Weeds Reboot? Original Series Star Elizabeth Perkins Is Interested
The Showtime dark comedy "Weeds," which originally aired from 2005 to 2012, is being eyed for a reboot starring Mary-Louise Parker, who headlined the original series as widow-turned-cannabis magnate Nancy Botwin. Parker is also slated to executive produce the potential new series, which will face some storytelling challenges after a series finale that showed her selling her business to Starbucks in a flash forward to the year 2022.
The series also starred Kevin Nealon as Nancy's accountant Doug Wilson, Justin Kirk as her brother-in-law Andy, and Elizabeth Perkins as her neighbor and frenemy Celia Hodes. Perkins recently told Variety she would be thrilled to join the cast for a "Weeds" revival, although she admitted the plans for a new iteration of the show are less than finalized.
"It's just that— it's talking," Perkins told Variety. "I'd be on board. I loved working with Mary-Louise Parker. I love those two characters together, Nancy and Celia!" Perkins and her fellow "Weeds" cast members have been busy since the series wrapped more than a decade ago, and not every one of them is as enthusiastic about a reboot as Perkins.
Mary-Louise Parker admits a Weeds reboot faces some challenges
Elizabeth Perkins' enthusiasm for a "Weeds" reboot may come in part from the three Emmy nominations she earned for playing Celia Hodes in the original series. But Justin Kirk has expressed some reservations about whether or not a "Weeds" revival could even work, and Mary Louise Parker admits Kirk's concerns are valid.
Parker told MovieWeb that the events of the series finale and the nearly 15 years that have passed since then mean Nancy's story couldn't be picked up and carried forward easily. "I think it would have to be reinvented because, you know, I'm so much older now," she said. "I feel like there's certain things that just don't play in the same way, and I don't know if they would have the same currency. But those characters getting together, maybe there's a way to make that work, and I would certainly love to see those actors again."
Considering the popularity of the original series, a reboot or reimagining should be well-received, especially if Celia and Nancy can resurrect their complex and often hilarious relationship.