‘Californication’: Back on small screen, Duchovny brings depth to Hollywood tale

After you’ve been selected as No. 32 on the top 100 TV characters of all time, how do you move on from your iconic role?

Actress Gillian Anderson escaped Dana Scully by moving to England and acting on stage and screen overseas.

Her “X-Files” partner, David Duchovny, also largely disappeared, by staying in the United States and appearing in a number of little-seen indie films.

His penance done, Duchovny now returns to the medium that made him famous, in a role quite different from driven FBI agent Fox Mulder.

In “Californication,” making its debut at 10:30 tonight on Showtime, Hank Moody is an author who has lost his way. Hank had written the great American novel, “God Hates Us All,” which was turned into a crappy romantic comedy starring Tom and Katie.

Hank finds himself adrift in Hollywood. He develops severe writer’s block, and “the walking id,” as he’s described, tries to combat the problem with an unending series of sexual encounters. His wife, Karen (Natascha McElhone), leaves him for a rich guy, in hopes of finding a more stable life for herself and their precocious 12-year-old daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin).

His agent, Charlie (Evan Handler), urges him to find a good woman and settle down, figuring maybe that would get Hank writing again. Instead Hank hooks up with a sexy fan, who will soon re-enter his life (not in a good way).

A dark comedy, “Californication” asks whether a man who can’t help but tell the truth can find a place in Hollywood, where image is everything? Also, can Hank get back to the familial bliss that existed before the movies beckoned?

Duchovny, who showed off his comedic chops before on “The Larry Sanders Show” and even “The X-Files” at times, is winning, managing to make an unsympathetic character at least understandable. He helps viewers see what Karen once saw in him and what Becca still does. Many viewers will want to follow Hank on his journey.