Californication is a television series created and executive produced by Tom Kapinos, which debuted on Showtime on August 13, 2007 in the United States. It stars David Duchovny as Hank Moody, a famous writer undergoing a mid-life crisis whilst trying to negotiate an uneasy relationship with his longtime girlfriend and connect with his teenage daughter.
As of March 27, 2011[update], a total of 48 episodes of Californication have aired, concluding the fourth season.
Contents |
| Seasons | Episodes | Premiere | Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | August 13, 2007 | October 29, 2007 | |
| 2 | September 28, 2008 | December 14, 2008 | ||
| 3 | September 27, 2009 | December 13, 2009 | ||
| 4 | January 9, 2011 | March 27, 2011 | ||
| 5 | January 8, 2012[1] | March 25, 2012 | ||
The first season of Californication premiered August 11, 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 sub-par yet popular movie adaptation to his most recent novel, God Hates Us All.
After picking up a younger woman in a bookstore, 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 haunt Hank during his visits to his family, using the threat of exposing his statutory rape of her to steal stories for her creative writing class. The death of his father triggers an alcohol fuelled binge and an eventual sexual encounter with Karen.
After his father's funeral, Hank stays in New York to finish a manuscript for a new novella. However, when Hank returns to LA, the original copy is lost when he is carjacked. Mia however has retained her own copy, and chooses to pass the work off as her own. 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 the car, riding into a new life together.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Stephen Hopkins | Tom Kapinos | August 13, 2007 |
| We meet 40ish year old Hank Moody (David Duchovny) in a church asking Jesus to help him get his life back on track. He is then distracted by a hot nun, which turns out to be a dream that is representative of his lifestyle. Sex-addicted Hank sleeps with many women, including a woman who is cheating on her enraged and muscular husband - and Mia (Madeline Zima), a 16-year-old girl (Hank assumes she is older). Moody also has to interact with ex-girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) whom he still loves. They share the custody of their 12-year-old daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) who is wise beyond her years. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Hell-A Woman" | Scott Winant | Tom Kapinos | August 20, 2007 |
| Becca invites Hank to her Mom and Bill's (Damian Young) house for a dinner party with some mutual friends. After he arrives, however, he realizes that Karen has planned a little setup for Hank with her scientologist friend Sonja (Paula Marshall), which doesn't thrill Hank all that much. But, Hank gets a nice laugh out of it after the rest of the party people walk in on him and Sonja in the bedroom. Hank also gets a little news about the job he recently accepted. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Whore of Babylon" | Scott Winant | Tom Kapinos | August 27, 2007 |
| Hank and Todd Carr (Chris Williams), the director of "A Crazy Little Thing Called Love", the movie adaptation of Hank's book, start a fight, after which Hank ends up in jail. Bill bails him out and Hank finds a new connection to Meredith (Amy Price-Francis). Charlie (Evan Handler) learns about a different side of his assistant Dani (Rachel Miner). | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Fear and Loathing at the Fundraiser" | Michael Lembeck | Daisy Gardner | September 3, 2007 |
| Meredith convinces Hank to escort her to an environmental fundraiser. Coincidentally Bill and Karen are at the same event, where Karen makes a scene, and Hank runs into Dani and Charlie while they are in his office. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "LOL" | Bart Freundlich | Susan McMartin | September 10, 2007 |
| Bill asks Hank to step in as a guest speaker at Mia's creative writing class. Hank talks about his writing and motivations on a radio interview. Becca develops a crush on her guitar teacher Dave (Joaquin Pastor), but he ends up with Mia. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder" | Ken Whittingham | Tom Kapinos & Eric Weinberg | September 17, 2007 |
| Hank spends the night with a sexy surfer girl (Michelle Lombardo) and in return she robs him. Mia wants more of Hank's writing to pass her class, instead he offers to help her with her writing. Charlie wants to spice up the sex life with his wife Marcy (Pamela Adlon), but she is not as fond of spanking as Dani is. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Girls, Interrupted" | Tucker Gates | Gina Fattore | September 24, 2007 |
| Hank is disturbed by Becca's negative reaction towards the concept of happy endings, even more so when he finds out that it is partially his fault. Marcy comes up with the idea of a threesome with Charlie and Dani, but it ends unexpectedly. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "California Son" | Scott Winant | Tom Kapinos | October 1, 2007 |
| Hank's father Al (Mark Margolis) dies, so Hank tries to ease his pain with a hooker named Trixie (Judy Greer). However, Karen does her best to help him overcome the pain. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Filthy Lucre" | Scott Burns | Ildy Modrovich | October 8, 2007 |
| After the funeral of Hank's father Al, Hank comes back to L.A. with a new manuscript, that he wants Karen to read. After receiving a bonus paycheck, he buys a new car for himself and a new guitar for Becca. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Devil's Threesome" | John Dahl | Tom Kapinos | October 15, 2007 |
| A new threesome including Hank and Charlie evolves from a meeting at the gym, while Karen and Marcy have a girls' night out at which they decide to surprise Hank and Charlie. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "Turn the Page" | David Von Ancken | Gina Fattore & Eric Weinberg | October 22, 2007 |
| Charlie and Dani represent Mia after she wrote a book that seems to have come out of Hank's feather. Becca decides to move out of Bill and Karen's home to live with her dad Hank. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Last Waltz" | Scott Winant | Tom Kapinos | October 29, 2007 |
| In the season finale, Hank has to deal with Karen's wedding and Becca's first period. | |||||
The second season of Californication premiered September 28, 2008, and ended December 14, 2008. The newly reunited couple of Hank and Karen is seeming to work 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 Hank had sex with 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. He commissions Hank to write his biography.
Charlie loses his job due to masturbating in his office several different 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 Hank decides that they can no longer be together.
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 and when Hank goes upstairs to get him, Ashby dies of an overdose of 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 half 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.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Slip of the Tongue" | David Duchovny | Tom Kapinos | September 28, 2008 |
| Hank and Karen decide to move back to New York, so they try to sell their house in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Karen persuades Hank to get a vasectomy. | |||||
| 14 | 2 | "The Great Ashby" | David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | October 5, 2008 |
| After Hank is arrested by the police and sent to jail, he meets record producer Lew Ashby (Callum Keith Rennie), who asks Hank to write his biography, and Charlie is fired after videos of him masturbating in the office are shown to his boss. | |||||
| 15 | 3 | "No Way to Treat a Lady" | John Dahl | Gina Fattore | October 12, 2008 |
| A prostitute who is acquainted with Ashby and Hank claims that Hank is better in bed. Karen comes under the spell of a self-help guru. Charlie pitches himself as an agent, and wants to help Daisy with her porn career. | |||||
| 16 | 4 | "The Raw & the Cooked" | David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | October 19, 2008 |
| A botched proposal, a paternity revelation and an allergic reaction to sushi derail Hank and Karen's dinner party. | |||||
| 17 | 5 | "Vaginatown" | Ken Whittingham | Jay Dyer | October 26, 2008 |
| Hank moves into Lew's mansion, and he sleeps with a cooking show host. Charlie becomes a major investor in his newest client's upcoming adult film. | |||||
| 18 | 6 | "Coke Dick & First Kick" | Michael Lehmann | Gina Fattore & Gabriel Roth | November 2, 2008 |
| Hank wants to locate Lew's long-lost first love. Sonja and Julian decide to have an open relationship. Mia spends the day being followed by a Rolling Stone reporter. Charlie's house becomes a set. | |||||
| 19 | 7 | "In a Lonely Place" | Jake Kasdan | Tom Kapinos | November 9, 2008 |
| Hank becomes interested in Becca's teacher. Charlie discovers that Marcy has been hiding a secret. | |||||
| 20 | 8 | "Going Down and Out in Beverly Hills" | Danny Ducovny | Daisy Gardner | November 16, 2008 |
| Hank tries to get the truth about Ashby, and Karen confronts the record producer. Marcy detoxes at her mother's house. Charlie succumbs to temptation. | |||||
| 21 | 9 | "La Ronde" | Adam Bernstein | Gina Fattore | November 23, 2008 |
| Hank declines an offer. Karen goes on a date with Ashby. Charlie and Daisy bond. Marcy remains on the mend. | |||||
| 22 | 10 | "In Utero" | David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | November 30, 2008 |
| Hank awaits test results and reflects on his early days with Karen. Daisy plans to move out. | |||||
| 23 | 11 | "Blues from Laurel Canyon" | Michael Lehmann | Gina Fattore | December 7, 2008 |
| Ashby hosts a party to celebrate the publication of Mia's book; Becca is devastated to catch Damien cheating on her. Charlie destroys his marriage. Ashby collapses at a most inopportune time. Guest appearance by Mädchen Amick. | |||||
| 24 | 12 | "La Petite Mort" | Bart Freundlich | Tom Kapinos | December 14, 2008 |
| Hank completes his biography of Ashby; Charlie is reduced to working at a car dealership; Sonja gives birth; Karen accepts a job offer back home in New York, forcing Hank and Becca to make painful choices. | |||||
The third season of Californication premiered September 27, 2009, and ended December 13, 2009.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Wish You Were Here" | David Duchovny | Tom Kapinos | September 27, 2009 |
| With Karen having moved back to New York, Hank has to deal with rebellious Becca. Charlie and Marcy move back in together despite the fact they still intend to divorce each other. | |||||
| 26 | 2 | "The Land of Rape and Honey" | Bart Freundlich & David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | October 4, 2009 |
| Hank starts work as a college professor of a writing class and gets into trouble with an unexpected admirer, while Charlie deals with Marcy's romantic life and her new boyfriend. | |||||
| 27 | 3 | "Verities & Balderdash" | David Von Ancken | Gina Fattore | October 11, 2009 |
| Hank and Becca attend the annual English Department Fall Mixer hosted by Dean Koons and wife Felicia. Charlie tries to coax Marcy into celebrating his first signing at the new agency, teen idol Rick Springfield. | |||||
| 28 | 4 | "Zoso" | Bart Freundlich | Tom Kapinos | October 18, 2009 |
| Hank has problems with Becca's decidedly adult fashion sense and feels the need to address the issue; Hank and Charlie head to a strip joint to scope out a student who may be moonlighting there. | |||||
| 29 | 5 | "Slow Happy Boys" | David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | October 25, 2009 |
| Becca pays Karen a visit in New York for the weekend and Hank is left on his own, until his old friend Mike Zlosowski (Kevin Corrigan) from Long Island shows up. Together, the two have a great time at Sue Collini's party. In the meantime, the revelation of a secret abruptly interrupts Charlie and Marcy's regained sex life. | |||||
| 30 | 6 | "Glass Houses" | Michael Lehmann | Gina Fattore | November 1, 2009 |
| With Karen visiting Los Angeles, Hank has to deal with her finding out about his affairs, and her plan to move the family to New York. Meanwhile, Charlie has to deal with Marcy's crush on Rick, especially when he is invited to dinner. | |||||
| 31 | 7 | "So Here's the Thing..." | John Dahl | Daisy Gardner | November 8, 2009 |
| Hank's attempts to set things right with Karen lead to even deeper entanglements with the campus ladies. In the meantime, Charlie tries to prevent Sue's top client from leaving the agency and Becca scolds Hank for being a terrible role model for her. | |||||
| 32 | 8 | "The Apartment" | Adam Bernstein | Tom Kapinos | November 15, 2009 |
| Hank has a Skype video chat with Karen but gets disconnected, then opens his door to Jackie, two strippers and a bottle of liquor. The next morning, one of the stripper girls remains unconscious. When Charlie shows up with Rick, they first try to help, but make things worse. Finally, Jill, Felicia, Stacy, Chelsea and Becca show up, making the situation too complicated for Hank to handle. | |||||
| 33 | 9 | "Mr. Bad Example" | John Dahl | Gina Fattore & Matt Patterson | November 22, 2009 |
| After the revelations of his affairs, Hank expects to be fired from campus, but Dean Koons tells him otherwise. They are both contacted by the principal of Becca's and Chelsea's school, who tells them their girls had a physical confrontation with each other and results in both girls being expelled. When the parents meet at the principal's office, one of those affairs is revealed to Karen. Meanwhile, Charlie risks his job trying to hold Marcy off drug addict Rick. | |||||
| 34 | 10 | "Dogtown" | Seith Mann | Tom Kapinos & Gina Fattore | November 29, 2009 |
| When Charlie loses his job, Hank takes him out on the town. Meanwhile, Karen, Becca and Marcy have a girl's night out. Hank and Charlie steal one of Hank's autographed books from a book store and have a near-fatal run in with two robbers at a liquor store. | |||||
| 35 | 11 | "Comings & Goings" | David Von Ancken | Gina Fattore & Daisy Gardner | December 6, 2009 |
| On the eve of leaving for New York, Karen, Becca and Hank are invited to a final lunch with Felicia. Dean Koons arrives during the proceedings, intent on challenging Hank to a duel. Meanwhile Charlie and Marcy are optimistic about a possible offer on the house. | |||||
| 36 | 12 | "Mia Culpa" | Stephen Hopkins | Tom Kapinos | December 13, 2009 |
| Just when Hank, Karen and Becca are packing for their move to New York, Mia comes back to town along with a new agent boyfriend who knows about Hank's statutory rape of her. Hank attempts to convince Mia not to tell everyone about their consensual sex and resorts to violence against Mia's boyfriend, Paul Rider (James Frain). After leaving Mia's place, Hank comes clean to Karen about the whole incident. When the police show up, Hank is arrested. Meanwhile, Charlie thinks about having his vasectomy reversed, but Marcy seems to want the divorce to become final. | |||||
The fourth season premiered on 9 January 2011 and concluded on 27 March 2011.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "Exile on Main St." | David Von Ancken | Tom Kapinos | January 9, 2011 | 1.12[2] |
| Just as Hank is released from a 72 hour jail period for assault he is picked up by Charlie and dragged off to show the recent events of F&P with Mia becoming public and dropped into a meeting with the young actress Sasha Bingham, that wants to capitalize on the publicity and make a movie out of F&P, with whom he later re-enacts F&P in her hotel room. The episode ends with Hank hearing from his lawyer that the assault charges have been dropped and he is then arrested for statutory rape. | ||||||
| 38 | 2 | "Suicide Solution" | David Duchovny | Tom Kapinos | January 16, 2011 | 0.55[3] |
| Hank is told he faces three years in prison because the DA wants to make an example of him. Hank tries to fix things with Becca. The episode ends as Hank high on drugs and liquor writes a letter to Becca and then passes out. | ||||||
| 39 | 3 | "Home Sweet Home" | Adam Bernstein | Tom Kapinos | January 23, 2011 | 0.43[4] |
| Hank takes advantage of the misperception that he tried to commit suicide and moves back home with Karen and Becca, but he eventually tells his daughter the truth; Charlie sets out to reach a sexual benchmark while a wealthy producer pursues Marcy. | ||||||
| 40 | 4 | "Monkey Business" | Bart Freundlich | Gabe Roth & Matt Patterson | January 30, 2011 | 0.64[5] |
| Hank, Runkle and the rest of the guys from the film-project group have dinner with an important investor. Afterwards when they go to the investor's house, things get complicated when Runkle accidentally kills the investor's pet monkey. The investor dies from an erotic act. | ||||||
| 41 | 5 | "Freeze-Frame" | Beth McCarthy Miller | Tom Kapinos | February 6, 2011 | 0.42[6] |
| Mia testifies for Hank's case, going on the record that she slept with Hank knowing that he was unaware of her age. Charlie gets unexpected news and learns his vasectomy may have been botched. Karen starts dating a new guy. Hank, Sasha, and Mia get to know each other a bit better. | ||||||
| 42 | 6 | "Lawyers, Guns and Money" | John Dahl | Vanessa Reisen | February 13, 2011 | 0.52[7] |
| A sensational photo derails Hank's case; Karen resuscitates Hank's relationship with Abby. | ||||||
| 43 | 7 | "The Recused" | Michael Weaver | Tom Kapinos | February 20, 2011 | 0.55[8] |
| Abby pitches Hank's case to a senior partner; Hank is dismayed by Karen's relationship with Ben; Marcy and Stu ask Charlie for help. | ||||||
| 44 | 8 | "Lights. Camera. Asshole" | Adam Bernstein | Tom Kapinos | February 27, 2011 | 0.51[9] |
| Hank takes a gig rewriting dialogue; Marcy tells Stu she is pregnant. | ||||||
| 45 | 9 | "Another Perfect Day" | Michael Lehmann | Tom Kapinos & Gabe Roth | March 6, 2011 | 0.47[10] |
| After getting evicted, Hank moves in with Karen and Becca; Becca and Pearl steal the Porsche. | ||||||
| 46 | 10 | "The Trial" | Seith Mann | Tom Kapinos | March 13, 2011 | 0.63[11] |
| A nervous Hank discovers that he's got good reason to panic when his trial turns into an all-out character assassination, with even friendly witnesses Charlie and Karen unable to portray him as anything other than a drunken, oversexed lout. It is revealed that Hank and Mia had met before the night they slept together, with Hank not remembering the meeting due to him being in a drunken stupor and Abby becomes nervous the case may be lost. | ||||||
| 47 | 11 | "The Last Supper" | John Dahl | Tom Kapinos | March 20, 2011 | 0.37[12] |
| Hank gets the verdict and briefly considers fleeing Los Angeles. Hank gets the cash from his on-set work rewriting dialogue for Sasha, buys a new Porsche and promptly smashes the right headlight. A party is thrown at Karen's and the four old friends hang out smoking and remembering the good old days. Hank and Trixie hang out again for a little massage. | ||||||
| 48 | 12 | "…And Justice for All" | Adam Bernstein | Tom Kapinos | March 27, 2011 | 0.55[13] |
| Hank awaits sentencing and visits the set of his movie. They all gather for dinner at Stu's place, where Marcy reveals that her baby is Charlie's. Hank almost drowns in the pool but is saved by Ben. | ||||||
The fifth season will premiere on January 8, 2012.[1]
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 1 | "JFK to LAX"[14] | January 8, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 50 | 2 | "The Way of the Fist"[14] | January 15, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 51 | 3 | "Boys & Girls"[14] | January 22, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 52 | 4 | "Waiting for the Miracle"[14] | January 29, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 53 | 5 | "The Ride Along"[14] | February 5, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 54 | 6 | "Love Song"[14] | February 12, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 55 | 7 | "Here I Go Again"[14] | February 19, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 56 | 8 | "Raw"[14] | February 26, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 57 | 9 | "At the Movies"[14] | March 4, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 58 | 10 | "Perverts & Whores"[14] | March 11, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 59 | 11 | "The Party"[14] | March 18, 2012[15] | TBA | ||
| 60 | 12 | "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"[14] | March 25, 2012[15] | TBA |