First up is Californication. No, not the Red Hot Chili Peppers album. This one’s better than that, but so is almost everything else. Except Dave Gahan’s new album, which is crap. Californication tells the story of Hank Moody, a writer with a severe case of writer’s block. He’s written three novels, the latest of which turned out to be such a big hit it got optioned and made into a ghastly romcom starring “Tom and Katie”. Moody hates the director of that crapfest with gusto and the feeling’s mutual, resulting in some rather funny altercations.

Moody is aptly named since he’s… well, quite moody indeed. He’s also horny as hell and bangs at least two to three different women in every episode. Oh yeah, and we get to see their tits. A lot. As the series is shown on Showtime (also known as The New HBO), they don’t have to worry about censorship and the F-Bomb is dropped, along with pants, quite often. It’s not quite Deadwood in that respect, but it’s about 20 F-Bombs per episode closer to Deadwood than anything showing on networks like Fox, ABC or NBC.

Did I mention we get to see a lot of titties? It’s not all good though, since in the first episode we get to see the mammaries of Madeline Zima. No, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with her pair, but she used to play the role of little Grace Sheffield in The Nanny, starring the squeaky-voiced Fran Drescher. Madeline was in her pre-teens in that show, so seeing her all grown up like this is a bit jarring. Well, unless you never watched The Nanny.

Anyhoo. Hank Moody is played by none other than Fo… David Duchovny. He’s pretty much perfect for the role, actually, with his dead-pan delivery and that asshole smirk. The character’s obviously way too clever for his own good and his witty/nasty repartee is constantly getting him into trouble. I’ve watched the first six episodes now and there’s been a number of laughed-out-loud moments in each one. Duchovny is brilliant, the storyline’s quite touching and even realistic at times, and the jokes are usually quite funny, as are the awkward situations Moody finds himself in. It gets a bit sappy and luvvy-duvvy at times, but what can you expect from a show where the main character is trying to get back with his former girlfriend and doing his best not to lose his pre-teen daughter? Keep an eye out for Moody’s agent who gets a bloody hilarious sub-plot of his own.

The second new show I’ve taken a shine to is Life. Damien Lewis plays Charlie Crews, a cop who got life in prison for a crime he did not commit. He served 12 years, getting the living shit kicked out of him almost on a daily basis. Now he’s free and back in the police force as a detective. And is he bitter? Is he mad about his wrongful incarceration? Not really, no. He’s loaded with settlement money, he’s very good in his job and ridiculously charismatic. He’s also bonkers, but in a good way.

Lewis has done excellent job in pretty much everything he’s ever been in, from British costume dramas to Band of Brothers mini-series. He certainly doesn’t disappoint in Life, either. Lewis creates a very interesting character in Charlie Crews; at the same time cold, aloof and detached, but you can tell there’s fire and passion burning behind those cool eyes. For the most part of episode 1 Crews seems to be content with his situation: a man living in the present, a man who’s ready to begin anew; a man who’s forgiven and forgotten. A bit ho-hum, to be honest. And then… the last scene of the episode turned everything upside down. It gave a purpose for the man and the show alike. I won’t spoil it, but it was that scene which made me put Life on my “Can’t wait to see how this story ends” list. Another reason to watch Life? Sarah Shahi. She’s hot.