--- title: "Weeds" year: 2005 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/weeds" fi1m_score: 76 critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-17T00:10:56.966759+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T00:10:57.611666+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Weeds (2005) Created by Jenji Kohan · MPA TV-MA · Comedy, Crime, Drama **Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 74 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* Suburbia sells weed to itself, and somehow the widow is the least corrupt person in the cul-de-sac > Jenji Kohan’s suburban comedy starts as a sharp, unkind and often funny piece about a widow keeping up appearances by dealing to her neighbours. Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins carry it for three seasons; after that it changes shape and thins out. ## Synopsis Agrestic is a new-build suburb outside Los Angeles where the houses match and the mothers run the PTA like a cartel. Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) has just lost her husband Judah to a heart attack, and she has two sons, Silas (Hunter Parrish) and Shane (Alexander Gould), a mortgage and no income. So she sells cannabis. She buys it from Heylia James (Tonye Patano) and Heylia’s nephew Conrad Shepard (Romany Malco), and sells it to neighbours such as Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon), a councilman and accountant. Her friend Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins) polices the cul-de-sac and her own daughter Isabelle (Allie Grant) with equal cruelty. Then Judah’s brother Andy (Justin Kirk) turns up and moves in. ## Review *Weeds* asks what a suburban widow does when the money stops, and answers: she sells cannabis to the people she sees at school pick-up. Jenji Kohan created it, and for its first three seasons it is a sharp, unkind comedy about a place where everyone is pretending and only Nancy Botwin has a good excuse. It ran for eight seasons and 102 episodes between 2005 and 2012, which is more than the idea can bear, and the later years are the reason our score stops where it does. Watch the early run. It is good. Mary-Louise Parker is the reason it is good. Nancy hides behind sunglasses and an iced coffee and says perhaps a third of what she is thinking, and Parker lets the other two thirds cross her face without comment. She never plays Nancy as a heroine or a mess. There is a moment in the first season where Nancy is alone in the kitchen after a day of lies and simply stops moving, and we found it caught us out. Nothing is said. The show has just spent forty minutes being funny about her, and then it lets us see that her husband is dead. Elizabeth Perkins is the other pillar. Celia Hodes is a monster of the PTA, a woman who polices her neighbours and starves her own daughter of anything resembling kindness, and Perkins plays her with a smile that never reaches the eyes. Allie Grant’s Isabelle takes the abuse and gives back deadpan contempt, and their scenes are some of the cruellest comedy on television at the time. We laughed at Celia, and then felt slightly ashamed of ourselves, because Grant makes it clear a child is being hurt. That double feeling is the show at its best. The men are lighter. Kevin Nealon’s Doug is a stoned councilman with a briefcase, and Nealon gets a laugh out of every slow blink. Justin Kirk’s Andy, the brother-in-law who arrives to sponge and stays to help, takes a few episodes to settle, and the show is better once he has. Tonye Patano and Romany Malco, as the suppliers Heylia and Conrad, are the only adults on screen who know what they are doing, and Kohan writes their kitchen as the one place where the truth gets told. The show is franker about race than most suburban comedies of the period, and mostly careful with it. It was not an expensive series and it does not look like one. The light is flat and bright, the interiors look like sets, and the identical houses of Agrestic are shot without much love, which suits the joke. The title sequence sets *Little Boxes* over rows of matching roofs, and from the second season a different artist sings it each week, which is a better idea than it sounds. John Dragonetti’s music is plucked and light and keeps the weight off. Directors rotate, Brian Dannelly, Craig Zisk and Paris Barclay among them, and the episodes look of a piece, which for a series is the compliment it sounds like. The trouble is that Kohan cannot leave a situation alone. Each season ends by knocking over something the last one built, and the show keeps raising the stakes and is a little less funny every time it does. After the third season it moves house more than once, in ways we will not describe, and Nancy’s choices stop belonging to a widow in a bind and start belonging to a writers’ room that needs a cliffhanger. Parker keeps playing the same woman with the same care. The scripts stop deserving her. Most critics landed close to where we have, and the two who were cooler at the start were right that it is more drama than comedy and slow to find its feet. Against *Desperate Housewives*, which got to the poisoned suburb a year earlier, this is the meaner and truer of the two. Against Kohan’s own *Orange Is the New Black*, it is smaller and tighter, and it has the better lead. Start with the first season, which is ten episodes and knows it. Stay for the second and third. When you feel the show begin to reach, stop, and nobody will think less of you. *Fi1m score 76, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like Weeds, and the praise clusters on Mary-Louise Parker. Her widowed suburban mother turned dealer is called tough, witty and believable, and several reviews credit her with keeping the show grounded. The satire of suburbia is the other point of agreement: a witty script that lets real distress show through without turning sentimental, and a refusal to moralise about the drugs. Elizabeth Perkins is singled out alongside Parker, and the roles it writes for women in their forties are noted approvingly. The reservations are about tone. Variety finds it leans towards drama rather than comedy and takes time to find its footing, while The Hollywood Reporter calls it bleaker and less hopeful than its obvious suburban-secrets comparison. The AV Club notes early production values below HBO’s. No review is negative; the spread runs from lukewarm to warm, and the later reviews, written with several series to judge, are the more enthusiastic. ### Reviews we read (7) - **Empire**, William Thomas (85/100, inferred): The series is a brilliant, smart female-centric drama about a suburban widow dealing marijuana after her husband's death. It withholds moral judgment on drugs and excels in its realistic, non-judgmental portrayal of characters and suburbia. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/weeds-season-one-review/) - **The Times**, Joe Joseph (85/100, inferred): Weeds is a clever, beguiling satire of suburban life with a ring of truth and shimmering performances. The critic highlights the witty script that masks genuine human anguish without sentimentality and praises the classy cast and lavish filming. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/weeds-leaves-you-feeling-on-a-high-b2j5q79wxvq) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (B+): The critic praises the show for delivering a caustic black comedy grounded by Mary-Louise Parker's performance as a resourceful suburban mom turned pot dealer, though it starts a bit shaky with production values below HBO standards. They single out Parker's tough, witty portrayal for making the character level-headed and real. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/weeds-1798201795) - **The Guardian**, Richard Vine (80/100, inferred): Weeds is a brilliantly executed dramedy that explores a widowed soccer mom's turn to dealing marijuana. The critic singles out the rich, complex roles it gives to women in their 40s, particularly the performances of Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/apr/30/weeds-review) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Barry Garron (60/100, inferred): Weeds offers a bleaker, less comedic and far less hopeful variation on suburban secrets than Desperate Housewives. The overwhelming theme is a struggle for survival amid hypocrisy and hidden desperation, with some darkly humorous moments. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/weeds-first-episode-2005-review-1132696/) - **Variety**, Brian Lowry (**): The show has much to like, starting with Mary-Louise Parker's performance, but the complete package falls just short of must-buy TV as it leans more toward drama than comedy. It takes time to find its footing with the arrival of Justin Kirk's character. [Read](https://variety.com/2005/film/reviews/weeds-4-1200524160/) - **Collider**, Eli Keel (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the show's ongoing risks with social satire, morality, family, and race while keeping the core story moving briskly without dragging. They note Season 3 is slightly less funny than Season 2 but still highly entertaining and recommend buying the seasons. [Read](https://collider.com/weeds-season-three-dvd-review/) ## Details - **Created by:** Jenji Kohan - **Creator:** Jenji Kohan - **Director:** Craig Zisk, Scott Ellis, Michael Trim, Julie Anne Robinson, Eric Jewett, Paul Feig, Lev L. Spiro, Tucker Gates, Michael Pressman, Ernest R. Dickerson, Brian Dannelly, Perry Lang, Paris Barclay, Adam Bernstein, Lesli Linka Glatter, Bryan Gordon, David Warren, Burr Steers, Martha Coolidge, Robert Berlinger, Tate Donovan, Uta Briesewitz, Lee Rose, Randy Zisk, Bethany Rooney, Phil Abraham, Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman, Chris Long, Christopher Misiano, David Steinberg, Arlene Sanford, Michael Uppendahl - **Writer:** Jenji Kohan, Victoria Morrow, Roberto Benabib, Matt Salsberg, Rolin Jones, Dave Holstein, Stephen Falk, Brendan Kelly, Ron Fitzgerald, Carly Mensch, Devon Shepard, Michael Platt, Shawn Schepps, Vanessa Reisen, Chris Offutt, Blair Singer, Christina Booth, Barry Safchik, Rinne Groff - **Music:** John Dragonetti - **Producer:** Leslie Waldman, Michael Trim, Rolin Jones - **Cast:** Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin; Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes; Allie Grant as Isabelle Hodes; Tonye Patano as Heylia James; Romany Malco as Conrad Shepard; Justin Kirk as Andy Botwin; Hunter Parrish as Silas Botwin; Alexander Gould as Shane Botwin - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 7 August 2005 - **Genres:** Comedy, Crime, Drama ## Where to watch in the US - Paramount+: streaming, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Primetime Emmy Awards 2010: Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series (won) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2009: Outstanding Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated) - SAG Awards 2009: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy 2009: Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (nominated) - Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series 2009: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series (nominated) - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series 2008: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series (nominated) - Golden Globes 2008: Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (nominated) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2008: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 2007: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2007: Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film 2007: Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (nominated) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2006: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (nominated); Outstanding Main Title Design (nominated); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (nominated) - SAG Awards 2006: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film 2006: Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (nominated) - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2005: Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (won) - Golden Globes 1987: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Orange Is the New Black* (2013): Kohan again, bigger cast, same knack for women who lie well and pay for it. - *Breaking Bad* (2008), Fi1m 91: The same premise played straight: a parent deals to keep the house, and it costs. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md) - *Serial Mom* (1994): John Waters’ suburban housewife is far worse than Celia Hodes and much happier about it. - *Motherland* (2016): British school-gate comedy, no drugs, the same competitive mothers and the same quiet panic. - *Six Feet Under* (2001), Fi1m 86: A widow, two sons, the family business; grief treated as comedy without losing its nerve. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/six-feet-under.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/weeds