Even though Hung has thrust its way through a second season while managing to maintain its stamina, there’s an undeniable fact that threatens its long-term virility: it’s essentially Weeds but with a new gimmick. The idea of a suburban housewife selling pot in her otherwise wholesome community gets modified slightly in Hung to focus on a suburbanite high school teacher and father whom, neck deep in financial troubles, decides to become a gigolo. Both shows rely on that twinge of shock value and the challenge of stereotypes over what kind of people take up certain illicit behaviors, and each delivered with its own blend. Thanks to Mary-Louise Parker’s sex appeal and some initially snappy writing, Weeds kept burning bright until it went overboard with a few dim-witted characters and stoner archetypes, quickly devolving into smoky haze, just a remnant of what it once was. Hung just might be able to avoid the third season slump, because it relies solely on Thomas Jane’s Average Joe appeal and the humorously awkward circumstances his new career lays upon him. The second season keeps things tight and sweet, with few distractions in light of an unwavering determination to explore the politics of a gigolo and his two pimps at odds with one another.
The first season saw the formation of Happiness Consultants, the front for Ray (Jane) and Tanya’s (Jane Adams) gigolo business, and their struggle to get it off the ground after a series of odd customers and an entrepreneurship class not worth a damn. For Ray, save for the money problems as he attempted to repair his burned down house, the business went along smoothly, with him learning how to better meet the needs of his clients beyond just being well-endowed. Tanya, on the other hand, felt the constant weight of failure and finally desperation as the charismatic and somewhat sociopathic Lenore Rebecca Creskoff) stepped in, offering to give Happiness Consultants access to her rich clientele of lonely women in exchange for a cut. The introduction of a second pimp saw things heating up at the end of the first season, and it’s that rivalry with fuels most of the second season’s drama.
With Lenore and Tanya at one another’s throat, Tanya usually finds herself on the losing end of conflicts and thus becomes desperate, resorting to tactics that not only land her in the company of real pimp Charlie (Lennie James) but also see her cheating those around her as she indulges in things against her better judgment. It’s this tunnel vision that pushes her to pick up a second gigolo in the form of Mike (Gregg Henry), Ray’s fellow teacher, as she courts the business of a woman that will push her ahead of Lenore in the competition to determine which of them is the best leader of the business. Ray, meanwhile, just does what he does best: he gives the ladies what they want, while overcoming his compulsion to give advice and dealing with his ex-wife (Anne Heche), who just might still have feelings for him, and their two children (Charlie Saxton, Sianoa Smit-McPhee) as they struggle with their social lives.
Thomas Jane may be the de facto lead, and he’s certainly on screen for half the season as he lives in a tent in his backyard and sleeps with his neighbor’s wife, but it’s the storyline between Lenore and Tanya that really makes the second season worth watching. As Tanya begins to break down under the pressure of proving her merit as the head of the business to Ray, Lenore slowly chips away at her self-confidence with one ploy after another. Even though it’s clear that Lenore is something of a bitch, the writers have no qualms about painting Tanya as something of a troubled individual, and the steps she takes make it hard to root for her. The resolution for the conflict may not be the most satisfying, but it’s awfully realistic in a number of ways. There’s no huge explosion, but the reactions from Ray and others to everything Tanya did in order to come out somewhere close to the top, only make the relationships between the characters that much better.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There’s nothing too unique to be found here, but a behind-the-scenes featurette offers the most meat out of the three choices. Deleted scenes and audio commentaries on five of the ten episodes fill out the rest.
"Hung: The Complete Second Season" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Daniel Attias, Bronwen Hughes. Written by Colette Burson, Dmitry Lipkin. Starring Anne Heche, Eddie Jemison, Jane Adams, Thomas Jane, Rebecca Creskoff, Charlie Saxton, Sianoa Smit Mcphee, Gregg Henry.
