'Californication' Makes 'Entourage' Look Like Disney

Love this series, which returns Sunday at 10 on Showtime, after "Dexter" (here's my review of the two shows). David Duchovny’s Hank Moody is becoming one of TV's most memorable characters. He's a brainy good-guy writer, but he's desperate to let real feelings penetrate his numb exterior. That's why the Hollywood world of weed, whites, wine, and women beckons to him so strongly. He has integrity, and he is all about the realness of his beloved Upper East Coast; but he is weakened by cynicism and hedonism and takes to Hollywood like a pig to mud.

At the end of last season, Hank got the girl, as Karen (Natascha McElhone) abandoned her wedding to another man to be with him. This season, Duchovny and McElhone accomplish the nearly impossible -- maintaining a dynamic chemistry even though they play a couple that has gotten back together again. Often, once the tension is gone, so is the acting spark. But of course, there will be challenges facing them -- Hank’s new writing project, about a rock ‘n’ roll producer, promises to throw plenty of temptation his way.

Check it out, especially if you think you'll like a take on Hollywood that makes the Hollywood of "Entourage" look like Disney World.