Showtime will offer early sampling on its new comedy series HAPPYish and its sophomore horror series Penny Dreadful prior to their debuts on the network.

The premiere episode HAPPYish and the second season premiere episode of Penny Dreadful are currently available on YouTube and Sho.com as well as on cable operator, telco and satellite distributors' free on demand channels and websites, according to Showtime. The episodes are also available on Showtime On Demand, as well as on portable devices such as iPads, iPhones and Andriod phones and tablets, said network officials.

HAPPYish debuts on the network April 26, while Penny Dreadful debuts May 3.

Showtime subscribers checking out the fifth-season finale of Shameless will get a look at the pilot of upcoming comedy, HAPPYish.

The premium programmer will air a special sneak preview of HAPPYish's first episode on Sunday, April 5 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). The installment will air immediately following the season-five finale of Shameless at 9 p.m. 

HAPPYish, starring Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominee Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Emmy-winner and Golden Globe-nominee Bradley Whitford, will assume its regular time slot on Sunday, April 26 at 9:30 p.m. 

Currently in production in New York, the series is a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness and why it continues to be so elusive. The show also features guest stars Emmy and Tony-Award winner Ellen Barkin, Emmy Award-winner Carrie Preston, Molly Price and Andre Royo.

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In a role originally cast for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Coogan stars as Thom Payne, a 44 year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25 year-old wunderkind boss arrives, saying things like “digital,” “social” and “viral.”  Is he in need of a “rebranding,” or does he just have a “low joy ceiling?”  Maybe pursuing happiness is a fool’s errand?

Showtime said at the Television Critics Tour that it will pick up the new series Happyish, starring Steve Coogan (in the role initially intended for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), Kathryn Hahn and Bradley Whitford. Shooting in New York, the comedy will debut on April 26 at 9:30 p.m. with Nurse Jackie as a lead-in at 9 p.m. and followed by the season-two premiere of Penny Dreadful. (Nurse Jackie kicks off its final season on April 12.)

Showtime had picked the show up as a 10-episode series a year ago but had not fully re-committed to it after Hoffman's death. In October, Coogan (Philomena) was cast to replace Hoffman in the pilot. He plays a 44-year-old man whose life is upended by the arrival of a new, young boss. Ellen Barkin, Carrie Preston, Molly Price and Andre Royo will guest star.

The creator, writer and executive producer is Shalom Auslander, a regular contributor to This American Life. “Shalom has a unique comedic voice," Showtime Networks president David Nevins said in a release. "He is smart, provocative and thoughtful. I know he’s going to make viewers laugh, but he’s also going to push a few buttons while doing it.” 

Showtime also said it has ordered a sixth season of Shameless, which began its season-five run this past Sunday. The sixth season will have 12 episodes and begin production later this year.

The CBS-owned premium network also said Kyle MacLachlan will reprise his role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper in Showtime's upcoming limited series version of Twin Peaks. It goes into production this year aiming for a 2016 premiere.

Showtime scheduled its documentary Kobe Bryant's Muse for a Saturday, Feb. 21 (9 p.m. ET/PT), premiere. (Trailer can be seen here.)

Beverly Hills, Calif. — Nearly one week after his predecessor, NBC Entertainment chairman and former Showtime chief Bob Greenblatt complained during the TCA summer press tour of the advantages held by cable networks, Showtime Networks president David Nevins acknowledged enjoying an edge in certain areas over his broadcast competitors when it comes to programming.

“It’s one of the luxuries of where I sit,” Greenblatt said Friday, responding to a question during his press tour executive session about planning the end of long-running series well in advance. “You’re less buffeted by market forces [than in broadcast]. It’s less about we’re losing revenue in that time period that we could be making through higher ratings.”

On Sunday, Greenblatt said that cable networks can “go into subject matter that just feels cooler” than what broadcast can do. Nevins talked Friday about being able to experiment with portrayals of sex on shows like Masters of Sex and the upcoming The Affair.

“I think it’s really interesting that we can get into that certain side of humanity and human relationships with a depth that’s hard to do in broadcast media, because there’s such squeamishness about sex,” Nevins said. He also noted that he anticipates Showtime doing more documentary series along the lines of the recent Years of Living Dangerously. “That kind of programming, that sort of deep-dive, long series to look at something, I definitely think it’s a good form of programming for us,” Nevins said, adding, “I think it’s one of the things that we can do in pay cable, go with depth into a difficult subject that’s probably not cut out for broadcast television.”

Nevins addressed the issue of Emmy categories, and the network’s decision to submit Shameless, formerly entered in drama categories, as a comedy.

“I don’t envy the TV category trying to categorize,” Nevins said. “I think there’s always a degree of arbitrariness.” He defended the decision to move Shameless, saying producer John Wells “always wanted it to be a comedy.”

Nevins added later, when discussing miniseries and anthology series, “I think we all cry foul when True Detective takes up two best actor slots.”

Other highlights from the panel included:

*Nevins said that the status of Happyish, the comedy series that had been slated to star Philip Seymour Hoffman before the actor’s death in February, is undecided but that the project could still continue. “I’m now sitting on five scripts from [creator Shalom Auslander] that I think are brilliant,” he said. “If I can cast it the right way, it’s something I’ll probably make it. But there’s no guarantees.”

*Asked whether Microsoft’s decision to close Xbox Studios would affect plans for the Halo series, based on the videogame, that Showtime and Microsoft are partnering on, Nevins said, “I don’t think so.” He added that conversations with Microsoft around Halo “are ongoing.”

*Regarding the possibility that Showtime would invest in scripted miniseries or anthology series, as FX has done with Fargo and American Horror Story and HBO has done with True Detective, Nevins said, “I’m fundamentally focused on renewable assets where we can bring it back.” But, he added, “ I wouldn’t rule it out.”