David Duchovny Tries to Move "Californication" Past Sex

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Oct 25, 2007

David Duchovny feels a sense of vindication now that his Showtime "Californication" series has landed in the winner's circle -- with a second season already set and a sizeable collection of critical kudos as its first season finale is about to be shown Monday night (Oct. 29). The show was deemed offensive, even pornographic, when it debuted in August. Looking back on its launch, Duchovny recalls, "You knew that having a nun offering a (sexual act) to a character was going to be like a red flag to a bull. … People respond irrationally to certain issues, sex and religion being two major ones."

However, he adds, "that's not what the show is. The marketing people wanted to hang their hats on sex. It was an interesting ordeal to go through a huge wave of press, supporting the show and answering the same questions about the sex all the time, knowing that's not the show I made and not the show Tom Kapinos, made but it was how the show was sold."

He admits, "I knew I would get frustrated but that I couldn't show my frustration. I knew I'd have to wait and hopefully the show would bear itself out. Hopefully, it would hang around long enough for people to see what I saw in it -- a comedy with a lot of drama and heart and wonderful irreverent characters."

Duchovny, who's also in the just-released "Things We Lost in the Fire," expects to be busy with the "X-Files" movie sequel filming in Vancouver from December until just about the time "Californication" begins its second season production (strike permitting) in the spring. That is, with a break that will allow him to spend the holidays with his family -- wife Tea Leoni, their 8-year-old daughter and their 5-year-old son.

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