Line #8 Series/Hung


1	[[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hung-hbo-thomas-jane-jane-adams1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:326: Pictured from left to right: ho, pimp.]]
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4	An Creator/{{HBO}} comedy series that first began airing in 2009 and ran for three seasons with a total of 30 episodes. It [[NoEnding ends inconclusively]] after [[{{Cancellation}} not being renewed for a fourth season]].
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6	Creator/ThomasJane stars as Ray Drecker, Creator/AnneHeche as Jessica Haxon, Creator/JaneAdams as Tanya Skagle, and Creator/EddieJemison as Ronnie Haxon.
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8	Set in suburban UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}, the series is about a down-on-his-luck, divorced father whose house is burned down and can't come up with the money to fix it so he can get his kids back. Solution? Become a male prostitute, of course!
9	----
10	!!Tropes:
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12	* AllergicToLove: Specifically, Ray supposedly causes Jessica to break out in hives in season 2.
13	* AmicableExes: Ray and Jessica, for the most part.
14	* BaitAndSwitchLesbians: Inverted. Tanya wants to get a loan and heads to the bank to show her "happiness consultant" business. Which, of course, involves Ray showing off the "product." During the date part of the thing, one of the girls is told by her friend she's too uptight. Ray talks her into staying, and it appears he's gonna be in the center of a threesome with BettyAndVeronica. Instead, the two girls decide they like ''each other'' and he's not really needed, so they shoo him out. The next day, the [[TakeOurWordForIt loan is approved]].
15	* BiggerIsBetterInBed: The entire premise revolves around this, of course. Ray's package is the one thing his ex-wife will admit he still has.
16	* DiegeticSwitch: Done with a projection of ''Theatre/ManOfLaMancha''.
17	* EpicFail: Tanya trying to "fire" Ray's "client" Jemma. Jemma pretty much just blows her off, as well she should since Tanya had the stupid idea to try and do this at Jemma's workplace.
18	* FallenOnHardTimesJob: The premise of the show; the recession has hit Ray hard and he is unable to make ends-meet with his job as a substitute teacher. Prostitution ensues.
19	* FanService:
20	** Thomas Jane is stripping naked in the opening credits. He appears naked several other times throughout the series. The ladies have no problem getting used to this. This is almost turned into a OnceAnEpisode gag.
21	** Most of the ladies requiring Ray's services are quite attractive and young-ish (to the point where their TroubledButCute issues are needed to [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief maintain some plausibility]]) and are prone to show some skin.
22	* FirstFatherWins
23	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[spoiler: Tanya hooks up with a sleazy pimp on parole and pays the price for it. In the end he abides to a reparation, however]]
24	* ICouldaBeenAContender: Ray was an an all-star athlete in high school, but suffered a CareerEndingInjury. His GloryDays are still [[FamedInStory fondly remembered]] by sports aficionados.
25	* IdiotBall: Ray, especially in later episodes as he pursues somewhat of a relationship with Jemma. Tanya qualifies for how she handles it.
26	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: They usually begin with one of the main things going on in the plot, then "or" and have a humorous double entendre. Example: "Take the Cake or Are You Packing?"
27	* TheImmodestOrgasm
28	* JadedWashout: Ray became this without realizing it. Albeit a still very good-looking JadedWashout-type.
29	* LiterallyLovingThyNeighbor: The rich Jewish couple who live next to Raymond are initially at odds with him over the state of his house, but after Ray gives the female neighbor, Yael, a box of cookies as an apology (actually a gift from Ray's sponsor/pimp Tanya, which included a hidden note calling him a sexy beast), she starts a steamy affair with Ray. Basically, buying sex by letting him use their shower. She even orders a new mattress to continue their hanky panky when she starts coming over to Ray's damaged home regularly.
30	* MagicalNegro: Lampshade by Charlie.
31	-->You come to me for advice like I'm some kind of magical [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] Negro, but you don't listen.
32	* TheMissusAndTheEx: Parodied in the sixth episode when [[spoiler: Tanya and Jessica meet for the first time. Played straight when Jessica sees Ray kiss his now "girlfriend" Jemma at the basketball game.]]
33	* NoPreggerSex: One of Ray's client is needy because of this trope. She is provided with a satisfactory manual job instead
34	* NeverTrustATrailer: Promos make it look like a pure sex comedy, but the show's really more of a dramedy about a middle-aged man dealing with a bad economy and the aftermath of a divorce.
35	* OddFriendship: Ray and Tanya. In season 2, Tanya and Charlie, sort of.
36	* RichBitch: Lenore, emphasis on bitch.
37	* TheRival: Jason, younger but... less packed ho.
38	* SeriousBusiness: In the appropriately-named episode "The Middle East is Complicated", Ray is sleeping with his Israeli neighbour and an Arab client at the same time (though not together). They try to force him to "pick a side" whether [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummus hummus]] has been invented by Arabs or Jews, and which of the two women makes better hummus. Of course, Ray is completely clueless and doesn't see why this is even an issue.
39	* TakingTheKids: Seemingly inverted in the pilot until the house fire forces Ray's kids to live with their mother Jessica (Ray's ex-wife) until the house is repaired. Jessica then claims that the kids will be remaining in her care.
40	** "Who do I have to fuck around here to get my kids back?!"
41	* TookALevelInDumbass: Ray after episode six. He would become better at his job in certain intervals but then backslided by [[spoiler: continuing service with the obviously crazy Jemma, who paid him to come to one of her therapy sessions so she could yell at him ''without explaining anything about what was going on to him''. He then completely ignores Tanya's authority and asks Jemma to "go steady" with him i.e. date him without payment. He is now either the best or worst male prostitute ever.]]
42	* VillainousGentrification: A lot of the properties in Ray's old neighborhood have been bought up by significantly wealthier residents to build luxury mansions, to the point where his single-floor wooden home that has stood there for decades looks incredibly out of place.
43	* WomanScorned: Lydia arrests Ray and Tanya after Ray stands her up.
44	* {{Yandere}}: Not quite the AxCrazy type, but Lydia (the policewoman) is very close.

Context Series / Hung