Showtime has picked up a third season of “Californication.”
Golden Globe-winning series, which stars David Duchovny as a hedonistic, sexually obsessed novelist struggling to fix his family life and career, will resume production in the spring with 12 episodes slated. Premiere of the third season is set for later in 2009.
Series creator and exec producer Tom Kapinos helms a production that also stars Natascha McElhone and Evan Handler.
Pay cabler will wrap up season two of “Californication” on Dec. 14. Through nine season-two episodes, the series has averaged 2.2 million viewers, factoring in repeat airings and DVR viewing seven days after original air date.
That’s 16% off the pace “Californication” set in its frosh campaign, but that benchmark was set when the series ran behind “Weeds.”
Pickup of “Californication” caps a string of recent renewals for Showtime, with “Dexter,” “Weeds” and “The Tudors” all slated to return in 2009.
