There's vulgar language, nudity, inappropriate sexual references and constant drug use, but for the creators of the Showtime series "House of Lies" it's the norm of the industry.
"When I began writing the show, I was aware of that and now I don't think about it that much," says creator and executive producer Matthew Carnahan.
"The show is just what the show is. It makes sense esthetically and dramatically."
A show which offers a satirical look at corruption in the business world, it's a workplace drama about a group of people willing to sacrifice their souls for success.
"I do think there is a real difference between edgy and extreme and they are moments where we fall into just crude without any kind of soft landing humor, but I am really proud of it," Carnahan continues.
Now in its third season, "House of Lies" stars Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell, Josh Lawson and Glynn Turman and is the brainchild of Carnahan who came up with the idea after his production partner, Jessika Borsiczky, handed him a book by Martin Kihn called "House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time."
The focus of the series, Cheadle plays Marty Kaan, a partner at a fictional firm called Galweather & Stearn. He's a single dad who lives with his gender-experimenting son, Roscoe (Donis Leonard Jr.) and retired psychiatrist father (Glynn Turman). Kristen Bell and Josh Lawson play his work associates, but it's through his eyes we follow their daily antics and exploits at the firm.
Known for its over-the-top shenanigans, the Emmy-award nominated series offers a glimpse inside the boardroom and bedrooms of its cast members and every week there's a business challenge to solve, a sexual dilemma to resolve, personal issues and family problems to sort out, and career ladders to climb at any cost.
A dark comedic half-hour show, like "Dexter" on Showtime and "True Blood" on HBO it centers around topics and ideas that are clearly non-Christian.
"We like to sometimes go out on a limb, darkness wise, and there are moments in the series when we cringe a little," adds writer and co-executive producer David Walpert. "But there is something taboo and interesting about going for those things."
Among this season's new additions, "Happy Endings" star Eliza Coupe joined the cast as Marissa, a wild-child Internet company head. "ER" actor Mekhi Phifer jumped on board to play Dre, a successful business entrepreneur and clothing company founder and Brad Schmidt also joined the cast as JC Butterman.
"We have a show that is about three generations of black men and what it means to tell the truth and the opposite of the truth," states Carnahan. "Yes, we go all over the map with it in that framework, but luckily I'm surrounded by people who share that goal of wanting to tell a story that is meaningful on top of being entertaining and having emotional moments and we really adhere to those kinds of goals."
