“One woman. Multiple personalities. The United States of Tara.”

The tagline pretty much says it all. The new Showtime series, written by Diablo Cody and produced by Steven Spielberg, stars Toni Collette as Tara, a wife and mother who has multiple personality disorder.

If MPD (dissociative identity disorder to you psych pros) sounds like a weighty subject for a half-hour comedy, well, it is. But if any network can pull it off, it’s Showtime. Here’s our first, behind-the-scenes look at The United States of Tara. (NSFW due to the F-bomb, so you'll have to visit the link.)_

I love it that Marshall, Tara’s gay teenage son, would rather read Valley of the Dolls than shoot a rifle at the gun range. I do hope, however, that if one of Collette’s alters is a lesbian, it’s not macho gun-lover Buck.

According to slashfilm.com, the script has plenty of Cody’s signature snappy dialog with pop-culture references galore. That kind of material, combined with Collette’s usual acting brilliance, could make Tara a real treat. We’ll find out on Jan. 16, immediately after the Season 6 premiere of The L Word.

Do you think Showtime has another hit on its hands? Will you be watching?