Weeds is an
American comedy-drama television series created by
Jenji Kohan, produced by
Lionsgate Television for the
Showtime network.
The plot revolves around a widowed housewife (
Mary-Louise Parker) from an affluent California suburb who becomes her neighborhood's
marijuana dealer to make ends meet. The title is a play on words, referring to both the slang term for marijuana and
widow's weeds, it also refers to the tendency of American suburbs to grow quickly and pervasively, with the dwellings and their residents being almost as indistinguishable as weeds; this is mirrored in the show's theme song "
Little Boxes" and opening credits, and is a recurring theme of the show itself. The theme song changes in the second season. The change consists of a different version every week.
Weeds currently comprises five seasons that began airing in August 2005. It was the highest rated series for Showtime its first year; its fourth-season premiere attracted 1.3 million viewers to Showtime, the channel's highest-ever viewership; the season as a whole averaged 962,000 viewers. Showtime announced on July 18, 2008 that two more seasons of thirteen episodes each will be produced.
