By Jon Hiltz

 

Just as the superhero craze made its way to the big screen and saturated the market with more capes than a vampire convention, marijuana is now the ‘subject du jour’ coming to living room screens everywhere.

One of the new shows getting major buzz stars two-time Oscar nominee and legendary actor John Malkovich.  He will be starring as a ‘pot kingpin’ in the new Sony Television drama series Humboldt.  The show is being executed by the same producers as True Detective and will no doubt turn heads due to the incredible talent and topical subject matter.  The series focuses on a crime family lead by Malkovich that is desperately trying to keep their business alive during the age of legalization.

Sony’s Humboldt is based on a best-selling book by Emily Brady called Humboldt: Life on America’s Marijuana Frontier which focuses on a Northern California community that has existed for 40 years by cultivating and selling world-class marijuana.

Humboldt is not the only ganja-flavored entertainment that is going to hit the airwaves.  Netflix has ordered 20 episodes of a new show that is being created by Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Mom), which will be called Disjointed. The series will star another legendary actor Kathy Bates, who plays a lifelong marijuana advocate living her dream of owning a marijuana dispensary in LA.

Amazon Studios has gotten into the marijuana universe as well, with a series in production called Highland starring comedian and actress Margaret Cho.  In the show, Cho goes through court-ordered rehab and then moves in with her dysfunctional family who now own a pot dispensary.

The great HBO has 6 new episodes of the show High Maintenance premiering on September 16th.  High Maintenance is about a Brooklyn pot dealer and the strange and unique clients in his life. Along with the new eps, HBO is also making the previous 19 episodes available on their channels and HBO Go.

Finally, there is a series in development at NBC, called Buds, that centers around the day-to-day operations of a cannabis dispensary in Colorado.  The show was sold by Adam Scott, who is known for his role on Parks & Recreation and a number of other notable performances in film and television.

Only time (aka: ratings) will determine which of these series will last and which ones will fizzle out, but the fact that so many shows about marijuana are coming is a clear reflection of marijuana normalization and the general population’s interest in our industry.

Happy watching!