nancy Botwin, whose husband Judah died of a heart attack while jogging with their son Shane.^[3] Nancy's children, Silas and Shane, both attend Agrestic's public school system.

To support her upper middle class lifestyle, Nancy began dealing marijuana to her affluent neighbors and friends. Her supplier is Heylia James, a major distributor in Los Angeles' West Adams district whom she met through Heylia's nephew, Conrad.^[4] After losing customers to a medical marijuana store, Nancy begins baking and selling pot-laced brownies. Acting on the advice of her accountant, city councilman Doug Wilson, she opens a retail bakery, stocked with Costco baked goods, as a front for her drug sales. Silas begins dating Megan, an attractive deaf girl at his school. Shane, troubled by his father's death, acts out, such as biting the foot of another child in a martial-arts tournament (as well as licking the blood of his scabbed knee during a soccer practice), earning him the nickname "Strange Botwin" from his fellow classmates.

Nancy's friend is a manic, image-obsessed, and manipulative Celia Hodes, who is the president of the Agrestic PTA. Celia does not get along with her cheating husband Dean, nor does she get along with her sexually active 15-year-old daughter, Quinn (Silas' previous girlfriend), whom she sends off to boarding school in Mexico after the pilot. Her younger daughter, 11-year-old Isabelle, is overweight and constantly the target of her mother's passive aggressive comments. She reveals late in the season that she is a lesbian, much to her mother's chagrin. Toward the end of the season, Celia is diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. The brush with her own mortality softens her abrasive personality and leads her to treat her own daughter with more courtesy and respect. She quickly returns to form after her recovery however. Before her surgery, she picks up Conrad and has sex with him. Conrad is long-time friends with Andy Botwin, the younger brother of Nancy's late husband and the black sheep of the family. Andy says he has moved into the Botwin household to help Nancy out, but actually seems to be there to free-load, and to disrupt Nancy's life. When he is notified to report immediately for his previously agreed-on military service (where he will be trained and then sent to Iraq) or be sentenced to a military prison, he announces that he is studying to become a rabbi as a dodge to avoid his military obligation.

Nancy expands her distribution to Valley State College and is then harassed by a rival drug dealer, with whom she then has a brief sexual encounter. At Valley College, her entire stash of product is stolen by a campus security cop during a fake arrest, threatening the survival of her lifestyle and family. Unknown to her, Conrad and some of his friends go to Valley College, so they attack and severely beat the campus cop. Then to Nancy's surprise, he politely returns the marijuana to her, apologizes profusely, and offers to assist her and her business in any way he can. Nancy and Peter Scottson, the single father of the kid bitten by Shane in a karate tournament, develop a mutual attraction. The season closes with Conrad convincing Nancy to expand by becoming a grower as well as a dealer; however, implementing this plan hits complications in the last minutes of the season. Because of her mounting frustration and stress, Nancy gives in and sleeps with Peter. Immediately afterward, she walks into his bathroom and finds out that he's an agent with the DEA.

Season 2

The second season, while still comedic, has a much darker tone, as Nancy becomes increasingly involved in the more dangerous aspects of the drug "underground". Ignoring Heylia's advice, Nancy and Conrad start their own small-scale growing operation and eventually rent a suburban grow-house. She welcomes other people into her business, including her brother-in-law Andy and Doug. During this season, Peter Scottson tells Nancy he knows she is a drug dealer, but considers her too small time to be worth busting, and the two are married as part of a deal to legally protect Nancy from Peter testifying in a court of law. While Nancy's drug activities increase, Celia runs for, and wins, Doug's spot on the town council; mainly due to the incompetence of her estranged husband Dean, who forgets to file Doug's paperwork, leaving him off the ballot. She immediately launches a drug-free campaign across Agrestic complete with drug-free zone signs and surveillance cameras. Doug and Celia share a dislike for Dean which facilitates a brief sexual liaison.

Silas and Megan's relationship threatens to split apart once she leaves for college; he attempts to get her pregnant to circumvent this, but his success leads to an abortion and a violent confrontation with Megan's father, ending the relationship. Andy tries to develop a relationship with an attractive, sexually formidable instructor, Yael Hoffman, at his rabbinical school, which falls apart once he drops out due to an incident where a dog bites off two of his small toes, which he thinks will clear him from military duty.

As the season progresses, Nancy's children become more aware of her illegal activities, though the two sons deal with the issue in quite different ways. Shane continues to have problems fitting in at school and his friends begin to ridicule him because he never had a hand job. Subsequently, his uncle Andy takes him to a massage parlor to get his initial hand job. Afterwards, Shane joins the debate team in order to get closer to Gretchen, who later ends up becoming his girlfriend. Despite Shane's apparent interest in Gretchen, he breaks up with her because of his extreme interest in Andy's crazy ex-girlfriend, Kat. Silas, on the other hand, takes out his frustrations by committing acts of vandalism, most notably stealing Celia's drug-free zone signs and cameras.

Nancy and Conrad's drug business becomes a hit as Conrad's strain of plant (which Snoop Dogg dubs "MILFweed" during a happenstance meeting at a recording studio) pleases their customers; but their high profile causes trouble. Initially, Nancy's marriage to a DEA agent keeps her on top while her Armenian rivals are busted, but her marriage to Peter deteriorates as he pressures her to quit dealing. For Nancy, the final straw is when Peter comes over for dinner and manhandles Silas. Nancy calls Conrad and tells him that she doesn't love Peter but will string him along until the current harvest is done; Peter hears the conversation with wireless surveillance.

The season concludes with a complex series of betrayals, as Peter demands of Nancy and Conrad all of the cash from a quick sale of their crop. Secretly, Heylia hires Armenian mobsters to kill Peter as she believes Peter is planning to kill Conrad after the deal. Nancy's buyer, U-Turn (Page Kennedy), demands the entire crop of weed at gunpoint. Having just killed Peter, the Armenian mobsters arrive at the same time and expect the proceeds from the big sale to pay for their hit, but finding that U-Turn plans on stealing the weed and that there is no money, decide they will take the weed instead. Only then does Nancy discover that Silas has decided to force his way into the business by stealing the entire batch of weed and demanding to be part of the business. After hiding the batch in his car trunk, he is approached by Celia and a police officer for the theft of the drug-free zone signs and surveillance cameras, as Celia has footage of Silas stealing the last camera. This leaves Nancy at the grow house, in a Mexican standoff with both the gangsters and the mobsters pointing guns at her in a season-ending cliffhanger.

Season 3

The third season of Weeds begins with several subplots involving the fallout from the botched drug deal of the Season 2 finale: Celia finds and destroys the entire harvest; U-Turn pays the mobsters to leave Nancy to him alone; Silas is arrested and sentenced to community service; Sanjay (Maulik Pancholy), realizes he is gay, but U-Turn forces him to have sex with a woman who becomes pregnant with his child.

During the first half of the season, Nancy works to pay off her debt to U-Turn for Celia's destruction of an entire pot harvest. Nancy works for Sullivan Groff (Matthew Modine), a crooked developer from the neighboring community of Majestic, and she soon becomes his lover. Celia, who has also been intimate with Groff, resents Nancy for this.

Silas begins selling pot for his mother using the alias Judah and meets Tara (Mary-Kate Olsen), a religious girl who enjoys smoking pot and helps him sell pot. Shane and Isabelle become outcasts at the heavily-religious Majestic summer school and form a friendship. Shane is also having conversations with his dead father as familial stress increases.

At U-Turn's behest, Conrad and Heylia start a grow. U-Turn trains Nancy to become a drug runner, while simultaneously starting a war with rival Mexican dealers. When U-Turn has a heart attack, Marvin suffocates him to death and becomes the new boss of U-Turn's crew. Marvin botches an attempted truce with the Mexicans, allowing Nancy to clear all debts for her and Conrad and end the gang war.

Debt-free, but feeling lonely, Nancy attempts to befriend Peter's ex-wife Valerie. The friendship turns sour when Valerie demands the money from Peter's life-insurance payout. Nancy promises to give it to her, but has to first use most of it to replace the money Doug "borrowed" from the Agrestic treasury to help Nancy get back in business. Despite giving her several smaller payments, Valerie believes that Nancy will never give her her full due and that Peter had an off-the-books stash of cash of which Nancy knows the location, so she hires a private investigator to trail Nancy. The investigator finds out Nancy is a drug dealer and blackmails her to not tell Valerie or the DEA for most of the remaining life-insurance money, which Nancy pays after ensuring the investigator won't come after her again by blackmailing him for blackmailing her. Nancy confronts Valerie by telling her that she would have gotten the money although Nancy has no obligation to give it to her, and that she no longer has it anyway thanks to Valerie's investigator.

Meanwhile, the outlying Christian community of Majestic has been attempting a hostile takeover of Agrestic, with Doug leading the charge due to the large amount of money it will bring in. But Groff's gift to Celia leads to jealousy, and Doug begins sabotaging the Majestic city infrastructure, although it is already too late, as Celia brings it to a public referendum. Dean has a motorcycle accident, which forces Celia to take care of him against her will.

Heylia and Conrad are forced to move the growing operation and Nancy negotiates the use of Celia's off-the-books house in Majestic.

Andy has a brief excursion into the pornographic film industry, and later befriends a group of bikers while trying to score with one of its female members, who want him to start selling their weed.

Nancy turns to Guillermo (leader of the Mexican dealers) to get protection when the bikers threaten her family after she refuses to sell their low-quality ditch weed. Guillermo decides to burn down the biker's cannabis field, causing a huge fire which spreads to the Agrestic area. At the time, thermal cameras spot the grow house and the DEA moves in. Nancy, meanwhile, takes advantage of the fire and pours gasoline throughout her house and lights it with a match, ensuring that she and her family will be leaving and moving on.

Season 4

On November 5, 2007, Showtime ordered 13 new episodes for a fourth season of Weeds.^[5] The fourth season started on Monday, June 16, 2008 and concluded on Monday, September 15, 2008.^[6] The season opener "Mother Thinks the Birds are After Her"^[7] was the last episode with "Little Boxes" as the theme song. The opening credits of subsequent episodes, after a recap of previous episodes, begin with a video title card unique to each episode. For the second episode of the season, for example, a highway sign reads "Weeds", "Created By", and "Jenji Kohan"—the embedded text used for all title cards since the show's inception. Each title card also has a prop or part of the setting morphing into a cannabis leaf. In the highway sign example, a downward arrow designating a lane becomes a slightly larger pot leaf.

Having lost both her Agrestic grow house and her residential house in fires, Nancy relocates her family to the fictional California town of Ren Mar immediately north of the San Diego/Tijuana border.^[8] Guillermo has Nancy smuggle asthma inhalers over the border by car, but Nancy discovers that it was a dry run to test her abilities. Celia, in jail for being the official lessee of Nancy's burnt down grow house, and implicated by all involved, bargains for her release in exchange for spying on Nancy. After Guillermo's men catch Celia spying, Nancy convinces them to spare Celia's life. Andy enters a coyote partnership with Doug, who has recently moved to Ren-Mar to evade questions about Agrestic's finances. Isabelle, unenthusiastic about moving with her father to Detroit, pesters her mother Celia until she agrees to let her live with her in Ren Mar. Silas sets up a grow room in the rear of a gourmet cheese shop owned by an attractive 30ish mother, who despite being aware that Silas is underage, further consummates their business relationship. After revealing that her interest is purely financial and physical, a heartbroken Silas spurns her advances and ends their business relationship. At his new school, 13 year-old Shane attacks without provocation the most popular boy at school and acquires a fearsome reputation, attracting the admiring attention of Simone and Harmony, two of the more dangerous girls at school, with whom Shane loses his virginity in a threesome.

Guillermo's as-yet-unidentified boss sets up Nancy in a maternity store to launder money. In the back of the store Nancy finds a tunnel opening, but is told it is exclusively an endpoint for transporting cannabis from Tijuana. Nancy later learns that it is used for smuggling other controlled substances as well as guns and apparently underage prostitutes. A shocked Nancy informs DEA Captain Roy Till of the tunnel despite an ongoing sexual relationship with Guillermo's crime boss Esteban Reyes, who is also Mayor of Tijuana. The resulting DEA raid and shootout at the maternity shop ends with most of the Mexican drug runners arrested.

While working at Nancy's store, Celia's polysubstance abuse disorder is worsened by the easy availability of drugs from the back of the store. Isabelle and Dean stage an intervention leading Celia to embrace rehab and vowing to make amends to her family. Dean rejects her apology and insists that she apologizes directly to her oldest daughter Quinn, whom Celia sent during the shows to Casa Reforma, a Mexican boarding school. Since graduation Quinn has been living with a Mexican revolutionary, Rudolfo. Celia agrees to travel south to make an amends, but upon her arrival, an unloving and unforgiving Quinn has her drugged and captured. Quinn plans to ransom her mother for $200,000, telling Rudolfo she would give none of the money to his "faggy revolution", but would instead move to Belize.

In the season finale, Esteban discovers that Nancy had alerted the DEA to his smuggling tunnel, and confronts Nancy, but he lets her live after she tells him that she is pregnant with his child, and that it's likely to be a boy. At home, Shane steals Silas' weed and, with Simone and Harmony, begins selling it to classmates at school. Doug had fallen for an illegal alien he names "Mermex" as she unsuccessfully tried to enter the US by beach. After much searching, Doug locates her and uses his coyote enterprise to get her into California. Instead of gratefully rewarding Doug's efforts, Mermex is repelled by his unapologetic nature and his genital warts. She instead falls in love and sleeps with his Coyote partner Andy, who has become a folk hero known as "El Andy". Scorned and hurt Doug turns Mermex into immigration. Realizing that poverty denies those pursuing anything of any money, Doug writes his separated wife daring her to take him to court in a pseudo-suicidal note, before preparing to hang himself. Andy wonders if he is in love with Nancy and questions why he has stayed with the family for so long.

Season 5

The Season 5 debut attracted 1.2 million viewers, with a rerun on the same night adding another 500,000 viewers for a cumulative 1.7 million.

After Nancy informs Esteban that she is pregnant, she is allowed to live, but Esteban has bodyguards assigned to Nancy. Anxious for her younger son's safety, Nancy sends Shane to her sister Jill Price-Grey (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in Northern California. Nancy's older son Silas draws up a new plan to start a legal medical marijuana business which Nancy funds. The bodyguard mysteriously disappears and Nancy panics because he was probably murdered.

Quinn's attempt to extort money from Celia's family or friends fails, since none of them are eager to pay any ransom, and her later plan to kill Celia and sell her body organs doesn't pan out due to the residual radiation from the chemotherapy Celia underwent for breast cancer, and Quinn leaves Rudolfo. Celia tries to get Rudolfo to let her stay with him but he forcibly sends her to Texas. With no where else to go she ends up squatting in Nancy's garage, where she finds the body of the missing bodyguard. The new body guard catches DEA agent Captain Roy Till and Nancy calls Esteban who has Till killed. Andy suggests that he and Nancy flee with $180,000 he found in Judah's old bank account. Nancy instead leaves a note for Andy, saying she has moved in with Esteban.

Six months later Esteban proposes to Nancy and she accepts, but a woman from Esteban's past, Pilar, surprises Esteban with a visit. After a heated discussion regarding Nancy's effect on his political ambitions, he tells Nancy that their engagement is off. Cesar, Esteban's chief aide, arranges a birthing room in the house, so there will be no record of the baby's birth. Escaping Esteban's house with Andy's aid, Nancy gets to her obstetrician, Dr. Audra Kitson (Alanis Morissette), who takes her to the hospital and delivers the baby. To protect his political career Esteban will not sign the birth certificate. Nancy moves back in with Andy in exchange for Andy signing the birth certificate and the child being given a Bris.

Esteban comes to Nancy's door to ask her to marry him again. At the same time, an assassin trying to kill Nancy shoots Shane. Nancy confronts Cesar, who admits that he was involved, and that Nancy was the intended target of the attempt ordered by Pilar. Esteban finds himself replaced as a candidate for governor, but with Nancy's encouragement he runs as an independent.

Silas and Doug's shop is raided by the Feds and they lose all of their pot. They come to Dean to help them get it back. Celia gets Dean to give the pot to her and starts making money selling it with cosmetics. Doug finds out that Celia stole their pot and he and Dean try to plot revenge. Meanwhile Andy begins a relationship with Audra; Silas moves in to Esteban's house, and Nancy and Esteban get married at home. Nancy visits Guillermo in prison to have him arrange the assassination of Pilar. Esteban is arrested in Mexico for suspicion of conspiracy, racketeering and tax evasion. Nancy and Cesar go to get Esteban from jail, but they learn Esteban was released, only to see him next on television alongside Pilar running for governor. Andy announces that he is going to propose to Audra, with his mother's ring, previously given to Nancy by her late husband Judah.

Celia gets Doug, Dean, Sanjay, Ignacio, and Isabelle to team together to sell drugs. Andy proposes marriage to Audra, but flees when an armed stalker confronts them. Pilar forcibly but discreetly escorts Nancy from a fund raising party. As they walk by a pool Pilar reveals that she knows Nancy tried to put a hit on her. Pilar then suggests that the unfortunate deaths of Shane and Silas, appearing to be accidental, would generate a sympathy vote for Esteban. Without warning, Pilar is hit in the head by an unseen third party and ends up floating face down in the pool bleeding profusely from the head apparently dead or dying, as Shane appears next to Nancy holding a croquet mallet.

The Weeds Season 5 finale on Monday, August 31, 2009, averaged 1.3 million viewers, up versus season 4's finale that averaged 1 million.^[9]

Season 6

The sixth season premiered on Monday August 16, 2010 at 10ET/PT on Showtime. In May 2010, Elizabeth Perkins (Celia Hodes) announced that she will be leaving the series.^[10]^[11] Linda Hamilton will be joining the cast as Linda; along with her partner Fiona, Linda will help Nancy in her business.^[12] It has been confirmed that Mark-Paul Gosselaar has been cast in one episode in the upcoming season.^{[citation needed]} A teaser for the new season was released on June 3, 2010, depicting Nancy disposing of the croquet mallet and evading the police. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alanis Morissette will also be reprising their roles.^[13] Actor Richard Dreyfuss has signed on to appear in at least four episodes of the season.^[14] The season premiere was leaked on August 1, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

On the run again, Nancy abruptly leaves Esteban's party with Shane and Silas, bringing the croquet mallet with her. In need of a larger car, the three stop off in Ren Mar to pick up Andy's minivan. Discovering Audra to be held at bay with a cross bow by an anti-abortionist, Nancy helps Andy subdue the attacker. Audra holds Andy's fleeing against him, telling him that their relationship is over. Reluctantly, Andy flees with the family. Meanwhile, Cesar and his brother-in-law have discovered security footage of the murder, which Cesar orders destroyed.

Cast and characters

The cast of *Weeds* during Season 2, Left to Right: Romany Malco, Tonye Patano, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, and Justin Kirk. This image was also used for the Season 2 DVD box set.

Main characters

Nancy Botwin

Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) was a loving, all-American PTA soccer mom until her husband Judah suddenly died. To maintain the suburban lifestyle to which she was accustomed, Nancy enters the dangerous world of drug dealing. At the start, her regular clients include her accountant, her lawyer, and fellow suburban friends, but as she expands and fights for survival, she is confronted with the violent realities of her business as she jockeys against competitors, gangs, drug lords, and blackmail.

Celia Hodes

Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins (S1-6)). She has a love-hate relationship with Nancy. She hates her two daughters almost as much as they hate her, although the younger one, Isabel, does get affectionate with her at times. She also undertakes disloyal, subversive actions against others, ostensibly to teach them lessons.

Andy Botwin

Andrew "Andy" Botwin (Justin Kirk) is Judah's brother, a fun-loving, irresponsible drifter. After Judah's death, Nancy reluctantly allows Andy to live at the house, and soon realizes his presence is needed for her business and as a father figure for the kids. He is also an archetypal Shakespearian 'fool', behaving like a child but occasionally having moments of great insight. By the fifth season, Andy becomes more responsible in response to Nancy's absence as a mother to her children. He discovers that he is in love with Nancy, who cannot reciprocate the feelings.

Silas Botwin

Silas Botwin (Hunter Parrish), Nancy's oldest son, was traumatized by Judah's death, and takes it out on his mother and brother. Silas is impetuous and impulsive, and although he operates as though he knows everything, he is extremely naïve. After encountering numerous challenges with girlfriends and exposure to the realities of the drug business, he decides that he wants in on the action. He pursues plant cultivation, and eventually goes into business with Doug, opening a medicinal marijuana dispensary.

Shane Botwin

Shane Botwin (Alexander Gould) is Nancy and Judah's younger son, and was with Judah at the time of his death. Highly intelligent and poorly socialized, Shane's grief manifests itself in bizarre ways, such as talking to his father like an imaginary friend. Called "Strange Botwin" by his fellow students, he is viewed as a freak at school, and is the frequent target of bullies. At home, he is neglected by his family because of their drug businesses. He eventually turns to sex, drugs and alcohol, becomes increasingly violent and develops a disregard for rules, laws, and other social conventions. He finds out he gets an infection from the two girls he slept with. Shane's transformation reflects Nancy's absence as a proper mother to her children. It may also reflect his juxtaposing of grief for the loss of his father, and the less than normal lifestyle he found himself in.

Doug Wilson

Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon) is Nancy's fun-loving friend and accountant, and is initially a consistent purchaser of her weed. When Doug is introduced to the series he is a city councilman for Agrestic, a position that he treats like a hobby. Through misfortune and carelessness, he loses the seat to Celia. When his many fraudulent accounting practices are finally made known, he feels forced to flee Agrestic/Magestic and follow Nancy to Ren Mar. It is implied that he has had his CPA license revoked. Doug has an unseen wife Dana whom he loves very much but who won't have sex with him. Doug also has a gay son Josh (Justin Chatwin) who appeared only in the pilot episode, though he is referenced in the fourth season. Doug eventually opens a medical marijuana dispensary with Silas, but his atrocious manners and abusive bargaining tactics frustrate Silas and threaten their partnership.

Conrad Shepard

Conrad Shepard (Romany Malco (S1-3)) is Nancy's initial supplier, under supervision of his aunt. Nancy met him years earlier through Andy. Although Conrad is very knowledgeable about the intricacies of cannabis cultivation, his aunt never allowed him to grow plants, insisting that they keep their business small. Despite this, he had worked on developing his own signature genetic blend. He becomes Nancy's business associate using this strain, and it is revealed that he has apparently held very strong feelings for Nancy for a long time.

Heylia James

Heylia James (Tonye Patano (S1-3)) is Conrad's aunt and supplier for Nancy. When Conrad goes against Heylia's instructions and continues to see Nancy, and with Nancy's DEA "husband" constricting her business, she forms a grudge against her. Heylia and Nancy eventually become reluctant partners. She is not seen again after Nancy flees Agrestic at the end of the third season.

Isabelle Hodes

Isabelle Hodes (Allie Grant (Guest S1-2, Regular S3-5)) is Celia's younger daughter, who frustrates her mother with her proclaimed lesbianism and unwillingness to lose weight. She becomes close friends with Shane Botwin, who bond over their abnormal mothers. Isabelle resents her mother, but seems to enjoy her father's company. She is openly a lesbian and a model for Huskaroo's clothes for overweight children.

Dean Hodes

Dean Hodes (Andy Milder (Guest S1-2 and 4-5, Regular S3)) is Isabelle and Quinn's father and Celia's husband, as well as Nancy's lawyer and Doug's poker buddy. Dean loves Isabelle, but has a constantly antagonistic relationship with Celia, which eventually leads to a divorce. Dean had a friendship with Doug until Doug slept with Celia. Dean recently performed a legal service for Silas and Doug, but not before slamming Doug's penis in a desk drawer.

Recurring cast

Actor	Role	Season appearances
Indigo	Vaneeta	1 - 3
Haley Hudson	Quinn Hodes	1, 4 - 5
Maulik Pancholy	Sanjay Patel	1 - 5
Renée Victor	Lupita	1 - 6
Becky Thyre	Pam	1 - 4
Martin Donovan	Peter Scottson	1 - 2
Shoshannah Stern	Megan	1 - 2
Matthew Modine	Sullivan Groff	3 - 4
Page Kennedy	U-turn	2 - 3
Fatso-Fasano	Marvin	2 - 5
Eden Sher	Gretchen	2
Remy Auberjonois	Mr. Albin	1 - 2
Mary-Kate Olsen	Tara Lindman	3
Jack Stehlin	Captain Roy Till	2 - 5
Julanne Chidi Hill	Clinique	3 - 4
Guillermo Díaz	Guillermo García Gómez	3 - 5
Tracii Show	Jada Henderson	1
Tressa DiFiglia	Maggie	1
Justin Chatwin	Josh Wilson	1
Meital Dohan	Yael Hoffman	2
Ron Canada	Joseph	2
Zooey Deschanel	Kat Wheeler	2 - 3
Shawn Michael Patrick	Agent George "Fundis" Fundislavsky	2 - 3
Daryl Sabara	Tim Scottson	1 - 3
Brooke Smith	Valerie Scottson	3
Albert Brooks	Lenny Botwin	4
Vincent Laresca	Alejandro	1 - 2
Sprague Grayden	Denise	3
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	Judah Botwin	1
Lexington Steele	himself	3
Carrie Fisher	Arlene Cutter	3
Rod Rowland	Chess	3
Demián Bichir	Esteban Reyes	4 - 6
Julie Bowen	Lisa	4
Enrique Castillo	Cesar	4 - 6
Joey Luthman	Rad Ferris	4 - 5
Hemky Madera	Ignacio	4 - 6
Ramón Franco	Sucio	4 - 5
Kevin Alejandro	Rudolfo	4 - 5
Larry Joe Campbell	Deputy C.P Jones	5
Jennifer Jason Leigh	Jill Price-Grey	5 - 6
Alanis Morissette	Dr. Audra Kitson	5 - 6
Kate del Castillo	Pilar Zuazo	5
Seychelle Gabriel	Adelita Reyes	5
Jamie Denbo	Raylene	5
Erin Sanders	Danielle/Pinky	5

Episodes

As of September 2009, 63 original episodes of Weeds have been produced and broadcast. The first season began August 8, 2005 and consisted of 10 episodes. The second season premiered on August 14, 2006, airing 12 episodes. The third season debuted on August 13, 2007, airing 15 episodes. The fourth season began June 16, 2008, and the fifth season on June 8, 2009, both with a total of 13 episodes. The sixth season, with 13 more episodes, is slated to air in August 2010. Creator Jenji Kohan has written 15 of the episodes, including each season's premiere and finale.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the show's episodes encountered leaks. It had appeared on the Internet prior to their showing. Creator Jenji Kohan has stated that she does not mind episodes being distributed on the internet in this way, saying, "Revenue aside, I don't expect to get rich on Weeds. I'm excited it's out there. Showtime is great, but it does have a limited audience."^[15]

In 2006, before Season 2 started airing on Showtime, the first few episodes were leaked online.^[16] Before the third season began the first two episodes appeared online on July 22, 2007 (nearly a month before the August 13 premiere date). The third episode appeared online on July 24, with the fourth appearing just three days later. The fourth episode was, however, an incomplete version—among other things, some dubbed lines were not complete (notably part of a voice mail message by U-Turn is spoken by a distinctly different actor, and a card simply reading "End Credits" was inserted instead of the actual credits. On August 1, 2010, the first episodes of season 6 leaked online. Due to the high quality of the leaked episodes, downloaders of the torrents speculated that they were leaked intentionally to garner interest in the show and to create internet buzz.^[16] Episode leaks of other Showtime programs such as Californication and Dexter were seen as giving weight to this theory.^[16]

Media

Opening music

"Little Boxes" is the opening song for the first three seasons of the show; the version recorded by Malvina Reynolds is used during the first season. In seasons 2 and 3, the song is performed by various artists. In season 4, the Malvina Reynolds version opens the first episode. Thereafter, the original titles and music are replaced by a short clip, different for each episode, which bears relevance to the plot or some scene later in the episode.

Season 1: ^[17]

Malvina Reynolds

Season 2: ^[18]

Season 3: ^[19]

Randy Newman
Angelique Kidjo
Kinky (in Spanish)
Donovan
Billy Bob Thornton
The Shins
The Individuals
Man Man
Joan Baez
The Decemberists
Michael Franti
Persephone's Bees (partly in Russian)
Laurie Berkner
Linkin Park
Malvina Reynolds (opening)
& Pete Seeger (closing)

Soundtracks

The music supervisors for the show include Gary Calamar (along with music coordinator Alyson Vidoli) (27 episodes), Amine Ramer (4 episodes), and Bruce Gilbert (3 episodes). The original score is provided by composers, Brandon Jay and Gwendolyn Sanford.

Weeds: Music from the Original Series

Released September 13, 2005

Malvina Reynolds - "Little Boxes"
Nellie McKay - "David"
Peggy Lee - "A Doodlin' Song"
Sufjan Stevens - "All The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands"
Michael Franti & Spearhead - "Ganja Babe"
All Too Much - "More Than A Friend"
Sons & Daughters - "Blood"
The New Pornographers - "The Laws Have Changed"
Joey Santiago - "Fake Purse"
NRBQ - "Wacky Tobacky"
Marion Black - "Who Knows"
Martin Creed - "I Can't Move"
The Mountain Goats - "Cotton"
Joey Santiago - "Birthday Video"
Flogging Molly - "If I Ever Leave This World Alive"
The Be Good Tanyas - "The Littlest Birds"
Hill Of Beans - "Satan Lend Me a Dollar"

Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Volume 2

Released October 17, 2006

Elvis Costello - "Little Boxes"
Zeroleen - "All Good"
of Montreal - "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games"
Jenny Owen Youngs - "Fuck Was I"
Fern Jones - "Strange Things Are Happening"
(The Real) Tuesday Weld - "Bathtime In Clerkenwell"
Gwendolyn Sanford & Brandon Jay - "Shane Digs Gretchen"
Rogue Wave - "Kicking The Heart Out"
Regina Spektor - "The Ghost of Corporate Future"
Dengue Fever - "One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula"
Aidan Hawken - "Neighborhood"
Squirrel Nut Zippers - "It Ain't You"
Gwendolyn Sanford & Brandon Jay - "From Agrestic to Las Vegas"
The 88 - "Not Enough"
Sufjan Stevens - "Holland"
Gwendolyn Sanford & Brandon Jay - "Huskaroo TV Spot"

Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Volume 3

Released June 3, 2008 as digital-only release, retail release July 8.^[20]

Randy Newman - "Little Boxes"
Page France - "Chariot"
That 1 Guy - "Buttmachine"
Beirut - "Scenic World"
The Dresden Dolls - "Girl Anachronism"
Ween - "You Fucked Up"
Oh No! Oh My! - "Walk In The Park"
Illinois - "Nosebleed"
Great Lake Swimmers - "Your Rocky Spine"
Mr. Smolin - "The Earth Keeps Turning On"
Kevin Nealon - "Just Like The Superdome"
State Radio - "Keepsake"
Eleni Mandell - "Let's Drive Away"
The Shins - "Little Boxes" (iTunes Exclusive)

Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Volume 4

Released June 9, 2009

DeVotchKa - "A New World"
Nortec Collective - "Tengo La Voz"
Greg Weeks - "Made"
The Free Design - "Love You"
That Handsome Devil - "Mexico"
Miss Li - "Don't Try To Fool Me"
Tunng - "Bullets"
Mucca Pazza - "Borino Oro"
Los Mono - "Se Puede"
Linus of Hollywood - "Thank You For Making Me Feel Better"
The Mountain Goats - "International Small Arms Traffic Blues"
Toots & The Maytals - "Celia"
Soul Swingers - "Brighter Tomorrow"

DVD and Blu-ray releases

DVD Name	# of Ep	Release dates
DVD Name	# of Ep	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season One	10	July 11, 2006	September 3, 2007	July 18, 2007
Season Two	12	July 24, 2007	January 7, 2008	May 28, 2008
Season Three	15	June 3, 2008	May 26, 2008	July 8, 2009
Season Four	13	June 2, 2009	November, 2009	March 17, 2010
Season Five	13	January 19, 2010	TBA	TBA

The Region 1 Season One DVD is only available in 4:3 pan and scan format. The Region 2 and 4 releases are all in anamorphic widescreen. Season One was released on Blu-ray on May 29, 2007, and Season Two was released on July 24, 2007. Both seasons include all episodes in 1080p widescreen with Dolby Digital EX sound and either DTS-HD (Season One) or LPCM (Season Two), as well as extras exclusive to the Blu-ray release. Season Three was released on Blu-ray on June 3, 2008. Seasons One to Three on Blu-ray are multi-region discs, but Season Four has been region-locked to region A only. This is due to a lack of broad international pick-up by non-US broadcasters at the time of release, meaning Showtime does not wish to prejudice any future transmission rights negotiations by having the season available to own before it could be broadcast in the countries concerned.

In late 2009, Weeds Season Four and Season Five have been aired in at least one region B country, namely The Netherlands.^[21] Subsequently, a region 2 DVD of Season 4 has indeed been released.^[22]^[23] However, the region 2 DVD release was not accompanied by a region B Blu-ray. Showtime have not commented on whether they ever anticipate releasing a region B Blu-ray version, whether or not any further non-US transmission rights are agreed. The same region locking has been applied to Blu-ray Season Five.^[24]

An extra feature on the Season Two DVD was rejected by the British Board of Film Classification since it was regarded as "likely [...] to promote and encourage the use of illegal drugs".^[25]^[26]

Books

On August 7, 2007, Simon Spotlight, a division of Simon and Schuster, published In the Weeds: The Official Guide to the Showtime Series by Kera Bolonik, which features interviews with the show's creator, its writers and crew, and the entire cast. It also features detailed character and plot descriptions, recipes, and lots of trivia and behind-the-scenes information.^[27]

Reception

In its first year, Weeds was the highest rated series for Showtime. Its fourth-season premiere attracted 1.3 million viewers to Showtime, the channel's highest-ever viewership; the season as a whole averaged 962,000 viewers. Season 5 premiered to 1.2 million viewers, with a rerun on the same night adding another 500,000 viewers for a cumulative 1.7 million. The final episode of the show's fifth season aired on August 31, 2009 and attracted 1.3 million viewers.^[9]

Slate magazine named the character of Nancy Botwin as one of the best on television and one of the reasons they were looking forward to the return of the show in fall 2007.^[28] Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 Returning Series of 2007, ranking it at #9.^[29] The New York Times opined the show is "transforming for Showtime."^[30] Metacritic scored season two, four and five a score of 78, 67 and 73 respectively.

Awards and nominations

Won


Award	Title	Credit	Year
Satellite Awards	Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Mary-Louise Parker	2005
Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by a TV Actress in a Musical or Comedy	Mary-Louise Parker	2006
Writers Guild of America	Episodic Comedy	Jenji Kohan	2006
Young Artist Awards	Best Supporting Young Actor - Television Series	Alexander Gould	2006
Satellite Awards	Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Justin Kirk	2008

Nominated

Golden Globe Awards: Best TV Series-Comedy (2006, 2007, 2009); Best Performance by a TV Supporting Actress Elizabeth Perkins (2006, 2007); Best Performance by a TV Actress in a Musical or Comedy Mary-Louise Parker (2005, 2007, 2008); Best Performance by a TV Supporting Actor Justin Kirk (2007)
Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Mary-Louise Parker (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009); Ensemble In A Comedy Series (2007, 2009)
Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Series-Comedy Elizabeth Perkins (2005); Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series, or TV Movie Elizabeth Perkins(2006); Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical Mary-Louise Parker (2006, 2008); Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie Justin Kirk (2007); Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical (2007, 2008)
Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Elizabeth Perkins (2006, 2007, 2009); Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Craig Zisk, for the episode Good Shit Lollipop (2006); Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (2006, 2007); Outstanding Main Title Design (2006); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, for the episode Good Shit Lollipop (2006); Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Mary-Louise Parker (2007, 2008, 2009); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, for the episode Mrs. Botwin's Neighborhood (2007); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, for the episode Crush Girl Love Panic (2007); Outstanding Comedy Series (2009)