Showtime The real deal: Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon), Andy Botwin (Justin Kirk), Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) and Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins) are up to no good in the Showtime hit. image:40976:1::0

Last we saw Nancy (played by Mary-Louise Parker) she had just made sure the authorities couldn't get her on drug charges by burning down her neighbourhood during one of those crazy wildfires in California. Okay this one started because a drug "friend" dealer did a little pay back to help her out but hey it's life in the big city.

So how's our sweet housewife turned drug dealer going to come out on top? How about a trip to Mexico to get things shaken up.

"It's changed drastically, but you have to shake it up and start fresh sometimes," says Justin Kirk, who plays Andy, Nancy's scheming brother-in-law who has failed at rabbinical school, military service, porn film stardom and relationships with off-balanced women. "I think having all this new territory to cover has reinvigorated the writers. And integral to Weeds' success is ramping up the stakes for Nancy."

Part of the show's appeal is that at the end of each episode the viewer is left shaking their head thinking there's no way they can top this one. They have, over and over.

"The role is enormously fun to play," says Elizabeth Perkins, whose troubled Celia Hodes also is a cancer survivor, blackmailer and serial adulterer. "It's a cornucopia of insanity. It's an opportunity to be outrageous that really doesn't come along that often."

This season won't have Olsen twin Mary-Kate or Matthew Modine but look for Albert Brooks to stir the cast up a bit. He plays Nancy's father-in-law.

It will be interesting to see what the little boxes will become for the Golden Globe show this time around.