Hung (TV series)

*Hung*
Hung
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Dmitry Lipkin ; Colette Burson
Starring	Thomas Jane ; Jane Adams ; Anne Heche ; Sianoa Smit-McPhee ; Charlie Saxton ; Eddie Jemison; Rebecca Creskoff; Gregg Henry
Opening theme	"I'll Be Your Man" ; by The Black Keys
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dmitry Lipkin; Colette Burson; Alexander Payne; Michael Rosenberg; Noreen Halpern; John Morayniss
Running time	28 minutes
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	June 28, 2009 –; present

Hung is a comedy-drama series, which premiered on HBO on June 28, 2009. The series was created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson and stars Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker, a struggling suburban Detroit high school basketball coach who resorts to male prostitution. The Second Season premiered on June 27, 2010 and concluded its 10 episode run on September 12, 2010. On September 2, 2010 it was announced that HBO had ordered Hung for a third season consisting of 10 episodes set to premiere in 2011.

Plot

Hung follows Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane), an unhappy, financially strapped history teacher and athletic coach at a high school in suburban Detroit. He's also the father of twin teenagers (Charlie Saxton and Sianoa Smit-McPhee) who are currently living with their remarried mother (Anne Heche). After a fire destroyed the childhood home Ray still owns and lived in, he is left without many options. With the help of a friend, Tanya (Jane Adams), Ray decides to turn his large penis into an opportunity to make money. The episodes center on Ray's attempts to maintain a "normal" life while starting his business as a male prostitute. Together, Tanya and Ray begin Happiness Consultants.

The second season focuses on the complex dynamic between Ray and his two pimps, Tanya and Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff). Lenore, a life coach who 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 places in the business and views Tanya as an obstacle.

Production

The show's pilot was directed by filmmaker Alexander Payne. Payne serves as executive producer along with Lipkin, Burson, and Blueprint Entertainment. Lipkin and Burson's script was the first major purchase by the network's new entertainment president Sue Naegle in April 2008. This move led the writers to immediately work on five more episodes for the series, a total of ten episodes. On December 18, 2008, it was announced HBO picked up the dark comedy. The show's first season ran from June 28, 2009 to September 13, 2009. On July 30, 2009, it was announced that HBO had renewed the series for a second season set to air June 27, 2010.^[1]

The theme song for Hung is "I'll Be Your Man" by The Black Keys ^[2] from their debut album The Big Come Up (2002). The track can also be found on the Rescue Me Original Television Soundtrack (2006) album.

Much of the show is filmed in the suburban Detroit cities of Troy and West Bloomfield, Michigan.^[3]

Cast and characters

Main

Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker: Former star athlete turned high school teacher/coach and single dad who becomes a prostitute in order to provide a better life for himself and his children.
Jane Adams as Tanya Skagle: A former flame of Ray's who reunites with him later on. She takes on the role of his pimp after proving to have optimism to make money in the business.
Anne Heche as Jessica Haxon: 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.
Charlie Saxton as Damon Drecker: 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 is much more comfortable around his father.
Sianoa Smit-McPhee as Darby Drecker: Ray and Jessica's daughter, and Damon's twin. Darby has had issues with her boyfriend, and is very close with her brother, often a source of support.
Eddie Jemison as Ronnie Haxon: 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.
Rebecca Creskoff as Lenore Bernard: A life coach 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. (Recurring S1, Regular S2)
Gregg Henry as Mike Hunt: Ray's good friend and assistant coach. He is becoming suspicious of Ray's behavior, and is extremely paranoid about being laid off as the school begins cutting costs. (Recurring S1, Regular S2)

Recurring Season 1

Natalie Zea as Jemma
Joshua Leonard as Pierce
Steve Hytner as Floyd Gerber
Alanna Ubach as Yael Koontz
Loren Lester as Howard Koontz
Marylouise Burke as Jessica's mother
Gina Hecht as Principal Rhonda Barr

Recurring Season 2

Lennie James as Charlie
Kathryn Hahn as Claire
Alanna Ubach as Yael Koontz
Loren Lester as Howard Koontz
Marylouise Burke as Jessica's mother

Episodes

Reception/Awards

Hung was very 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.^[4]

Additionally, the series has received major award nominations. In 2010, Hung earned two Golden Globe Award nominations.^[5]

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series - Musical or Comedy: Thomas Jane
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie: Jane Adams

It was also nominated for a Writers' Guild Award, for best new series.^[5]

Distribution

DVD releases

Season	Region 1 Release Date	Region 2 Release Date	Region 4 Release Date	Episodes	Discs	Bonus Features
1	June 22, 2010	September 13, 2010	August 4, 2010	10	2	DISC 1: Audio commentary on episodes 1 and 4 with the creators and executive producers of the series Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin. - Disc 2: About Hung. • Women Hung. • Personals Ray and Tanya. • Audio commentary on episode 8 with the creators and executive producers of the series Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin and writer Brett C. Leonard.	-

International broadcasting

Country	Television Network
Latin America	HBO Latin America
Southeast Asia	HBO Asia (2010-01-08)
Australia	Showcase on Foxtel and Seven Network
Belgium	Prime
Bulgaria	HBO
Canada	HBO Canada
Croatia	HBO
Czech Republic	HBO
Middle East	OSN Comedy
Estonia	ETV
Finland (premiered on September 24, 2010)	YLE TV2
Germany (starting May 6, 2010)	Comedy Central
Hungary	HBO
Iceland	Stöð 2
Ireland	3e
Israel	yes stars Drama HD
Italy	SKY Uno
Macedonia	HBO Macedonia
Montenegro	HBO
Netherlands	Comedy Central
New Zealand	TV One
Nordic countries	Canal+
Norway	Canal+, NRK1
Philippines	HBO
Poland	HBO
Portugal	Fox Next
Romania	HBO
Serbia	HBO
Slovenia	HBO
South Africa	MNET
Spain (premiered on January 10, 2010)	Canal+ Spain
Turkey	e2, CNBC-e
United Kingdom	Channel 4 (Season One) More 4 (Season Two)