Californication

I've been sick for almost an entire week. I've been to the doctor twice and he seems to think I just need time and rest (no swine flu for me). So, I needed to find something to occupy my time. Naturally, I turned to the internet, although I did watch a bit of trashy MTV on the projector (we don't own a conventional TV and I love it). You know an MTV show is super trashy when they don't even bother with voice overs in German, just a text translation and I love it. Anyway, I can't lay in bed and watch actual streaming TV so I turned to my lap top. I actually got sick just in time for the return of the fall schedule in the US and thanks to the Internet I am caught up on EVERYTHING.
Going beyond my favorites and the new Pilots, I needed something else to occupy my time that fit within my low energy attention span. Welcome Californication. I always liked the name of the show but hadn't had much of an idea of the plot. I assumed it took place in California but now I know it is a lot more about fornication than California. The main character is a novelist with a teenage daughter and a baby mama otherwise known as his soul mate. He chases her and they raise their daughter together. Sometimes they are together, sometimes they are not, when they're off, he's catching up on his fornication in California. The underlying theme seems to be sex drugs and rock and roll, it's clear why this is Showtime's baby. I'm not sure if it is at all reflective of life in California but it's not that far off from the Hills and that was a reality show. Either way, it's captivating. In 3 day's I've watched two full seasons and will easily watch the 2 episodes (I've already seen the most recent one) of the current third season tomorrow.
Anyone else watching this show? What other series came out in the past 3 years that I may have missed while being out of the country? I still have 3 days of being home sick and will surely require further entertaining.