Straight dope on pilots, more, from Showtime’s execs

Now that the writers are heading back to the salt mines, all the networks have been rolling out their programming plans.

Today, Showtime execs Matt Blank and Bob Greenblatt sat down with members of the media in New York. Here’s what they said:

For pilot season, we’ll see the Tim Robbins at the helm of the drama Possible Side Effects, about a family-owned pharmaceutical company. Casting should start soon.
Director Craig Gillespie, who brought us Lars and the Real Girl, will direct the pilot for The United States of Tara. The show is based on a Steven Spielberg idea and stars Toni Collette as a woman with multiple-personality disorder. If the show gets picked up as a series, Juno scribe Diablo Cody is still expected to work on it, in spite of her busy schedule.
Showtime has a third pilot in the works, but hasn’t released the details yet.
The Tudors and State of the Union still are on tap for March 30 season premieres.
Weeds will return June 16, paired with the sexy Brit comedy Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
As previously reported here, Dexter, Brotherhood and Californication have been renewed. Californication probably won’t air until late summer, after the Olympics in August.
Those of you who watch Showtime series by downloading them from iTunes can continue to expect new releases through the iTunes store, as well as through CinemaNow, Movielink and Amazon.
Although Showtime has a decent following with its L Word presence in Second Life, it’s holding off on plans to launch virtual worlds for all its shows until the network figures out what online venues are the best fit.