The holiday season may traditionally take place in December, but for TV lovers, the real festivities begin a week after the ball drops.  From January 6-8^th, SHOWTIME will give 60 million homes the chance to preview its premium content, from original programming to award-winning films to live sporting events!  If you frequently feel left out as your friends rave about Homeland’s newest plot twist, Dexter’s most recent kill, or the fate of the Botwins, this is your chance to catch up on all of the SHOWTIME shows that people can’t stop talking about.

If you’re a sports nut, SHOWTIME Free Preview Weekend’s got you covered.  On Friday night at 11 PM, enjoy front row seats to the celebrated, prospect-oriented SHOWTIME boxing series ShoBox: The New Generation, featuring Luis Ramos Jr. vs. Raymundo Beltran.  Then on Saturday at 10 PM, feel the sweat from the comfort of your couch as SHOWTIME airs the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship featuring defending champ Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine, with four additional mixed martial arts bouts, live from The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

More of a movie buff?  Tune in on Sunday at 7 PM for the primetime premium television debut of the 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, The King’s Speech.  Featuring outstanding performances by Academy Award winner Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon and Guy Pearce, this film follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice and inspire and unite the British people.  It is definitely one not to be missed!

Then, on Sunday night, tune in for brand new seasons of Shameless and Californication and the premiere of the new original series House Of Lies.  Come January 8^th at 9 PM, it’s summertime in Chicago as the Gallaghers  brave the heat and find creative ways to pay the bills on the second season of Shameless.  Then at 10 PM, enter the world of management consulting and follow Marty (Don Cheadle), Jeannie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson) as they stick it to the man by beating the corporate suckers at their own game on House Of Lies.  And at 10:30 PM, get back in touch with Californication’s one and only Hank Moody (David Duchovny) as he finds himself back in LA and in deep with mega-rich rap mogul Samurai Apocalypse (guest star RZA), who hires Hank to write the screenplay for his hot, new film property.

Free Preview Weekend includes SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME HD and SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.  So don’t go making any plans, because from January 6^th – 8^th you’ve got a date with SHOWTIME.