''Hung'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series that ran on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

from June 28, 2009, to December 4, 2011. It was created by

Colette Burson Colette Burson (born June 22, 1970) is an American television writer, screenwriter, producer and director. She is the creator, executive producer and showrunner of the HBO television show, ''Hung''. In 2021 she is adapting the best selling novel ...

and Dmitry Lipkin, and stars

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in the films Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Deep Blue Sea (1999 film), Deep Blue Sea'' (1999), ''The Punisher ...

as Ray Drecker, a struggling suburban Detroit high-school basketball and baseball coach who resorts to

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. The second season premiered on June 27, 2010, and concluded its 10-episode run on September 12, 2010. The third season premiered on October 2, 2011, and concluded its 10-episode run on December 4, 2011. The series was cancelled after three seasons.

Plot

''Hung'' follows Ray Drecker (Jane), a high-school basketball coach in the suburbs of Detroit, who is short on money. He is also the father of twin teenagers (

Charlie Saxton Charles Saxton (born November 7, 1989, in Bristol, Pennsylvania) is an American film, television and voice actor. He had a supporting role as Bug, one of the band members, in ''Bandslam''. He was featured in ''Hung'', an HBO comedy-drama seri ...

and

Sianoa Smit-McPhee Sianoa Smit-McPhee is an Australian actress. She is best known for her years in Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' as Bree Timmins. Early life Sianoa Smit-McPhee was born in South Australia. She showed an interest in performing at a very you ...

) who move in with their remarried mother ( Anne Heche) after a fire damages the childhood home Ray still owns. With no insurance to cover the damage from the fire, Ray is left without many options. With the help of a friend, Tanya ( Jane Adams), Ray decides to use his above-average sized penis as an opportunity to make money. The episodes center on Ray's attempts to maintain a normal life while starting his business as a prostitute. Together, Tanya and Ray start their business, Happiness Consultants. The second season focuses on the complex dynamic between Ray and his two pimps, Tanya and Lenore (

Rebecca Creskoff Rebecca Creskoff (born February 1, 1971) is an American actress. Career Creskoff graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before attending New York University, where she received her master of fine arts degree. She has guest-starred in a nu ...

). Lenore, a life coach whom Tanya brought in to help them in the early stages of the business, began taking over Happiness Consultants late in the first season, as she believes she can take Ray into new business areas and views Tanya as an obstacle. The third season has Tanya and Ray forced to compete for clients against Lenore and her younger

gigolo A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifest ...

Jason (

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Ray Drecker is a former star athlete-turned-high-school-teacher/coach and single dad, who decides to parlay his nine-inch penis into a career as a prostitute to provide a better life for himself and his children. * Jane Adams as Tanya Skagle is a former flame of Ray's who reunites with him later on. She takes on the role of his pimp after proving to have the optimism to make money in the business. * Anne Heche as Jessica Haxon is Ray's ex-wife, who is trying to build a relationship with her children as they drift away from her. She also finds herself drifting from her new husband, Ronnie. *

as Damon Drecker is Ray and Jessica's son. He partakes in goth-like activities and is unsure as to his exact sexuality. He has issues with his mom, and he has an unhealthy fixation on his sister, and has a very positive relationship with his father. *

as Darby Drecker is Ray and Jessica's daughter and Damon's twin. Darby has had issues with her boyfriend and is very close to her brother, often a source of support. *

Eddie Jemison Edward Francis Jemison, Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Livingston Dell in the '' Ocean's'' film trilogy and Mickey Duka in ''The Punisher'', as well as the television series '' H ...

as Ronnie Haxon (seasons 1–2, recurring season 3) is Jessica's new husband, who is starting to become more about business than romance, causing both Jessica and himself to drift to outside romantic sources. *

as Lenore Bernard (recurring season 1, seasons 2–3) is a

life coach Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

, who is introduced to Ray by Tanya to bring in clients. Eventually, Lenore proves she can be a better pimp than Tanya, and the two are currently battling for his attention. *

Gregg Henry Gregg Lee Henry (born May 6, 1952) is an American character actor and rock, blues and country musician. He is best known for his performance as serial killer Dennis Rader in the made-for-television film '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and f ...

as Mike Hunt (recurring season 1, seasons 2–3) is Ray's good friend and assistant coach. He is becoming suspicious of Ray's behavior and is worried about being laid off as the school begins cutting costs. *

Lennie James Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...

as Charlie (recurring season 2, season 3) is Tanya's pimp mentor. *

as Jason (season 3) is a young prostitute found by Lenore to serve as competition against Ray.

Recurring

Production

The show's pilot was directed by film-maker Alexander Payne, who served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

along with Burson, Lipkin, and Blueprint Entertainment. Burson and Lipkin's script was the first major purchase by the network's new entertainment president Sue Naegle in April 2008. This led the writers to immediately work on five more episodes for the series, a total of 10 episodes. On December 18, 2008, HBO announced picking up the series for its first season, which ran from June 28, 2009, to September 13, 2009. On July 30, 2009, HBO announced it had renewed the series for its second season, which ran from June 27, 2010. In December 2011, HBO announced the cancellation of the series, ending it after three seasons. For his role as Ray Decker, Thomas Jane was nominated three times as Best Actor for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

. The theme song for ''Hung'' is "I'll Be Your Man" by

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

from their debut album ''

The Big Come Up ''The Big Come Up'' is the debut studio album by the American rock duo The Black Keys, released on May 14, 2002 on Alive Records. Background and recording The album was created in Akron, Ohio, also known as the Rubber City. As band members Dan ...

'' (2002). Much of the show was filmed in the suburban Detroit cities of

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

, White Lake,

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, Walled Lake, Clarkston, and West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Home media

Reception

''Hung'' was well received by critics. For its first season, the series' reviews equated to generally positive, with special mentions made to Thomas Jane and Jane Adams for their lead performances. The show received many nominations during its run. ; Casting Society of America, USA * 2010: Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Pilot (Comedy): Lisa Beach and Sarah Katzman (nominated) ;

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

s * 2012: Best Actor – Television Series: Musical or Comedy: Thomas Jane (nominated) * 2011: Best Actor – Television Series: Musical or Comedy: Thomas Jane (nominated) * 2010: Best Actor – Television Series: Musical or Comedy: Thomas Jane (nominated) * 2010: Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film: Jane Adams (nominated) ;

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

* 2010: Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series: Uta Briesewitz (Episode: "Pilot") (nominated) ;

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

s * 2010: Best Actor – Television Series: Musical or Comedy: Thomas Jane (nominated) * 2010: Best Actress – Television Series: Musical or Comedy: Jane Adams (nominated) ;

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

* 2010: Best Screenplay – New Series: Colette Burson, Ellie Herman, Emily Kapnek, Brett C. Leonard, Dmitry Lipkin, and Angela Robinson (nominated)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hung (TV series) 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American sex comedy television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American sex comedy television series 2009 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings English-language television shows HBO original programming Male prostitution in the arts Prostitution in American television Television series by Entertainment One Television shows set in Detroit