@dlowan,
Well, I won't recommend Showtime's
Californication to you. You already recommended it to me -- and I'm glad you did.
HBO's
Big Love inherited
The Sopranos' slot after their termination. It follows the Bill Hendrickson, entrepreneur and fundamentalist Mormon, through his live with his huge polygamist family. (Hence the "big" in "Big Love".) It caught my attention through an enthusiastic review on NPR. I watched a few episodes, liked the acting, but didn't catch on to the story yet. I probably lack too much background provided in the first three seasons. Starting from scratch, you wouldn't have this problem.
I like Showtime's
Secret Diary of a Callgirl, now in its second season. It's funny, naughty (duh!), but never vulgar.
Did you catch
Flight of the Conchords? I got infected when our dagmaraka declared she was in love with it. The series is about a band of two musicians from New Zealand trying to make it in New York. They have a groupie (singular!) and a manager, who in is day job is New Zealand's consul in New York and is the butt of mean jokes from his colleagues at the Australian consulate, who share an office suite with him.