Pot Is Hot: New Slate of Canna-Themed TV Shows

Marijuana is having its moment in the mainstream as TV networks and streaming services alike pick up 420-friendly shows. It hasn’t been since Weeds made a big splash on Showtime in 2005 that there’s been such a focus on pot programming.

High Maintenance, one of the most buzzy new cannabis shows, made its HBO debut on Sept. 16. Originally a self-funded web series on Vimeo, the series follows a Brooklyn weed dealer as he makes his rounds in New York and encounters a wide variety of characters. The six-episode season runs through Oct. 21

Then there’s MTV’s Mary + Jane, executive produced by Snoop Dogg and Ted Chung, which debuted on Sept. 5. Like High Maintenance, it focuses on pot dealers, in this case two women who run an L.A. delivery service. The 10-episode season runs through Nov. 7

Cable channels aren’t the only ones interested in cannabis. Buds, a comedy produced by Naomi and Adam Scott (of Parks and Recreation fame) received a script commitment from NBC in 2015. The series centers around the operations of a Denver-based pot shop. It should be on NBC’s lineup in the spring.

Streaming sites are also working on a number of canna-themed shows, such as Netflix’s pot comedy Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates as a cannabis legalization advocate. The series is written and executive produced by Chuck Lorre (of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory) and David Javerbaum (The Daily Show).

Amazon has tapped comedian Margaret Cho to star in and executive produce the dramedy Highland, which follows a dysfunctional family as they run a dispensary. Cho hasn’t been shy about her enthusiasm for ganja and even has a strain—Margaret Cho-G—named after her.

Also in production is Humboldt, based Emily Brady’s 2013 book of the same name, starring John Malkovich as the head of a local crime family. Sony TV and Anonymous Content are shopping it around to cable and streaming services.

High Maintenance

Mary + Jane

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