Oscar® winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) is set to star in the lead role and executive produce the twisted SHOWTIME comedy pilot TRENDING DOWN. Acclaimed actress Kathryn Hahn (Revolutionary Road) will also star in the pilot as Lee Payne, Thom Payne's (Hoffman) wife. TRENDING DOWN is a blistering attack on our youth-obsessed culture, and a darkly comic examination of what it means to matter. Or matter not. The project centers on Thom Payne, a man facing his own obsolescence after his advertising agency is taken over. The pilot is set to begin filming on the East Coast this fall, and marks the third pilot pick-up from the Network this year. As previously announced, SHOWTIME picked up the drama pilots THE VATICAN and THE AFFAIR, and gave a series commitment to PENNY DREADFUL earlier this year.
On his birthday, Thom Payne gets the gift of insignificance and also a new boss. He suspects his ED pills are interfering with his anti-depressants, leaving him with neither happiness nor… happiness. In a culture that reveres youth – a culture he helped create – Thom needs to figure out what his purpose is now that he's halfway to death and nobody cares what he thinks. Because in a world where any Kardashian is trending up, perhaps the wise among us would heartily embrace trending down. (Source: Showtime)