Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

By Molly Hawkins

Eight seasons in all, Showtime’s series ‘Weeds’ is enthralling and action-packed from beginning to end.
The show stars Golden Globe Award winner Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, a newly widowed mother of two who turns to growing and selling marijuana to keep her family on their feet financially. In addition to Nancy, a whole cast of characters comes to take part in her business, including her two sons, Silas and Shane, her spirited brother-in-law, Andy, and Celia Hodes, her pesty neighbor and friend.

Nancy is always getting into trouble right from the opening of the plot as she has to deal with business partners, competing dealers, and, of course, the dreaded DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). Weeds is fast-paced and exciting, with almost every episode placing our heroine at risk of being busted or in life-threatening situations. Originally set in the upper-class, preppy California suburb, Agrestic, a mix of wild events always find a way to pick up Nancy and her family and move them somewhere new, giving the show a cool “road trip” vibe and the characters endless opportunities to run into new people and new problems.
Despite being full of events, action is not the sole element the show has to offer. Multiple relationships are cultivated and developed throughout the course of the eight seasons using a balanced mixture of comedic and heart-to-heart moments. Besides the fact that they survive on selling pot, the Botwins are your average suburban American family dealing with all kinds of personal and relationship drama that spreads to everyone they meet. More so than anything, even illegal drugs, this is a show about family and the sacrifices we make for it.
But perhaps the most intriguing element to this wonderful show is being able to watch Nancy’s transformation over eight seasons into a courageous, spunky, resourceful woman who can always work her way out of whatever web she becomes tangled in. Between her dry humor and taste for trouble, it won’t be hard to fall in love with her, and with her whole family, for that matter.
Weeds can be streamed on Netflix. Give it a try today; I assure you, it will really light up your life!