‘House of Lies’ to End After Season Five

House of Lies Cast Photo
Ben Schwartz, Kristen Bell, Don Cheadle, and Josh Lawson star in ‘House of Lies’

Showtime will be ending the critically acclaimed comedy House of Lies with season five. The current season of House of Lies will be its last, culminating with the season five finale on June 13, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT. That episode just happens to be the first episode of an American scripted series to be shot in Cuba since diplomatic relations were restored. Series creator/executive producer Matthew Carnahan directed the season/series finale titled “No Es Fácil” and starring Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, Donis Leonard Jr., and Glynn Turman.

House of Lies is a comedy that has frequently been ahead of the curve,” said David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. “Over the course of its five seasons, it has tackled such hot-button topics as gender identity, wealth inequality, white privilege, police brutality, interracial relationships, and code-switching with honesty and a biting sense of humor. Matthew Carnahan and Don Cheadle have been dream partners and impeccable leaders. The core cast of Don, Kristen, Ben and Josh are one of the best comedy teams on television. They have brought the series to an incredibly satisfying conclusion with this historic final episode shot in Cuba.”


“Creating and running House of Lies has been a true dream gig, a creative apotheosis,” stated Carnahan. “Working with the remarkable team that Jessika Borsiczcky, David Walpert and I were allowed to put together, along with the incredible cast and crew, coming to work every day was a joy. Getting to work with heroes like Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell and Glynn Turman, breaking out amazing performers like Dawn Olivieri and the shockingly funny Josh Lawson; seeing Ben Schwartz, already so well-known as a comedic actor doing a deep-dive into really complex work; watching great actors like Matt Damon be willing to skewer versions of themselves; and then going out on the high note that is shooting in Cuba — these are all the kinds of reasons I got into this business in the first place.”

The award-winning series is based on House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn and is executive produced by Carnahan, Jessika Borsiczky, Don Cheadle and David Walpert. Season five guest stars include Wanda Sykes, Keegan-Michael Key, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Donald Faison, Ken Marino, John Cho and Steven Weber.

The Plot: For five seasons, fans traveled with Marty, Jeannie (Bell), Clyde (Schwartz) and Doug (Lawson) as they criss-crossed the globe manipulating hard-earned (well, usually inherited, sometimes stolen) bucks from powerful CEOs. Under Marty’s leadership, the Pod, as they became affectionately known, went from fleecing millionaire moguls to skewering billionaires with an unwavering eye on their end-state vision (or, ultimate goal for non-management rookies): global domination. Along the way, Marty and Jeannie went from business associates to lovers to adversaries and back again, ultimately landing on amicable co-worker/co-parents to their baby girl. All the while, wisecracking Clyde and insufferable yet sweet Harvard MBA Doug fought and squabbled over the number three spot (and, ultimately, for partnership) at Kaan & Associates. They frequently banded together against Marty’s ex-wife and business foe Monica (Dawn Olivieri) as she lurched between wanting to bed him, kill him and steal all his clients. On the home front, sage advice from live-in psychologist dad Jeremiah (Turman) helped Marty lead son Roscoe (Leonard Jr.) through the discovery and celebration of his gender fluidity and maturation into a self-assured, fashion-forward teenager. As we conclude the series, the Pod is assessing their personal portfolios: in their constant quest for the almighty dollar, how much is enough? How much money buys happiness and at what cost?