The best episodes of Californication
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Hank's in for a hedonistic night to remember when Jackie and two stripper friends arrive at his doorstep, unannounced. The next morning, before Hank can escort his new friends from the apartment, Charlie shows up with a verbally abusive Rick Springfield. Hank's forced to hide the hung over party girls all over the house after Jill and Felicia pay surprise visits. The charade reaches its boiling point when Dean Koons arrives on the scene, resulting in a messy catharsis by fire.
- 02
Hank is told he faces 3 years in prison because the DA wants to make an example of him. There are signs Marcy is pregnant. Hank tries to fix things with Becca. The episode ends as Hank, high on drugs and liquor, writes a letter to Becca and then passes out.
- 03
As the Moodys at last prepare to move to New York, Becca tells Hank about an intimate coming of age experience she had. Hank's stunned when Mia shows up at the house unannounced, in town with her slimy boyfriend/manager for a book signing. Hank fails to prevent Mia and Paul from hatching a devious publicity stunt, forcing Hank to finally share the long buried heartbreaking secret with Karen. Meanwhile, Charlie must come to the realization that his relationship with Marcy may be over.
- 04
Just as Hank is released from a 72 hour jail period for assault he is picked up by Charlie and dragged off to show the recent events of F&P with Mia becoming public and dropped into a meeting with a young actress that wants to capitalize on the publicity and make a movie out of F&P. The episode ends with Hank hearing from his lawyer that the assault charges have been dropped and he is then arrested for statutory rape.
- 05
A new threesome including Hank and Charlie evolves from a meeting at the gym, while Karen and Marcy have a girl's night out at which they decide to surprise Hank and Charlie.
- 06
In order to distract Hank from his heartbreak, Ashby arranges a sex session with popular, yet incredibly annoying, celebrity chef, Chloe Metz. Charlie takes on a new client who's eager to land the lead in a porn film called Vaginatown. Charlie meets with the film's director and secures her the part, but only after investing $100,000 of his own savings.
- 07
After the funeral of Hank's father Al, Hank comes back to L.A. with a new manuscript, that he wants Karen to read. After receiving a bonus paycheck, he buys a new car for himself and a new guitar for Becca.
- 08
Charlie and Dani represent Mia after she wrote a book that seems to have come out of Hank's feather. Becca decides to move out of Bill and Karen's home to live with her dad Hank.
- 09
As Karen's wedding to Bill nears, Hank struggles with accepting what appears to be inevitable. Bill informs Mia that he will not allow her book to be published and Hank has a unique solution to dealing with Becca's surprise visitor.
- 10
Hank Moody is notified by his attorney Abby that he will be going to trial for statutory rape. But not before Hank hands the completed F&P script to Charlie, who promptly drags him to a meeting with the Director, producer Stu Beggs and eccentric financier Zig Samitaur, setting off a chain of events that leads to Hank and Charlie having to explain why there's a dead billionaire in the bathroom.
- 11
Forced by her relationship with Hank to recuse herself as his lawyer, Abby pitches the case to a senior partner on the golf course; Hank is dismayed by Karen's growing relationship with artist Ben; Marcy and Stu ask Charlie to help them pitch a TV project.
- 12
Hank takes a gig rewriting dialogue on a zombie sequel but threatens his job when he hooks up with a sexy woman with close ties to the film's female lead; Marcy tells Stu she's pregnant but not that the baby may be Charlie's.
- 13
A nervous Hank discovers that he's got good reason to panic when his trial turns into an all out character assassination, with even friendly witnesses Charlie and Karen unable to portray him as anything other than a drunken, oversexed lout.
- 14
Found guilty of statutory rape, Hank buys a used Porsche and considers fleeing from Los Angeles, but instead enjoys one last night in the company of his friends and family.
- 15
After reuniting at the end of Season One, Hank and Karen decide to pack up and head to New York. As part of the reconciliation, Hank undergoes a grueling vasectomy at Karen's request. Hank has an accident when he confuses a partygoer for Karen. Hank gets arrested for driving under the influence and assaulting an officer.
- 16
Hank finds himself in jail after assaulting a mouthy police officer. Karen, still upset at Hank for his accident at the party, refuses to bail him out. Meanwhile, Charlie gets fired after his former assistant, Dani, plays the agency president a montage of Charlie's self-pleasuring office sessions.
- 17
Hank attempts to find a love interest for Becca's teacher. Charlie uncovers Marcy's secret which could have fatal effects on their finances.
- 18
Ashby hosts a party to celebrate the publication of Mia's book; Charlie announces to Marcy, who has just completed rehab, that he wants a divorce; Becca is devastated to catch Damien cheating on her.
- 19
As Hank awaits sentencing, the lines between his real life and the movie based on his life blur as the film's star hits on his ex-wife and he feels stirrings of passion for the actress hired to play Karen.
- 20
A few years have passed and Hank is living in New York but looking for a ticket out of town after his latest breakup. He accepts an invitation from Charlie to come to Los Angeles for a job writing a film starring rapper/actor Samurai Apocalypse, then reunites with Karen, her former professor and now husband Richard, and his daughter Becca, who now has a boyfriend named Tyler that is the spitting image of Hank himself ... in the worst possible way.
- 21
A transplanted author suffers from writer's block and is disappointed that his novel has been turned into a romantic comedy for the big screen. He also learns his ex is engaged and that their 12-year-old daughter is acting on her "emerging sexuality."
- 22
Hank decides to seek out Lew Ashby's long lost love, Janie Jones. Hank accidentally walks in on Julian going at it with a rocker chick he's "mentoring". Mia spends the day trailed by Rolling Stone reporter Annika Staley. The Runkle residence is transformed into the set of Vaginatown.
- 23
Going Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Hank tries to get the truth about Ashby; Karen confronts the record producer; Marcy detoxes at her mother's house; Charlie succumbs to temptation.
- 24
Hank turns down an offer of sex which is unthinkable (for him). Karen gives in to Ashby's asking and agrees to date him. Charlie and Daisy have a bonding moment over the film Dirty Dancing, while Marcy is still in rehab.
- 25
After a personal grooming mishap, Charlie discovers that his vasectomy was botched and that Marcy's baby could be his; Hank's relationship with lawyer Abby gets more personal but a good deed yields a compromising photo that could ruin Hank's life.
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