Get Ready To Watch A Lot of Showtime In 2019

You could get away with not having a Showtime subscription before, but that changes in 2019. This year, the shows your friends will be talking about, and the ones you’ll be recommending to others, they’re all streaming on Showtime.

First there are the fan faves: this month alone counts the Season 6 finale of Ray Donovan airing January 13th, and follows that up the next week with the second half of Season 9 of Shameless, the return of SMILF for its second season, and the premiere of the new dark comedy Black Monday.

Let’s talk about this Sunday night lineup. Shameless is the network’s longest-running series ever, one that keeps a lot of viewers around. That it’s heading strong into the second half of its ninth season is no joke. SMILF had an incredibly buzzy first season, lead by creator and star Frankie Shaw and supported by a cast that includes Rosie O’Donnell and Connie Britton. Season 2 continues to excel at telling women’s stories (and their fantasies), and a strong variety of women at that. Despite recent unfortunate misconduct claims against Shaw, this season of SMILF gets to experiment with its storytelling, and with cameos from a major hunk to Stormy Daniels, there’s still plenty that’s sure to keep you watching — and, naturally, get the internet chatting.

Then there’s Black Monday, one of the boldest, darkest, and flat-out funniest comedies the network has seen in some time. While a Wall Street crash might not sound hilarious, know that this one comes from creators David Caspe and Jordan Cahan, and executive producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg. Don Cheadle, Andrew Rannells, Regina Hall, and Paul Scheer are all great (sometimes in very different ways) and with a supporting cast that includes Casey Wilson, Yassir Lester, Horatio Sans, and Ken Marino (x2!), you can expect the LOLs to be trending big time. And, as you’ll see in the first episode, there’s a bit of a mystery to solve, and as you get to know the players, their personal lives come packed with heartfelt (while still wacky) moments that will keep you invested in this show. They’ve wisely put the first episode on YouTube to entice you to sign up for their service, and once you watch this one, it’s going to work.

Because Showtime is partnering with creators and talent that viewers are loyal to, that they’ll happily create an account, add an add-on, or, and this is the important part, simply be willing to pay to see. You know, beyond just using different emails to sign up for the free trial. The greatest proof of this lies in Desus & Mero, the hilarious hosts that left Viceland last year and took their late night show to Showtime, which will premiere February 21 at 11pm ET/PT and air weekly on the network from New York City. The two are a voice in the late night game unlike any other: they’re finding funnier memes on the internet to discuss, they’re asking celebrity guests ballsier questions, and they might be having more fun than anyone else in the process.

Many wonder if these two really have such a dedicated fan base that they’ll follow them over to Showtime, and the only answer to that is, they certainly do more than any other current late night hosts. You know, the ones that serve TV version of melatonin, gently putting viewers to sleep at night, or simply acting as a three-minute YouTube distraction during the workday? With Desus & Mero, it’s nearly impossible to fall asleep while these guys are cackling and cracking each other up. It’s a show, just like their Twitter feeds and podcast, that people search out, and not to zone out. It was a wise investment by Showtime to snatch these two up for their first ever foray into late night TV. Is it going to take a minute for people to catch on, to subscribe, and to get just as hooked as those that are already hip to the art? Sure. But it’s hard to believe it won’t be worth it.

But a venture into late night and catchy comedies isn’t all Showtime has to brag about this year. Still to come is the remake of the Hulu original The Wrong Mans (from co-creator and star James Corden), starring Ben Schwartz and Jillian Bell. The genre blending action comedy, if modeled after the original, ends each episode in a cliffhanger that makes it impossible not to continuing watching, so again, don’t be scrambling to set up your subscription. Along with Season 2 of Kidding with Jim Carrey, Showtime’s also got prestige titles such as the Halo series, based on the video game, City on a Hill, from executive producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and the highly anticipated Roger Ailes project starring Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts. Not too shabby! In fact, it’s a slate of bold, daring, and interesting projects aimed to set Showtime apart from other networks in a lot of good, exciting ways. Have that login handy, y’all.

Where to stream Black Monday