Showtime to Air CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE, 7/16

Showtime announces its 2012 Summer programming overview. Among the many series and documentaries will be Carol Channing: LARGER THAN LIFE premiering Monday, July 16th at 6:30 PM (ET/PT). The film contains archival footage of television appearances, song and dance numbers, and stage performances showing Channing at her best. The film is both an intimate love story of the beloved icon and a rarefied journey inside Broadway's most glamorous era.

Channing is the recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Channing is best remembered for originating, on Broadway, the musical-comedy roles of bombshell Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and matchmaking widow Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!

Other Showtime highlights for the summer include new seasons of "Weeds," "Episodes" and "Web Therapy" plus various stand-up specials and documentaries.

2012 Summer Programming Overview:

ORIGINAL SERIES

WEEDS (Season 8) Premiere: Sunday, July 1st at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) 30 Minutes, 13 Episodes Visit: http://www.sho.com/sho/weeds/home

It's back to the 'burbs" for the Botwins in Season 8 of WEEDS. The fallout from the shot heard round the Tri-State area will transform everyone for the better, at least initially. The tragedy has caused Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker in her Golden Globe(R) Award-winning role) to turn over a new (pot) leaf and return to her pre-dealing soccer mom ways. Meanwhile, Andy (Justin Kirk) finds some semblance of love with someone uncomfortably close to Nancy; and Doug (Kevin Nealon) uses his hedge-fund money in a surprisingly good way. But just as it was in Agrestic, nothing is as serene as it seems in Old Sandwich, Connecticut. Just how long before the Botwins return to their old ways and blow up this new neighborhood, literally and/or figuratively, will remain to be seen.

EPISODES (Season 2) Premiere: Sunday, July 1st at 10:30 PM (ET/PT) 30 Minutes, 9 Episodes Visit: http://www.sho.com/sho/episodes/home

MATT LEBLANC returns in his Golden Globe(R) Award-winning role, as a fictionalized version of himself, in Season Two of the Emmy(R) nominated comedy series, EPISODES - premiering July 1st at 10:30PM (ET/PT) on SHOWTIME(R). Along with LeBlanc, the series also stars British actors Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig as "Sean and Beverly Lincoln," the husband and wife writing/producing duo lured to Hollywood to remake their acclaimed British TV series. Season One left off with Beverly and Sean's comedy, Lyman's Boys, mangled beyond recognition by the Hollywood powers-that-be into Pucks!, a sitcom about a high-school hockey coach starring Matt LeBlanc. When Beverly sleeps with Matt in a moment of drunken madness, her marriage is left as battered as the state of their TV show. The second season picks up four months later with Sean and Beverly no longer living together, but forced into an awkward working relationship with Matt, as Pucks! goes from a pilot to full-blown series. As Beverly struggles to save her marriage, Matt is determined to save his "bromance" with Sean, and all of them are forced to try to save Pucks! as its ratings start to plummet and the pressure mounts. Created and executive produced by award-winning writing partners David Crane (Friends) and JEFFREY KLARIK (Mad About You), EPISODES will consist of nine half-hour installments. JIMMY MULVILLE executive produces through his Hat Trick Production Company.

WEB THERAPY (Season 2) Premiere: Monday, July 2nd at 11:00 PM (ET/PT) 30 Minutes, 11 Episodes Visit: http://www.sho.com/sho/web-therapy/home

Season two of WEB THERAPY returns with Lisa Kudrow as "Fiona Wallice," the self-professed and self-serving psychotherapist who treats patients in three minute sessions via webcam. Some of the biggest names in film and television will guest star in the new season, including Meryl Streep, Rosie O'Donnell, Conan O'Brien, Molly Shannon, Minnie Driver, Selma Blair and former "Friends" castmate David Schwimmer, who will appear in four episodes playing the son of a professor Fiona had a romantic encounter with in college. Lily Tomlin returns as Fiona's judgmental mother; Dan Bucatinsky will reprise his role as Fiona's assistant-turned-ghost-writer; and Victor Garber returns as her husband Kip, whose double life proves quite challenging to Fiona. The eleven, half-hour episodes of season two find Fiona playing the woman-behind-the-man in Kip's political campaign, while juggling her burgeoning career as an author and continuing to advise the hapless clients who have wandered into her web.

THE FRANCHISE (Season 2) Premiere: Wednesday, July 11th at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) 1 Hour Premiere, followed by 7 - 30 Minute Episodes Visit: http://sports.sho.com/#/baseball/specials/the-franchise

Season two of THE FRANCHISE will bring together the sexy, cosmopolitan vibe of the city of Miami with the intense and competitive world of America's pastime as it follows one of Major League Baseball's most talked-about teams - the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have a new look in 2012, with the hiring of Guillen, the acquisition of All-Stars Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Heath Bell and Carlos Zambrano, and the return of established young stars including Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson and Giancarlo Stanton. Behind team owner Jeffery Loria and president David Samson, both of whom are providing unprecedented access to their front office operation, the Marlins have launched an extensive re-branding of the club this off-season which has included a name change (from Florida to Miami), the construction of a new ballpark and the unveiling of dramatically different uniforms.