The Showtime Streaming Standalone Service is Coming in July

Following almost exactly in the footsteps of HBO, Showtime has announced plans to offer on-demand access to its entire catalog of shows and movies for a monthly subscription separate from the cable providers. It’ll cost $11 a month and launch on Apple devices first, much like HBO Now already has. The fun for Showtime begins in July.

It’s looking like Showtime is just going to introduce an isolated payment option for the app already available to cable subscribers, though they haven’t exactly made that clear. What is clear is the app will offer live streams of both the east and west coast broadcasts. Notably, the only way that part of the service isn’t redundant is if new episodes of its programs aren’t uploaded until at least a day after they broadcast.

As an avid viewer of Penny Dreadful, this makes me sad. Because Penny Dreadful is best viewed in the middle of the night and as soon as humanly possible.

A 30-day free trial opens its arms to those who sign up through Apple in July. The service’s $11-a-month pricing comes in at a bit less than HBO Now’s $15 and more than Netflix’s $8. Take from that what you will, but it’s clear that means HBO is better because of the quality of its shows and Netflix is better because of its economy. Or Showtime is better because it’s a nice middle ground. Or it’s all great because Verizon and Comcast aren’t a part of the equation anymore.

For those mulling these dramatic new options in television consumption, a quick list of Showtime’s best offerings is necessary (especially since I can’t pass up an opportunity to list things that I like).

Masters of Sex

A dramatic retelling of the lives of Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, partners in a revolutionary study about sex back in the 1950s, Masters of Sex was originally seen as Showtime’s answer to AMC’s Mad Men. Instead, a unique identity developed, trading the awkwardness of watching people have sex in a clinical setting with the budding and complex closeness of its two leads. It’s both contemplative and poignant, funny and revealing.

The Affair

Setting aside the storytelling gimmicks and somewhat unnecessary mystery, The Affair regales in the various intimacies lost to two very different people, creating an essential inevitability of their adulterous affair for the audience’s feasting needs. Dominic West and Ruth Wilson deftly weave the necessary chemistry for the writers to explore.

Penny Dreadful

If you accept the writing for what it is, it’s the most entertaining show of the week: