During a recent interview, star Mary-Louise Parker confirmed the Weeds reboot's cancellation. Parker starred as Nancy Botwin on all eight seasons of the hit Showtime comedy, which followed a young widow who starts selling marijuana for the good of her family. A potential follow-up was first teased in 2019, with Parker reportedly set to reprise her longtime TV role; however, more than half a decade later, the reboot remains on the back burner.
Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker (who fans may recognize for her recent appearance in CBS's Elsbeth) recently commented on the future of the Showtime series' long-awaited reboot, confirming that it has, in fact, been cancelled and is not moving forward (at least in its current form). This comes after years of radio silence on the project from writer and Parker's executive producing partner Victoria Morrow.
In an exclusive conversation with The Direct while promoting MGM+'s The Institute, Parker pulled the curtain back on what the Weeds reboot would have been and its eventual cancellation. "I thought it was a great idea," the former series star posited, letting slip that its eventual cancellation was "very abrupt:"
"It was going to take place in Copenhagen, and I thought it was a great idea. And it was very abrupt. It almost happened so many times."
She said that this most recent time, the reboot got incredibly close, calling the long lead-up into eventual cancellation "a drag:"
"And the last time it was like, on Thursday, there's going to be a blah, blah meeting for this, and then on Monday, it was cancelled. So it was kind of a long lead up for for that. And it was a drag, because we were excited to to get to work together again, and I wanted to do it."
When asked if she could see the show coming back at some point down the line, Parker remarked, "I hope" but also was aware she doesn't "know how much longer [she] can be on a film set:"
"I hope. I mean, I don't know—grandma's getting to, I don't know, I don't know how much longer I can be on a film set, but you know."
Created by Orange Is the New Black showrunner Jenji Kohan, the original Weeds series ran on Showtime for eight seasons from 2005 to 2012. All eight seasons told the story of Mary-Louise Parker's Nancy Botwin, a widow who resorts to drug dealing to keep her family afloat after her husband's death. The series earned critical acclaim, with Season 1 being Showtime's most-watched series at the time. In 2006, Parker received the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a TV Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
Will the Weeds Reboot Ever Come Back?
Even though the Weeds reboot has been the victim of cancellation this time around, it does not mean it is gone for good. As its leading star, Mary-Louise Parker said, there is still "hope" that the cast and crew can reunite in some form.
Weeds is a big enough name that it is honestly surprising that the revival has had as troubled a road as it has.
From 2005 to 2012, the original series remained a fan favorite among Showtime viewers. Despite falling off critically as the series continued, it remained in the awards season conversation, earning 14 Emmy nominations and one Emmy win (for Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series in 2010).
Other TV hits of the era have managed to come back and debut semi-successful to successful reboots in recent years, with the likes of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory all living on in some form or another.
However, the TV business is not what it once was. The industry into which a Weeds reboot would be released is not anywhere near the same one the show said goodbye to back in 2012. With tightening finances across the business, perhaps a Weeds sequel was seen as not worth the investment.
For now, fans are left to watch reruns of the hit series, with the reboot still waiting in the wings.
Read more about a character's departure in another popular Showtime series, The Chi.
