About Hung (HBO)

First aired in 2009, HBO's television series Hung revolves around the life of a high school basketball coach named Ray Drecker, played by Thomas Jane, who resorts to becoming a male prostitute to overcome financial difficulties. Utilizing his best 'asset', Ray embarks on an unconventional journey, creating an engaging story of desperation and redemption.

Making / Production

Hung was produced by HBO, with Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson as creators. Michael Rosenberg, John Morayniss, and Emily Kapnek worked as executive producers, and the series was shot in locations around Detroit and West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Actors

• Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker: Jane plays the lead role of Ray Drecker, a struggling high school coach who turns to male prostitution. He excellently explores the complexities of his character's desperate circumstance.
• Jane Adams as Tanya Skagle: Adams portrays Tanya, a writer turned pimp who helps Drecker manage his unique business. She brings a nuanced performance to her character's quirky brand of optimism.
• Anne Heche as Jessica Haxon: Heche excels as Ray's ex-wife, Jessica. She depicts a host of conflicting emotions as she navigates her newly single life and complicated feelings for Ray.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The character of Ray Drecker was named after the real-life insurance agent of co-creator Dmitry Lipkin.
• The series is set in Detroit, Michigan, a location chosen to symbolize the hard economic times faced by its main character.

Awards

The series received significant critical acclaim, with Jane Adams winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series in 2010. The series itself was nominated for Best Television Series - Comedy by the Golden Globe Awards the same year.

Quotes

• "Happiness is not getting what you want, it's wanting what you got." - Ray Drecker
• "Sexual pleasure, unlike say, a car, is potentially an infinite resource." - Tanya Skagle

Music, Soundtrack

• People Got A Lotta Nerve: This track by Neko Case is the series' opening theme.
• Little Honey: A song by Acid House Kings used in the soundtrack.