Showtime adds Bryan Cranston drama, returns 'The L Word,' renews 'Shameless,' ends 'Homeland'
PASADENA, Calif. – Showtime is making moves.
Among a flurry of announcements at the Television Critics Association Thursday, the premium-cable network formally confirmed plans for a 10th season of "Shameless," despite the departure of breakout star Emmy Rossum, that's due this fall. The show, about a dysfunctional Chicago family, is the network's top-rated and longest-running series.
It's also planning another revival, this time of cult fave "The L Word," about a group of lesbian friends in Los Angeles that first aired from 2004-09. Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig and Leisha Hailey, original stars of the series, will reprise their roles and be joined by a new group of characters in the eight-episode sequel. Showtime expects to air it late this year.
Also due: "Your Honor," a limited-series legal thriller set in New Orleans that stars Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") as "a respected judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices," the network says. Robert and Michelle King ("The Good Wife") and Peter Moffat ("The Night Of") are among the producers of the 10-episode project. Cranston will begin work following his Broadway run on "Network."
But Showtime also confirmed plans to say farewell to two long-running series: "Homeland," the spy thriller starring Claire Danes as a troubled CIA agent, will end after its upcoming eighth season, now delayed until fall as producers seek a new setting. And drama "The Affair" will wrap it up after a fifth season.
Other newly announced return dates: "Billions" will begin its fourth season on March 17, and "The Chi" starts its second on April 7.
Showtime also showed off a trailer and first look of Russell Crowe's transformation into Fox News founder Roger Ailes, who died in 2017, for upcoming miniseries "The Loudest Voice."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Showtime adds Bryan Cranston drama, returns 'The L Word,' renews 'Shameless,' ends 'Homeland'
