Future of Showtime Series ‘Happyish’ Unclear After Star Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death

The news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's unexpected death is still sinking in with his colleagues from Hollywood, Broadway and beyond, but it's especially shocking for the TV world.

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Although Hoffman's first credited role was a 1991 episode of "Law & Order," he was set to star in and executive produce Showtime's "Happyish," a 10-episode dark comedy and his first series regular role. "Happyish" is about Thom Payne (Hoffman), an advertising exec who becomes passionately unhinged when his agency is taken over by younger execs.

At January's Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, Showtime described the series as a “blistering attack on our youth-obsessed culture and a darkly comic examination of what it means to matter. Or matter not"; they also premiered a sizzle reel that showed bits of co-stars Kathryn Hahn and Rhys Ifans, who play Thom's wife and boss, respectively, but it was clear that this was the Philip Seymour Hoffman show.

In the preview, Hoffman's Thom was delightfully grumpy, flustered, and set in his ways, feeling soulless as he convinced comedian Louis C.K. to shill for his own line of CK high-tops. It also featured a rather memorable dream/hallucination with Thom fighting with an animated Keebler elf about selling out.

[Related: Hollywood Mourns Philip Seymour Hoffman's Death]

In a nod to Thom's disgust with the new, young, texting generation, the logo for the series had the emoji pile of poop symbol dotting the "i."

At TCA, Showtime President David Nevins commented on courting the Oscar winner to take his first TV series regular role. "It took us a while to get to Philip Seymour Hoffman ... totally worth it," Nevins said.

After news of Hoffman's death broke, Showtime released this statement:

Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of our generation's finest and most brilliant actors. He was also a gifted comedic talent. It was a great privilege and pleasure to work with him and we are all absolutely devastated by this sudden loss. Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time.

There's no official word yet about how Showtime will handle the series, which did not yet have a premiere date, going forward, or if they will look to recast the role and reshoot the pilot. "Happyish" was created and written by Shalom Auslander, who was not yet available for comment when Yahoo reached out.