Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody (David Duchovny), is a troubled novelist whose move to California coupled with his writer’s block complicate his relationships with his ex-girlfriend Karen and daughter Becca, and was based off of the life of Michael Farrell. Californication’s other main characters are Karen van der Beek (Natascha McElhone), Rebecca “Becca” Moody (Madeleine Martin), Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler), Marcy Runkle (Pamela Adlon), and Mia Cross (Madeline Zima). The show has been nominated and won several awards including winning one Emmy Award (nominated for two others) and one Golden Globe Award (nominated for three others). Californication has aired for two seasons. The third season began airing on September 27, 2009 and received a 57% increase in ratings. Due to this rating spike, the show has been renewed early for a fourth season, Showtime announced.

Watch Californication Episodes

Series overview

The series revolves around Hank Moody, a charming ladies’ man of a writer and novelist plagued by personal demons. He blames his years-long case of writer’s block on a variety of reasons, ranging from the hedonism of Los Angeles, to his girlfriend Karen leaving him. Hank constantly deals with the consequences of his lack of will to say “no” to available drugs, sex and alcohol, while trying to show his family that he can be a good, responsible caring father to Becca and a monogamous partner to Karen.

The show was renewed for a second season on September 7, 2007. The season 1 finale, titled “The Last Waltz”, originally aired on Showtime on October 29, 2007. Season 2 began filming in April 2008, and was underway as of June 2008. The premiere episode of season 2 aired September 28, 2008. The first season was released on DVD in the US on June 17, 2008. Showtime has renewed Californication for a third season, which premiered on Sunday September 27 at 10PM.

Watch Californication Episodes Season One

The first season of Californication premiered August 13, 2007 and ended October 29, 2007. The season followed Hank and the other main characters in the months leading up to Karen’s planned marriage to Bill, a Los Angeles publisher. Hank is wallowing deep in self-loathing following the release of A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which he perceives as a low-quality (yet commercially popular) movie adaptation of his most recent novel, God Hates Us All.

After picking up a younger woman in a bookstore and eventually having sex with her, Hank finds out that she is actually Bill’s 16-year-old daughter, Mia. Hank spends most of his time drinking and not writing. Meanwhile, Mia continues to harass Hank during his visits to his family; she uses the threat of exposing his illegal sex with her as leverage to extort stories from him (that she passes off as her own) for her high school creative-writing class. The death of Hank’s father triggers an alcohol-fueled binge and a sexual encounter with Karen.

After his father’s funeral, Hank stays in New York to finish a manuscript for a new novella. However, upon returning to L.A., he believes the original copy to be lost when he is carjacked. Mia, however, had previously copied the original, and takes credit for it herself. On Karen and Bill’s wedding day, Hank chooses to accept the way things are; but, as he leaves the reception with his daughter Becca, Karen runs out and jumps into his car, presumably to re-start their life together.

Watch Californication Episodes Season Two

The second season of Californication premiered September 28, 2008, and ended December 14, 2008. The newly reunited couple of Hank and Karen seems to be working out, their house is on the market, and Becca seems happy again. Hank gets a vasectomy and attends a party invited by Sonja, a woman with whom Hank had sex in the first season. A mistake and a fight with an obnoxious police officer lands Hank in jail, where he meets Lew Ashby, world-famous record producer, who commissions Hank to write his biography.

Charlie loses his job due to masturbating in his office several times and becomes the paternal figure and agent of a porn star named Daisy. Charlie decides to get into the porn industry and finances the porn movie Vaginatown, starring Daisy. Marcy goes into rehab for her cocaine addiction and Charlie starts an affair with Daisy. Hank proposes to Karen on the night that they discover that Hank could be the father of Sonja’s child. Karen says no after hearing the news about Sonja’s baby, and Karen decides that she and Hank can’t be together, leading Hank to go back to his old ways and continuing the show’s centrality on clandestine sexuality.

Hank moves in with Ashby, who starts a romance with Mia (much to Hank’s dismay). Becca finds a boyfriend named Damien. Mia’s book becomes a hit and Ashby holds a party in its honor, where Damien cheats on Becca and Charlie decides to divorce Marcy to get together with Daisy. After the party, Hank sees that Ashby’s old girlfriend (The one that got away) has finally showed up to see Lew. When Hank goes upstairs to get him, Ashby dies after snorting heroin, which he had mistaken for cocaine.

Hank finishes Ashby’s biography. Charlie ends up working in a BMW dealership in the Valley. Sonja’s baby is born and turns out to be black, making it clear that Hank cannot be the father. Hank and Karen are slowly starting to get together again. Karen then gets offered a job in New York and Hank is happy to go back to New York with her, but when Damien apologizes to Becca and the two get back together again, Hank decides it would be wrong to take Becca out of Los Angeles. He decides to stay, while Karen starts her job in New York. The season closes with Karen’s plane leaving for New York and Hank and Becca walking on the Venice boardwalk.

Watch Californication Episodes Season Three

The third season of Californication premiered September 27, 2009 on Showtime. This season will follow where season two ended, with the key elements including Hank becoming a teacher, his ongoing relationship with his daughter Becca, and the various shenanigans he gets into when he is let loose on a college campus.

The third season will also move the focus of Hank’s relationship with Becca from friendly to inherently more moody as she progresses through her teenage years. Hank will battle his inability as a father as he watches his daughter become more like him than he wanted. This will be mixed with various mini relationships with women of differing ages that complicate his relationship with his long time love Karen.