Showtime Goes Free Labor Day Weekend

Showtime is offering its service for free the weekend of Aug. 31-Sept. 3, putting Showtime programming into more than 71 million households. The free weekend will be available from a number of distributors including AT&T U-verse, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish, Verizon Fios, Altice USA (Optimum and Suddenlink), Mediacom, Frontier Communications and Sling TV, among others.

The preview includes the series premiere of new comedy Kidding, starring Jim Carrey. Kidding starts Sept. 9, but will be available during the free weekend on demand and on Showtime Anytime.

Kidding has Carrey as children’s television host Mr. Pickles. It is executive produced by Carrey, Dave Holstein, Michael Aguilar, Roberto Benabib, Raffi Adlan, Jason Bateman and Jim Garavente.

“When this beloved personality’s family begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairytale, fable or puppet will guide him through this crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope,” said Showtime. “The result: A kind man in a cruel world faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.”

Showtime will also air full-season marathons of Shameless ahead of the season nine premiere Sept. 9. The fourth, fifth and sixth seasons will air on back-to-back days starting on Saturday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 3.

Viewers will also have access to Homeland, Ray Donovan, SMILF, Twin Peaks, The Affair and other Showtime original series, available on demand and on Showtime Anytime.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.