Showtime Continues To Rake In The Viewers

Much is to be said about Showtime's continued success, versus, HBO's continuing declining years. Not one new hit show in years, with a pile of flops that include the Lisa Kudrow comedy, The Comeback, and the pornographic, Tell Me You Love Me, which received the lowest amount of viewers for any HBO original series in the network's history. More, and more, former HBO stars are leaving the network for Showtime. That lists includes Michael C. Hall, and now Eddie Falco, amongst others. Included in this line-up, is Tracey, herself, who had a 14-year relationship with the Home Box Office, and was one of the original players who kicked started HBO's original programming gamble, making it a success. When the announcement was made that she was leaving HBO for Showtime, TV Guide criticized the network's decision for letting one of it's most prominent and bankable stars go. This was also in the wake of the continuous flops that the channel was piling up. Things continue to look bleak for the cable premium network provider, with still not a hit series after the conclusion of it's hit series, The Sopranos. With shows like Weeds, Californication, The Tudors, and Dexter, Showtime continues to hit it out of the park.

Showtime president, Robert Greenblatt, who was one of Tracey's main incentives for leaving HBO, has been quoted in this new article, entitled, Pay Players' Hit List:

Showtime this year scored a new series, State of the Union, with comedienne Tracey Ullman, whose 14-year association with HBO included the award-winning series, Tracey Takes On.

“I know Tracey made a great splash on HBO, but I go back to the original Tracey Ullman Show which was on Fox when I was at Fox,” said Greenblatt who was a development executive there at the time. “So I’ve loved her for 15 years. She’s just in a class by herself in terms of doing these multiple characters, and the fact that she wanted to do another show at all was great, and we were thrilled that she wanted to come to Showtime.”

The Ullman project is scheduled to premiere March 30, following The Tudors second season premiere, at 10 p.m.