Release

SHOWTIME ANNOUNCES FALL COMEDY SLATE

SETS PREMIERE DATES FOR NEW SEASON OF SHAMELESS AND NEW SERIES WHITE FAMOUS AND SMILF

WHITE FAMOUS, Starring Jay Pharoah And Executive Produced by Jamie Foxx, To Debut On October 15

SMILF, Based On Frankie Shaw’s Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-Winning Short Film, To Bow On November 5,
After Season Premiere Of SHAMELESS

LOS ANGELES – August 7, 2017 – SHOWTIME has announced the premiere dates for its fall comedy slate, including two new half-hour comedy series and the return of the hit hour-long comedy SHAMELESS. WHITE FAMOUS – starring Jay Pharoah (Saturday Night Live) and based on the personal experiences of Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx – will debut Sunday, October 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, airing after the hit drama series RAY DONOVAN. SMILF – starring Frankie Shaw (Mr. Robot) and based on her Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film of the same name – will launch Sunday, November 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following the 9 p.m. ET/PT season eight premiere that night of the hit series SHAMELESS. On November 5, WHITE FAMOUS will move to 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

For a special premiere date announcement from the cast of SHAMELESS, go to https://youtu.be/7bpctLtVGug. For a first look at WHITE FAMOUS, visit: https://youtu.be/MuhLVZ22mi0. For a first look at SMILF, go to: https://youtu.be/8r_AFiC_Lak

In WHITE FAMOUS, Jay Pharoah plays talented young comedian Floyd Mooney, whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross over into the world of becoming “white famous.” A co-production of Lionsgate Television and SHOWTIME, WHITE FAMOUS is a collaboration between writer and showrunner Tom Kapinos (CALIFORNICATION), who will executive produce, and Foxx, who will executive produce and guest star in a recurring role. Tim Story, the prolific director who helmed the movie franchises Barbershop, Ride Along and Think Like A Man, will executive produce and direct the pilot. Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project) plays Malcolm, Floyd's frustrated agent who wants his client to do whatever it takes to make it big. Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man on Earth) plays Floyd’s ex-girlfriend Sadie, the love of his life and the mother of his son, played by Lonnie Chavis (This is Us). Jacob Ming-Trent (Feed the Beast) stars as Ron Balls, Floyd’s roommate – in the middle of the chaos, he remains the voice of reason. Stephen Tobolowsky (The Goldbergs) guest stars in the series’ pilot. Additional guest stars this season will include Meagan Good, Jack Davenport, Michael Rapaport, Kendrick Sampson, Lyndon Smith and Natalie Zea.

SMILF will take a raw and honest comedic look at a single, 20-something from Southie, Bridgette (Frankie Shaw), whose desires for relationships, sex, and a career collide with the realities of young, single motherhood. Adapting her Sundance Film Festival Jury award-winning short film, Shaw will star, write, produce and direct the semi-autobiographical comedy, with Oscar® nominee Michael London (Sideways), Emmy® nominees Janice Williams (Confirmation), Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Bad Teacher), and Scott King (Difficult People) executive producing. Multiple Emmy winner Rosie O’Donnell will co-star in her first series regular TV role as Tutu, Bridgette’s prideful Southie mother who lives by her own set of rules. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios as a co-production with Showtime.  

In SHAMELESS, Golden Globe® nominee Emmy Rossum stars opposite William H. Macy, nominated for four consecutive Emmy Awards and winner of the 2017 Screen Actors Guild® Award for his role as Frank Gallagher. Rossum plays Fiona, the eldest of six fierce and independent Gallagher kids who support each other while absentee father, Frank, spends his time scheming his way around the South Side of Chicago. Season eight finds the Gallaghers on an upswing – Frank comes out of a drug-induced haze and decides it’s finally time to be a contributing member of society, while Fiona faces hard decisions when she discovers her success as a landlord may mean someone else’s misfortune. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) struggles with unexpected sacrifices he must make to stay sober, while Ian (Cameron Monaghan) takes up a cause in hopes of getting back with Trevor. Debbie (Emma Kenney) builds her future at welding school while juggling life as a single working mom, as Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) gets creative finding tuition money after he loses his scholarship. Meanwhile, Liam (Christian Isaiah) discovers just how different the Gallaghers are from the families of his rich classmates as Frank schools him on “sticking it to the man.”  This season of SHAMELESS features new recurring guest stars Jessica Szohr as Fiona’s tenant, Nessa, and Farah Tahir as Frank’s new boss, Adeeb. Season eight also welcomes back returning recurring guest stars Elliot Fletcher as Trevor, Ruby Modine as Sierra and Scott Michael Campbell as Brad. Created by Paul Abbott, the series is produced by Bonanza Productions in association with John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television. SHAMELESS is executive produced by John Wells, Nancy M. Pimental, Christopher Chulack, Krista Vernoff, Etan Frankel and Sheila Callaghan.

SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon, Google, Xbox One and Samsung at www.showtime.com/samsung. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Sony PlayStation® Vue and Amazon Channels. The network’s authentication service, Showtime Anytime, is available at no additional cost to SHOWTIME customers who subscribe to the network through participating providers. Subscribers can also watch on their computers at www.showtime.com and www.showtimeanytime.com.

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CONTACTS:

For WHITE FAMOUS:
Jackie Ioachim                                          Frank Marchesini

212-708-1220                                            310-234-5342

jackie.ioachim@showtime.net                  frank.marchesini@showtime.net           

 

For SMILF

Chloe Comins                                           Morgan Fouch

617-505-5304                                           310-234-5219

chloe.comins@showtime.net                    morgan.fouch@showtime.net

 

For SHAMELESS

Frank Marchesini                                      Chloe Comins                                          Cassidy Aquino

310-234-5342                                          617-505-5304                                           212-708-1392

frank.marchesini@showtime.net              chloe.comins@showtime.net                             cassidy.aquino@showtime.net

 

 

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