CALIFORNICATION - THE FINAL SEASON
It’s officially our last ride down the storied California coast with the incomparable Hank Moody (David Duchovny). For the past six seasons, we’ve sidled up to the (Mali)bar as trusty wingmen (and women) on all the unforgettable, jaw-dropping sexcapades, threesomes, ménages, and comic mis-adventures. Through countless trysts and turns, we’ve watched as he tried – largely unsuccessfully - to repress his insatiable inner lothario while stoking the flames of his on-/-off again relationship with baby-mother Karen (Natascha McElhone). He was aided (and abetted) by best buddy/agent Charlie (Evan Handler) and his wife irascible Marcy (Pamela Adlon). All this, while being an attentive, protective dad to ever-attuned, irrepressible teenage daughter Becca…and trying to hold down a job (novelist, professor, screenwriter, playwright).
It all began years ago with an innocent misunderstanding – how could Hank have known that the hot brunette one-night-stand was actually Karen’s teenage step-daughter (Madeline Zima)? And every red-blooded male has mistaken their girlfriend’s private parts in a darkened bedroom for another’s at one time, right? And Hank would have been crazy to turn down the wanton pleas of a desperate housewife (Embeth Davidtz) and a willing grad student (Eva Amurri)…it all came to a screeching halt when Hank was charged with statutory rape, but he was saved from the gallows by his sexy lawyer (Carla Gugino). A new career turn as a writer for Samurai Apocalypse’s (RZA) film Santa Monica Cop ultimately led him to the medicated brilliance of unhinged rock icon Atticus Fetch (Tim Minchin), who hired him to turn the screenplay into a stage play and turned him on to love, hope and a little Faith (Maggie Grace)…
When we last saw Hank, he had wisely reconsidered leaving on a jet plane (Air Force 69) with Atticus to instead hop aboard Krull’s (Steve Jones) bike to rekindle the fire with lady love Karen. But will she be waiting on the other end with baited breath and open arms? Not likely. Their happy ending may be mucked up by the re-appearance of old friend Julia (Heather Graham), whose return on the scene may cause an irreversible rift in the Hank/Karen ballad.
But Hank is preoccupied as Santa Monica Cop has now been developed into a television series of the same name and he’s thankfully been hired by old-school producer Rick Rath (Michael Imperioli) to join the writer’s room to help bang out scripts. But Hank’s always been more of a solo act, so having to play nice and share toys in the sandbox is a wholly unfamiliar feat. This new world, where juvenile infighting abounds and more creative energy is spent on the exactness of lunch orders than clever dialogue, may mark Hank’s mental undoing.
The one person banking on Hank’s success is his agent-best friend Charlie, whose prowess in the bedroom with newly reconciled wife Marcy hangs on landing that ten percent commission: the Runkles are broke. But an enticing offer from Marcy’s ex-husband and Santa Monica Cop executive producer Stu (Stephen Tobolowsky), may put the Runkles back in black...but at what cost?
Whether our favorite fornicating foursome will emerge hand-in-hand on the other side is to be determined. True love (lust?) is being tested at every turn and there’s no telling who will ride off into the sunset together or skate solo down the Venice boardwalk. Will our favorite polyamorous Peter Pan finally pack it in for forever fidelity? Or will the siren song of the next great lay cause perpetual, eternal distraction?
In the meantime, let’s pull up a stool at Malibar, order a stiff drink and see how it all unfolds. It’s guaranteed to be a (12-episode) ride of our lives...
SEASON 7
EPISODE SYNOPSES
#701 “LEVON”
Written by: Tom Kapinos
Directed by: David Duchovny
Guest Stars: Michael Imperioli, Oliver Cooper, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jonathan Kasdan, Roger Howarth, Tara Holt
After his short-lived tour with Atticus, Hank Moody (DAVID DUCHOVNY) is eager to reunite with the love of his life, but things don’t go as planned with Karen (NATASCHA MCELHONE). Hank meets with Stu (STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY) and The Director (JONATHAN KASDAN) on the TV adaptation of Santa Monica Cop and gets hired by showrunner Rick Rath (MICHAEL IMPERIOLI). A reporter, Levon (OLIVER COOPER), asks to interview Hank for his college paper. Charlie’s (EVAN HANDLER) performance anxiety leaves Marcy (PAMELA ADLON) wondering what she got herself back into.
#702 “JULIA”
Written by: Tom Kapinos
Directed by: Adam Bernstein
Guest Stars: Michael Imperioli, Oliver Cooper, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chris Titone, John Madison Tye and Heather Graham
Co-Stars: DJ Lubel, Alonzo Bodden, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Jade Catta-Preta, Tara Holt, Michael Keeley
Hank’s (DAVID DUCHOVNY) first day in the Santa Monica Cop writer’s room brings aggravation by his new co-workers. Hank is surprised during a visit to Levon’s (OLIVER COOPER) apartment. Things start looking up for Charlie (EVAN HANDLER) and Marcy (PAMELA ADLON) when he meets Rath’s (MICHAEL IMPERIOLI) new assistant (TARA HOLT). Karen (NATASCHA MCELHONE) gets an unexpected surprise.
BIOS
DAVID DUCHOVNY - Hank Moody / Executive Producer
DAVID DUCHOVNY was born and raised in New York City. He was on the road to earning his Ph.D. in English Literature when he began acting. Subsequently, Duchovny emerged to become one of the most highly acclaimed actors in Hollywood. He will next be seen in the independent feature Louder Than Words in which he stars alongside Hope Davis and Timothy Hutton. In 2012, he starred in the indie film Goats alongside Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips and Ty Burrell and the drama Phantom opposite Ed Harris. For his work in the hit SHOWTIME® series CALIFORNICATION, Duchovny won the Golden Globe® in 2008 for ‘Best Actor in a Comedy Series.’ From 1993-2002, he starred in Fox Television's monster hit The X-Files, which earned him a Golden Globe® Award for ‘Best Actor in a Drama Series’ and two Emmy® nominations for ‘Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series.’ He bats right and throws right.
NATASCHA McELHONE – Karen van der Beek
NATASCHA MCELHONE is currently starring in Trevor Nunn's production of Fatal Attraction at The Theatre Royal Haymarket - her other stage credits include Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Cherry Orchard and Honour at Wyndhams’ Theatre. After leaving drama school Natascha McElhone played the lead in her first film, Merchant Ivory's Surviving Picasso, opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in 1995. She quickly followed this with Peter Weir's film, The Truman Show; Alan J. Pakula's The Devil’s Own, with Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford; and John Frankenheimer's action epic Ronin, in which she co-starred with Robert De Niro. She also played Rosalind to Kenneth Branagh's Berowne in his musical version of William Shakespeare's Love’s Labour’s Lost. In 2003, McElhone co-starred with George Clooney in Steven Soderbergh's futuristic love story, SOLARIS. McElhone starred in TNT's mini-series The Company, a Golden Globe-nominated drama . In 2005, she starred in NBC's Emmy-nominated mini-series, Revelations. McElhone also stars in the children's fantasy film, The Secret of Moonacre Manor, with Ioan Gruffud. She shared the title role in Mrs. Dalloway with Vanessa Redgrave. McElhone's other major film credits include City of Ghosts, with Matt Dillon and Gerard Depardieu; Laurel Canyon, with Christian Bale and Francis McDormand; and Ladies in Lavender, with Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith. She has most recently starred in The Kid and in two other British feature films The Theatre of Dreams with Toby Stephens and Brian Cox and The Sea starring with Rufus Sewell, Ciaran Hinds and Charlotte Rampling both to be released in 2014.
PAMELA ADLON – Marcy Runkle
Raised in both New York and Los Angeles, PAMELA ADLON has been acting since she was 12 years old. She made her film debut in Grease 2 and has since appeared on the big screen in Say Anything, Bed of Roses and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. Additional feature film credits include Sgt. Bilko, Plump Fiction, and Some Girl. She has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for her portrayal of Bobby Hill on Mike Judge’s animated series King of the Hill. She also voiced the role of Vidia in Disney’s Tinkerbell. Adlon has appeared on several episodes of Boston Legal, The Wedding Bells, Head Case, Unscripted and opposite Louis C.K. on Lucky Louie. She also appears on, writes, and produces Louis C.K.’s FX series, Louie.
MADELEINE MARTIN - Becca Moody
MADELEINE MARTIN was born in Manhattan, New York. She began developing her craft of acting at a young age, appearing in the Broadway National Tour of The Sound Of Music at the age of seven. Two years later, she portrayed young Cosette in the Broadway National Tour of Les Miserables. At the age of 10, her passion for Broadway and undeniable talent gave her the opportunity to be the youngest presenter in history at the 2003 Tony Awards. Martin trained at The School of American Ballet from 2001-2008 and danced in the New York City Ballet's performances of Scenes de Ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. In 2009 Madeleine was the recipient of the Marian Seldes' Most Promising Young Performer Award, and The National Youth Theater award in 2008 for her performance as Jean Fordham in the original Broadway Production of the Tony Award Winning August: Osage County. She has also appeared alongside Jeff Goldblum and Billy Crudup in the original Broadway production of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman. In January 2013, Martin starred in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of Picnic, opposite of Ellen Burstyn and Sebastian Stan. In 2012, she completed work with Griffin Dunne on Justin Schwartz's film The Discoverers, a human comedy about a dysfunctional family. Martin can also be seen in the dark comedy, Refuge, written and directed by Jessica Goldberg, also starring Brian Geraghty and Krysten Ritter.
EVAN HANDLER - Charlie Runkle
EVAN HANDLER is an actor, author, screenwriter and journalist with over thirty years of stage, film and TV roles behind him. Prior to his run on CALIFORNICATION, Handler was one of the stars of HBO's seminal TV franchise Sex and the City (playing Harry Goldenblatt, husband of Charlotte York). Additional leading film and TV roles include both Sex and the City feature films, Ron Howard's Ransom, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, Taps, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Three Stooges (ABC TV movie) and It's Like, You Know.... Memorable guest and recurring appearances on acclaimed shows such as Lost, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, 24 and Friends. In 2011, Handler appeared as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in HBO's all-star adaptation of Too Big to Fail, directed by Curtis Hanson. Prior to his screen work, Handler played leading roles in seven Broadway productions, among them the world premiere production of Six Degrees of Separation, I Hate Hamlet, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound and Master Harold...and the Boys. Handler's critically acclaimed first memoir, Time on Fire: My Comedy of Terrors, chronicling his astonishing recovery from acute leukemia over 25 years ago, was published in 1996. His second book, It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive, was published in 2008. Both titles were re-released as e-books in all formats in 2013. He continues to write for national magazines, and to write opinion pieces for Huffington Post. You can learn more at EvanHandler.com and follow him on Twitter @evanhandler.
GUEST STARS
HEATHER GRAHAM – Julia
HEATHER GRAHAM discovered her passion for acting at an early age and caught the attention of filmmakers with her breakout role in Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Graham went on to score unforgettable roles in the 1997 classic Boogie Nights, for which she received the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, 1999's Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and 2009’s The Hangover. Up next she’ll star in Ramin Bahrami’s At Any Price which debuted at the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals in 2012. The Sony Classic Pictures drama premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Graham’s character finds herself caught between her lover, Dennis Quaid, and his son, played by Zac Efron, while coming to terms with her small-town life. Following, Graham reprised her role as Jade in the hit comedy The Hangover III. Graham will co-star in two films out later next year, Compulsion opposite Matt Dillon, and Behaving Badly with an ensemble cast including Selena Gomez and Mary-Louise Parker. Graham has starred in About Cherry, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, and 5 Days of War. She also starred with a stellar ensemble in Emilio Estevez's Bobby, about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, which premiered at the 2006 AFI Film Festival. Throughout her career, Graham has worked with some of the industry's most respected actors and directors. Her performances include that of a doe-eyed girl in Swingers, with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn; an ambitious young actress in Frank Oz's Bowfinger with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy; and the tragic Mary Kelly in Albert and Allen Hughes' From Hell opposite Johnny Depp, as well as roles in The Guru with Marisa Tomei; Hope Springs opposite Colin Firth; Committed with Luke Wilson; Ed Burns' ensemble Sidewalks of New York; James Toback's Two Girls and a Guy with Robert Downey Jr.; Lost in Space with Gary Oldman and William Hurt; and Six Degrees of Separation starring Will Smith. Graham executive produced and starred in the feature film Cake, a romantic comedy also starring Sandra Oh and Cheryl Hines. In 2004-2005, she received rave reviews for her guest starring stint on NBC’s critically acclaimed series Scrubs. On stage, Graham made her theatrical debut off-Broadway in Playwrights Horizons' Recent Tragic Events.
MICHAEL IMPERIOLI – Rath
MICHAEL IMPERIOLI, acclaimed actor, writer and producer, has established a successful career in both television and film. He recently starred in Spike Lee's American remake of the Korean cult classic Oldboy, opposite Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen. His other recent films include the thriller The Call opposite Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, comedy Vijay and I alongside Patricia Arquette, sci-fi thriller The Scribbler, and horror film Foreclosure--all set for release in 2013. On television, he recently starred as the elusive yet tough as nails Detective Louis Fitch on ABC’s police drama Detroit 1-8-7 and Ray Carling on the critically acclaimed drama series, Life on Mars. Imperioli is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on the acclaimed series The Sopranos, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Emmy® Award, five Emmy nominations, as well as numerous Golden Globe and SAG nominations. In addition to his role as a cast member, Imperioli wrote five episodes of the show. He also had a star turn on the right side of the law as a detective in the acclaimed series Law & Order, and was the voice of Frankie in the Academy Award-nominated Shark Tale. The Hungry Ghosts, a New York City-based feature which Imperioli wrote and directed, was released in 2009. In December 2009, he starred in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, based on the bestselling book, opposite Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg. Imperioli first came to the public's attention as Spider in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. In his more than 30 film roles, he has worked with such acclaimed directors as Spike Lee on Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers, Girl 6 and Summer of Sam; the Hughes Brothers on Dead Presidents, Nancy Savoca on Household Saints and Henry Jaglom on the soon to be released The M Word. Other credits include Campbell Scott's Hamlet, Peter Mattei's Love in the Time of Money, Gary Winnick's Sweet Nothing and the comedy My Baby's Daddy. As a writer, Imperioli has done work for Dimension on King Suckerman and penned the screen adaptation of Mario Puzo's Omerta for Miramax. He also wrote and executive-produced Summer of Sam.
TOM KAPINOS – Creator / Executive Producer
TOM KAPINOS began (and nearly ended) his career in television as a writer for the seminal teen drama Dawson's Creek. Toiling in the trenches of the WB Network's flagship show was a lucrative learning experience for Kapinos, who was eventually promoted to Executive Producer and ran the show in its final two seasons. After the demise of Dawson's Creek, he became a virtual shut-in, staying home with his wife and kids and penning a slew of unproduced pilots and screenplays for all of the major networks and studios. Exhausted and disillusioned by much of his mainstream development experience, Kapinos wrote a screenplay solely for his own amusement. It was a dark comedy about a writer who couldn't write. His name was Hank Moody. Hating himself and wanting to die, Kapinos threw the sloppy first draft into the trash can and went right back to writing unproduced pilots for network television. Some time later, his wife reminded him of the screenplay about the writer who couldn't write and how the first half was maybe something special. Loathe to waste even the tiniest morsel of decent writing, Kapinos rescued the dirty life and times of one Hank Moody from the trash can, refashioned the pages into a script for a down and dirty cable pilot, and in doing so, rescued himself from the evil clutches of mainstream television. Much to his surprise, dismay and eventual delight, the script attracted the attention of SHOWTIME®, Stephen Hopkins and David Duchovny. It remains the experience of a lifetime.
CREDITS
CAST
Hank Moody .......................................................................................... DAVID DUCHOVNY
Karen ............................................................................................. NATASCHA McELHONE
Marcy............................................................................................................ PAMELA ADLON
Becca................................................................................................... MADELEINE MARTIN
Charlie......................................................................................................... EVAN HANDLER
GUEST STAR CREDITS
(In Alphabetical Order)
Alonzo..................................................................................................... ALONZO BODDEN
Darrell......................................................................................... DARRELL BRITT-GIBSON
Nikki................................................................................................ BRIGETTE DAVIDOVICI
Jade..................................................................................................... JADE CATTA-PRETA
Levon ........................................................................................................ OLIVER COOPER
Julia...................................................................................................... HEATHER GRAHAM
Stuart............................................................................................................ CAMDEN GRAY
Melanie................................................................................................................ TARA HOLT
Fauxhemian.......................................................................................... ROGER HOWARTH
Rick Rath............................................................................................ MICHAEL IMPERIOLI
Hashtag Black.............................................................................. BRANDON T. JACKSON
Krull................................................................................................................. STEVE JONES
The Director....................................................................................... JONATHAN KASDAN
Eddie Nero........................................................................................................... ROB LOWE
Writer’s PA.............................................................................................................. DJ LUBEL
Amy Taylor Walsh........................................................................... MERCEDES MASOHN
Goldie.............................................................................................. MARY LYNN RAJSKUB
Hugh............................................................................................................... CHRIS TITONE
Stu Beggs.................................................................................. STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY
Terry..................................................................................................... JOHN MADISON TYE
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Created by ...................................................................................................... TOM KAPINOS
Executive Producers .............................................. TOM KAPINOS, DAVID DUCHOVNY
Co-Executive Producers ......................................... MELANIE GREENE, LOU FUSARO
Director of Photography.................................................................................... TIM BELLEN
Production Designer................................................................................ RAY YAMAGATA
Edited by...................... SHANNON MITCHELL, A.C.E., MICHAEL ORNSTEIN, A.C.E.
Music by ....................................................................... TYLER BATES and TREE ADAMS
Produced by ...................................................................................... JOHN H. RADULOVIC
Co-Producer ....................................................................................................... TOM KEEFE
Casting by .................................................................................... FELICIA FASANO, C.S.A.
Music Supervisor.......................................................................................... NORA FELDER
Costume Designer ............................................................................. PEGGY SCHNITZER
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