Showtime Rep Talks Fate of Philip Seymour Hoffman's TV Series HAPPYISH

A representative for the Showtime network spoke to Zaptoit.com today regarding the fate of what would have been Philip Seymour Hoffman's first TV series. The Oscar winning actor was found dead in his New York apartment of an apparent drug overdose on Sunday, February 2nd.

Hoffman was set to star in the cable network's new series HAPPYISH, scheduled to premiere later in 2014. According to the show's official description,:

The dark comedy is an examination of our pursuit of happiness, a pursuit that might just be the very thing causing our unhappiness in the first place. Thom Payne (Hoffman) is 42, his new bosses at work are half his age and they say the words 'digital' and 'social' far too often. His mentor and boss, Jonathan (Ifans) tells him to "rebrand" himself, his corporate headhunter tells him happiness is a myth, and Thom's not sure if his Viagra will interfere with his Prozac, or Vice versa. Acclaimed actress Kathryn Hahn stars as Lee Payne, Thom's wife, who is looking for a larger goal, a purpose, a meaning. Good luck with that. Happiness? In this world? Happiness after all is pretty high bar; in a world as absurd as ours, maybe the best anyone can hope for is happyish.

Created, written and executive produced by author and This American Life contributor Shalom Auslander, HAPPYISH was developed by Ken Kwapis, who was set to executive produce, and Alexandra Beattie, who would have co-executive produced, under their In Cahoots banner. John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) directed the pilot. Philip Seymour Hoffman was to executive produce under his Cooperstown Productions banner.

Showtime shared a teaser of the series to reporters in January, however nothing beyond the pilot episode has been shot. A rep for the network told Zap2it that the show had started work on scripts for future episodes, but it had yet to go into production. No decision has been made as to the fate of the series.

"It was a great privilege and pleasure to work with him and we are all absolutely devastated by this sudden loss," the channel says in a statement. "Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time."

In addition to the series, Hoffman was to be featured in the final installment of "The Hunger Games" franchise. The actor had mostly completed work on "Mockingjay" parts 1 and 2 but, according to reports, still had several scheduled days left to go. He also finished filming on "God's Pocket" and "A Most Wanted Man." Both projects were picked up for distribution at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

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