Considering the subject matter, you'd figure the set of Weeds would be one mellow place. But there are reports of a harsh buzz emanating from the set.

Recently, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jenji Kohan, the show's creator and lead writer, and star Mary-Louise Parker weren't getting along because the actor felt her character was not behaving very realistically like a mother. Other reports say things have been worked out, but where there's smoke . . . there's usually some really bitchin' product.

Despite what's going on behind the scenes, the second season of this funny little Showtime series is improving onscreen with age. Set around a vivacious Parker, who plays Nancy Botwin - a widow who starts selling marijuana to keep up the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to -- the show is fleshing out with a bit more focus on the wacky community set in Agrestic, Ca. And with such a great cast, that's not a bad thing at all.

Although, Parker is still the centre of the show, and her performance last year earned her a Golden Globe.

"I think she enjoys the adrenaline of it and I think she's grown to enjoy it. I don't think she necessarily knew that about herself but I think she has . . . but I still don't think she's the most rational person, you know?" says Parker, of her character in, a teleconference.

That's for sure. And that's even before you find out the big reveal about Peter, the guy she slept with at the conclusion of last year.

But Parker's main character isn't bogarting this show. The new season is as much about the business of pot as it is the weird little collection of characters brought together by their joint venture. And those side stories are budding nicely into their own, even though, at times, it's little bit too wacky.

For instance, Parker's onscreen brother Andy, in an attempt to avoid duty in Iraq, is trying to get into rabbinical school. Elizabeth Perkins' wicked witch Celia decides that she's going to run a deliciously savage campaign for city council versus Doug Wilson (the great Kevin Nealon), who is also Nancy's accountant, former best customer now business partner. This year's big storyline looks to be about the group Nancy has set up as a pot conglomerate that is attempting to go big time and set up their own hydroponic warehouse.

At home, Botwin's job has meant she's lost the moral high ground. Her eldest son is calling her by her first name. "My name is Mom or Mommy Dearest," she tells him. Later she confesses: "I want my kids to fear me."

There are lots of unlikely happenings in Weeds, yet the show's spin on drug dealing is much like how Six Feet Under's focus was the biz of a funeral parlour. Not that it's quite at that level, but the quality is still pretty high.

Premieres Wednesday August 30th at 10 p.m. on Showcase.