Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television.[4] The central character is Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a heart attack. Over the course of the show, she and her family become more entangled in illegal activities, which complicate things between the characters involved in the series.
The primary locale of the first three seasons is in the fictional town of Agrestic, California. During seasons four and five, the Botwins reside in the fictional beachside town of Ren Mar, California. During the sixth season, the family relocates to Seattle, Washington before moving to Dearborn, Michigan. In between seasons six and seven, Nancy serves a prison sentence in Danbury prison in Connecticut while her sons and brother-in-law live in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the beginning of season seven, Nancy moves into a recovery house in New York City where she reunites with her family.
Kohan, whose credits include Tracey Takes On..., Mad About You, Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls, is the executive producer of the series alongside Roberto Benabib, of Little City fame.[5][6] Matthew Salsberg and Craig Zisk have joined the production team as executive producers in later seasons.
The show debuted on the Showtime cable network on August 7, 2005, earning the channel's highest ratings, and the debut of the fifth season had 1.3 million viewers. In 2010, TV Guide Network bought the airing rights, providing audiences free of charge.[7] Among the awards the show has received include two Satellite Awards, one Golden Globe Award, Writers Guild of America Award,
The primary locale of the first three seasons is in the fictional town of Agrestic, California. During seasons four and five, the Botwins reside in the fictional beachside town of Ren Mar, California. During the sixth season, the family relocates to Seattle, Washington before moving to Dearborn, Michigan. In between seasons six and seven, Nancy serves a prison sentence in Danbury prison in Connecticut while her sons and brother-in-law live in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the beginning of season seven, Nancy moves into a recovery house in New York City where she reunites with her family.
Kohan, whose credits include Tracey Takes On..., Mad About You, Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls, is the executive producer of the series alongside Roberto Benabib, of Little City fame.[5][6] Matthew Salsberg and Craig Zisk have joined the production team as executive producers in later seasons.
The show debuted on the Showtime cable network on August 7, 2005, earning the channel's highest ratings, and the debut of the fifth season had 1.3 million viewers. In 2010, TV Guide Network bought the airing rights, providing audiences free of charge.[7] Among the awards the show has received include two Satellite Awards, one Golden Globe Award, Writers Guild of America Award,
Young Artist Award, and an Emmy Award.The show is inspired by crime series such as The Shield and The Sopranos[citation needed], in the sense of the antihero serving as the protagonist while retaining their own moral code, which usually goes against the norms of society[citation needed]. The title, according to Kohan, refers "to a lot of things", including marijuana and widow's weeds; however, it mainly alludes to "hardy plants struggling to survive." The basic premise, as illustrated by the lyrics of the opening song from the first three seasons, satirizes how off-color characters struggle with fake suburban reality, in which everything is "all style, no substance".[1][8] According to Kohan, she initially went to pitch the series for HBO and the network dismissed it. Robert Greenblatt invested in the show and Showtime later approved.[9]
The exteriors for the show's first two seasons 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.[10] The name "Stevenson Ranch" was digitally replaced with "Agrestic" initially (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. The shot of the "It's A Grind" coffee shop in the introduction (seasons 1–3) is of an It's A Grind in Castaic, California.[11] The show was originally filmed at Red Studios, previously known as Ren-Mar studios.[12] The show moved to Universal Studios Los Angeles for season 7, and is now mentioned on the studio tour. A version of this Wikipedia page served as the introduction for the season 5 episode titled "Where the Sidewalk Ends".
Jenji Kohan and Roberto Benabib serve as showrunners and production leaders. Kohan is also the head writer as she has written each season's premiere and finale episode. Writer Matthew Salsberg and director Craig Zisk have joined the panel of executive producers in later seasons
The exteriors for the show's first two seasons 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.[10] The name "Stevenson Ranch" was digitally replaced with "Agrestic" initially (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. The shot of the "It's A Grind" coffee shop in the introduction (seasons 1–3) is of an It's A Grind in Castaic, California.[11] The show was originally filmed at Red Studios, previously known as Ren-Mar studios.[12] The show moved to Universal Studios Los Angeles for season 7, and is now mentioned on the studio tour. A version of this Wikipedia page served as the introduction for the season 5 episode titled "Where the Sidewalk Ends".
Jenji Kohan and Roberto Benabib serve as showrunners and production leaders. Kohan is also the head writer as she has written each season's premiere and finale episode. Writer Matthew Salsberg and director Craig Zisk have joined the panel of executive producers in later seasons
