Philip Seymour Hoffman's Showtime Series Happyish "Unlikely" to Continue Production

Source told E! News the Oscar winner drove "every scene of the pilot"

By Brandi Fowler Feb 03, 2014 3:20 AMTags
Philip Seymour Hoffman, HappyishShowtime

The future of one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's projects is looking grim in the wake of his death.

The upcoming Showtime series Happyish, which starred the Oscar winner, is "unlikely" to continue, a source told E! News.

Although nothing has been decided yet, the source said the network fought for more than a year to get Hoffman on board and he "drives every scene of the pilot."

"It is hard to imagine a way in which it could go on," the source continued. "His role would have to be recast and there weren't any other actors in serious consideration aside from Philip. If the show does move forward, the premiere would be delayed as pilot would need to be reshot."

REX USA/Rob Latour

Just a couple of weeks ago, Showtime announced it had picked up 10 episodes of the drama created by writer Shalom Auslander, which starred Hoffman as Thom Payne, who gets the "gift of insignificance" on his birthday, as well as a new boss.

"Happyish is a very personal comedy starring one of the really great actors of our time, Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman," Showtime's president David Nevins said at the network's TCA press tour last month. "Happyish is about the fear—in this world of 25-year-old CEOs and 27-year-old billionaires—of becoming culturally irrelevant at a surprisingly young age. Hoffman plays Thom Payne, a successful but self-loathing creative director at a New York ad agency."

Upon hearing the news of his death, Showtime released a statement saying, "Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of our generation's finest and most brilliant actors. He was also a gifted comedic talent. It was a great privilege and pleasure to work with him and we are all absolutely devastated by this sudden loss. Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time."

—Additional reporting by Leanne Aguilera