Actor and comedian Kevin Nealon describes his new Showtime series, “Weeds,” as “Desperate Housewives” on steroids.

“Mary-Louise Parker's character loses her husband in an accident, and in a desperate attempt to make ends meet, she resorts to selling pot,” Nealon says of the series, which is set to premiere in June and also features Elizabeth Perkins. “She's a soccer mom and I play her neighbor, and I buy my pot from her. And I find out that my 15-year-old kid is also dealing pot and is gay.”

Nealon — who starred on NBC's “Saturday Night Live” for nine seasons and was the show's longest-running cast member — is no stranger to odd roles. The actor portrayed off-the-wall characters such as Mr. Subliminal, Franz (with Dana Carvey as Hans) and the "Weekend Update" anchorman on “SNL.” He currently has a recurring role on CBS' “Still Standing” and will appear on the new Showtime series “Fat Actress,” which stars Kirstie Alley of “Cheers” fame.

“I play a sleazy record producer that lives down the street from (Alley) that she's intrigued by because I may or may not have killed somebody,” he says.

Nealon also lent his mellow voice to Comedy Central's crank-calling puppet show “Crank Yankers,” where he's voiced a few characters for three seasons.

“I liked making crank calls when I was a kid,” Nealon says. “I'm doing a lot more things nowadays than I used to when I was a kid. ... The show is a lot of fun. I create a lot of my own stuff, but sometimes they have things they like to try.”

The comedian says people are surprised that he does stand-up.
“A lot of people don't know that I do stand-up comedy,” he says. “They're not sure what they're coming to see. They probably think they're going to see some characters or sketches from ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I'll do a few things from ‘Saturday Night Live,’ a couple of characters like Hans and Franz or Mr. Subliminal or some ‘Weekend Update’ stuff. Usually it's my kind of twist on life, my observations.”

When asked what project he'd like to sink his teeth into, Nealon doesn't hesitate for a second.

“I'd like to write a short film and direct it,” he says. “I'd like to do a romantic comedy.”