It didn’t take an airplane’s wheel plummeting to earth and landing in Showtime’s front door for them to make the decision to renew Shameless and two other comedies.  Today, the premium cable network announced it is renewing Shameless for a third season, Californication for a sixth season and newcomer House of Lies for a second season.  The ratings for Shameless’ second season are up 30% over its first season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Shameless E.P. Teases What's Next For TV's Most Dysfunctional Family, The Gallaghers

Absolutely Fabulous

Californication

CSI: Miami

Desperate Housewives

Downton Abbey

House of Lies

Once Upon a Time

Pan Am

Shameless

The Firm

The Good Wife

Some other series.

Showtime viewers shouldn’t expect a new Jack Bauer from its upcoming Homeland, but one thing we can expect is the premiere of House of Lies–starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell–on January 9, according to TV Guide.  Reportedly, House of Lies will join Shameless and Californication. Why do I think my DVR is going to be on overload that night?

RELATED: Dexter and Homeland Premiere October 2

TV Guide.com's Matt Mitovich has the scoop on our favorite Gossip Girl bad boy Ed Westwick booking a guest gig on Showtime's sudser Californication.

 The Showtime series returns for a third season this fall, with David Duchovny's Hank Moody trying his hand as a university professor. Westwick will play Balt, a student of Hank's — and one with a hunger for vampire lit. The British actor will first appear in this season's second episode."

Let's hope all those Roman orgies Chuck Bass has partaken in on GG has prepared Westwick for his stint on cable's most raunchtastic series.

General Hospital alum Rick Srpingfield (Noah Drake) has been tapped to star in the Showtime original series, Californication. According to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, the actor/singer has signed on to star in four episodes. The role calls for Springfield to play himself, but with a slight twist. 

Springfield will play an former 80's heartthrob, whose career has fizzled out, and is now working as a waiter. Get ready to take out your heart meds Noah Drake lovers, because Springfield has agreed to showing 'tasteful nudity" for the cable drama's love scenes. No word yet on when the episodes will air.  

The wildest soap town of the all, Hollyweird, is all abuzz about the break ups of A-list "supercouples" like Madonna and Guy Ritchie and Californication's David Duchovny and Tea Leoni (Lisa, Santa Barbara). Tabloids and gossip blogs on both sides of the pond can't get enough of every soapy detail of Madge and her Brit director's bust up. Was A-Rod involved? What's going to happen to the kids? Was their a pre-nup? Can Guy keep the cone bra?

Duchovny and Leoni's split is also causing tongues to wag and fingers to furiously type out speculation across cyberspace. Did Duchovny's role as a sex addicted writer on Californication spill over into his real life? Is Leoni banging Angelina Jolie's ex-Billy Boby Thornton? Who knows? Who cares? Funny you should ask. Apparently everyone one.

As magazines fold daily and newspapers lay off thousands of employees across the nation, the celeb rags have managed to flourish or at the very least remain stable. I'll tell you why, they have successful turned the lives of the rich and the wanton into real life soap operas. READ MORE