If anything, Hung was never a show that seemed like it could last beyond one season, much less three. A show about a male prostitute trying to find his way in the world, and his wacky adventures, doesn’t seem like it could last that long and yet Hung managed to find an audience for three seasons. It shrunk significantly from a fairly solid first season to a middling second, of course, and it would on the chopping block after a third season didn’t deliver the ratings HBO wanted.
It didn’t help that the show wasn’t all that clever, funny or good in its third season.
The show has a simple premise. Ray (Thomas Jane) is a public school teacher whose life and finances are falling apart. The one thing he has going for him is his huge penis and apparent porn star abilities in the bedroom. Whereas the first season followed his rather comical attempt at entering the whoring business, and the second his wacky adventures therein, the third showcases Ray as he and his pimp Tanya (Jane Adams) compete against their former partner Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) and her new hooker Jason (Stephen Arnell).
Shenanigans apparently ensue.
The show was on fumes in the second season and in this one there’s nothing remaining to keep it an entertaining show. The introduction of Jason is well-meaning but it just falls flat on nearly every level. This is a show that had an odd charm to it for a season but never really captured that spirit for any point thereafter. The second season had some of it but this third season has none of the charm remaining. The conceit of the show, about a guy trying to whore himself out to what he thinks are lonely, desperate women and finding out there’s all sorts of crazy in the world, has largely been abandoned because it didn’t have much staying power.
Instead we’re provided with what’s aiming to be a screwball comedy about hookers and their pimps that just doesn’t do all that much in terms of entertainment value. It was cancelled for a reason: it didn’t have anything left.
The alternate ending to the series finale is included, listed as a season finale because the show hadn’t been officially cancelled by the time the DVD packing was created. There are a handful of commentary tracks, a feature on the new set, two pieces about the show itself as well as a handful of deleted scenes.
If you’re a fan of the show and enjoyed the final season of Hung, by all means pick this up. If you’re on the fence on whether to pick it up or not then don’t. It’s not worth the investment in time or cash.
HBO presents Hung (Season 3). Created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson. Starring Thomas Jane, Janes Adams, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Charlie Saxton, Eddie Jemison, Anne Heche. Running time: 261 minutes. Not rated. Released: September 4, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
