HBO

HBO Has spilled the beans on what it has in store for Hung fans this year.  Thomas Jane will be returning as the everyman-turned-gigolo.  Hung turned out to be one of the better comedy dramas to hit the airwaves last year, and I, for one, can't wait to see what moral slippery slopes Jane's Ray Drecker winds up on this season.  From the looks of this press-release, it looks like the Hung writers room is amping things up a bit.

HBO COMEDY SERIES HUNG KICKS OFF SECOND SEASON JUNE 27

In the recession-plagued suburbs of Detroit, Ray Drecker and his unlikely pimp, Tanya Skagle, have taken on slick “life coach” Lenore Bernard as co-pimp, devastating Tanya in the process.  With Lenore pushing a debonair version of hooker Ray on her upscale clients, Tanya wants to prove she has the “right stuff” when it comes to being a successful – and far more ethical – pimp than Lenore.  Meanwhile, Ray finds his feelings for his ex-wife Jessica rekindled.

The Golden Globe-nominated comedy series HUNG kicks off its ten-episode second season SUNDAY, JUNE 27 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, followed by the season premiere of “Entourage,” with other episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time.  Created by Colette Burson & Dmitry Lipkin (creator of “The Riches”), the timely show uses dark humor to tell the story of a man fighting to survive personal setbacks that have been compounded by a troubled economy.

The series stars Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker; Jane Adams as Ray’s business partner, Tanya Skagle; Anne Heche as Ray’s ex-wife, Jessica Haxon; Eddie Jemison as Jessica’s successful husband Ronnie; Sianoa Smit-McPhee as Ray’s daughter Darby; Charlie Saxton as Ray’s son Damon; Rebecca Creskoff as Ray’s co-pimp Lenore Bernard; and Gregg Henry as Ray’s fellow teacher Mike.

Upcoming episodes:

Episode #11:  “Just the Tip”

Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 27 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates:  June 27 (11:00 p.m.) and 29 (2:20 a.m.), and July 1 (10:00 p.m.), 2 (11:30 p.m.), 4 (midnight), 6 (2:35 a.m.), 8 (10:00 p.m.), 9 (11:30 p.m.) and 22 (8:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  June 28 (9:30 p.m.) and 30 (11:00 p.m.), and July 3 (2:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.), 4 (10:00 p.m.), 5 (9:30 p.m.) and 10 (12:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)

Ray’s (Thomas Jane) new co-partnership with Tanya (Jane Adams) and Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) gets off to a rocky start when he “holds back” during a tryst with Claire (Kathryn Hahn), a client, so he turns to Tanya for advice.  Later, Ray and other teachers picket the school in anticipation of summer layoffs.  Jessica (Anne Heche), already filled with doubts about her marriage to Ronnie (Eddie Jemison) and refusing to take calls from Lenore after her experience with the no-show gigolo (Ray), is stung by criticism from Darby (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) and Damon (Charlie Saxton).  Looking to get an edge on Lenore and regain Ray’s trust, Tanya ventures into a tough neighborhood for liberating pimping advice from a real pro.

Written by Colette Burson & Dmitry Lipkin; directed by Dan Attias.

Episode #12:  “Tucson Is the Gateway to Dick” or “This Is Not Sexy”

Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 11 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates:  July 11 (11:00 p.m.), 13 (3:00 a.m.), 15 (9:30 p.m.), 16 (11:30 p.m.) and 22 (9:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  July 12 (9:30 p.m.), 14 (11:15 p.m.) and 17 (12:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)

Ray irritates Lenore and risks losing a client by giving Claire marriage advice.  Tanya tries to prove she can land a big fish for Ray after being humiliated by Lenore during a meeting with a 60-year-old widow.  Ray uses his sex earnings to pay for the school baseball team’s transportation to away games, raising Mike’s (Gregg Henry) suspicions.  Jessica embarrasses Darby by crashing an eat-in protest outside a fitness gym.  At the end of a long day, Ray reconsiders accepting a gift delivered by his neighbor’s wife, Yael (Alanna Ubach).

Written by Dimitry Lipkin & Colette Burson and Julia Brownell; directed by David Petrarca.

Episode #13:  “Mind Bullets” or “Bang Bang Bang Bang Motherfucker”

Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 18 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates:  July 18 (11:00 p.m.), 20 (2:00 a.m.), 22 (9:30 p.m.) and 23 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  July 19 (9:30 p.m.), 21 (11:00 p.m.) and 24 (2:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)

Spurred by criticism from Damon and Darby, Ray tries to prove he’s not an insensitive ex-jock.  Seething from the demands of her new boss at work, Tanya turns to Charlie (Lennie James) for advice on how to deal with an even more irritable problem:  Lenore.  Meanwhile, Jessica feels the pinch of the economic downturn, but can’t stomach Ronnie’s (Eddie Jemison) remedy.

Written by Colette Burson & Dimitry Lipkin; directed by Jennifer Getzinger.

Episode #14:  “Sing It Again, Ray” or “Home Plate”

Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 25 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates:  July 25 (11:00 p.m.), 27 (2:30 a.m.), 29 (9:30 p.m.) and 30 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  July 26 (9:30 p.m.), 28 (11:00 p.m.) and 31 (noon, 9:00 p.m.)

Ray gives Lenore an ultimatum, and probes Tanya about the possibility of cutting ties with her fellow pimp.  Disturbed that Damon has defiled the school baseball diamond, Ray considers Tanya’s suggestion that his son find a new hobby to shake him out of his recent doldrums.  Ignoring Ray’s warning, Lenore offers Jessica advice in dealing with Ronnie.  On his way to meet a new client, Ray has to think on his feet when he runs into Mike in a hotel lobby.

Written by Brett C. Leonard; directed by Uta Briesewitz.

Wrapping its first-season run in Sept. 2009, HUNG was hailed as “HBO’s best new comedy” by the New York Times, while USA Today called the show “smart social satire.”   The Detroit News described the series as “big, wicked fun” and “highly addictive,” and the San Francisco Chronicle termed it “refreshing” and “superb.”

The series received two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical (Thomas Jane), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jane Adams).

HUNG was created by Colette Burson & Dmitry Lipkin; executive producers, Colette Burson, Dmitry Lipkin, Alexander Payne, Michael Rosenberg, Scott Stephens, Noreen Halpern and John Morayniss; co-executive producer, Angela Robinson; producer, Hilton H. Smith; supervising producer, Eileen Myers.