Shailene Woodley's 'Three Women' Showtime Canceled Ahead of Premiere
Betty Gilpin, Dewanda Wise and Shailene Woodley have completed filming for the series.
In a seemingly similar case to the Batgirl vs. Warner Bros. Quest saga, Showtime has decided not to continue filming the series Three Women, which has already finished filming and is expected to premiere in the near future. On the heels of the development of new operations at Paramount Worldwide, the media giant announced its plans to fully integrate Showtime into streaming and linear Paramount+. The merger will see the Showtime linear network renamed "Paramount+ on Showtime," effective later this year.
With a star cast that includes Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin and Dewanda Wise, Three Women is one of the most anticipated shows on Showtime. Described as an "intimate, haunting portrait of American female desire," the show will follow the lives of three women who "are taking a crash course in turning their lives upside down." Gilpin was cast as Lena, a figurehead, a housewife who, after indulging in a decade-long loveless marriage, decides to embark on a life-altering affair. Woodley plays Gia, a writer who forms a relationship with these three women and successfully convinces them to tell her story. Executive Vice President of Shinshin Networks Scripted Programming's Amy Israel has teased that the show will be "a riveting and immersive exploration of female desire, narrated by women in charge of their own narratives", promising it will be "everyone's next obsession".
Filming for the three women ended last year, and Showtime even began releasing promotional material, including several character images and a trailer. The trailer revealed that the show was originally scheduled to release last fall, but that fall came and went, throwing the show's future into doubt. Now, it's clear that the show was one of the casualties of a leadership shakeup that Showtime began last year, when Paramount Universal's Chris McCarthy took over the helm following the departure of David Nevins. The new boss has revealed he is reviewing the streamer's content roster, so changes like this are to be expected.
However, this is not the end of Three Women, as there is still hope for the series to reach our screens and not just via Showtime or Paramount+. Reports say the show's creators are currently buying the show elsewhere through at least one platform Show interest. Three Women is based on Lisa Taddeo's international bestseller, which was hotly contested by top media platforms before it hit Showtime. As such, finding a new home for the show should be a piece of cake, as one of its former suitors will likely step in to save the day.
In addition to Woodley, Wise and Gilpin, Three Girls also starred Gabrielle Creevy, Blair Underwood and Lola Kirke. Louis Friedberg directed the first two episodes and executive produces along with writers Taddeo, Kathy Ciric and Emmy Rossum. Laura Eason serves as showrunner and executive producer. Check out the trailer for the three women below:
