Hung

The first season of Hung concluded on HBO last night.

Throughout the latest episode, Ray faced a decision: Lenore or Tanya? Who would best serve his financial needs as a pimp?

In the end, this is a show about sex after all, so Ray made the easy, most exciting choice: a threesome!

Read all about it in our recap of "A Dick and a Dream."

Our favorite Hung quotes from the half hour included:

Tanya: Don't you wanna bring happiness to the world on some level?
Ray: Sure. But for now, I'll settle for employment. | permalink

Ray: I used to have a family. I used to have a wife, kids, a house, a job. Now, well, now I have my d**k. A d**k and a dream. If that's not the American way, what is? | permalink

Tanya: (to Ray) You ever been in a threesome? Everyone I've ever been in, the other two people screw while all I do is bring them water. | permalink

Lenore: Your vagina is like a car battery. You've got to keep it charged. | permalink

On this week's episode of Hung, Tanya finds herself a man (yay!).

Meanwhile, Ray finds himself stood up by Jemma (boo!).

Read a complete recap of "The Rita Flower or The Indelible Stench" now and see what else went down.

Below are a few of our favorite Hung quotes from the half hour:

Floyd: It was great to see you, Tanya.
Tanya: Well yeah, f**k you, Floyd! | permalink

Pierce: Out or curiosity, did Jacob have any pubic hair? Because I do. And I actually feel you're about to start a brush fire. | permalink

Ray: (voice-over while making love to Jemma) It was just me and her making out in my tent with the wind howling outside. It felt different this time. It felt real.... which is why waking up next to that pile of cold hard cash felt like such a kick in the gut. | permalink

As Ray Drecker fully embraces his new, unusual occupation, will Hung spend a lot of time focusing on this character's attempts to hide his job?

Not really, producers say.

At the 2009 Television Critics Association summer press tour, Colette Burson responded to this question:

"We're not so interested in that. We're not interested in who finds out and in him trying to hide it; that feels false to us. We're much more interested in him alone in a room with a woman, or his relationship with his ex-wife, or his relationship with his pimp. It's really about those interconnections to us."

Catch up on our favorite Hung quotes right now!

Large private parts and promiscuous sex aren't the only topics focused on by Hung.

The HBO hit took a look at loneliness this week, as viewers were exposed to more of Tanya's sad personal life, along with the story of a troubled woman that desperately wanted to be loved.

How was Ray asked to fulfill that desperation? Read our recap of "Do It Monkey" to find out.

No major shocks from HBO at this week;s Television Critics Association press tour.

The cable network officially announced that True Blood, Entourage and Hung have been picked up for another season. The former two shows have been huge hits for the channel, while the latter has pulled in surprisingly strong numbers, despite mixed reviews.

Considering its constantly improving ratings, certainly no surprise that True Blood is coming back. But Michael Lombardo, HBO's president of programming, explained to the crowd anyway:

"One of the reasons we brought [True Blood] back as soon as we did was it always felt like a summer show. The hope and expectation is to try to bring it back next summer as well."

Regarding Hung, executive producer Dmitry Lipkin said:

"We're not interested in a sex farce. We're interested in exploring the real repercussionss of what it would be like for a very unlikely pimp and a very unlikely ho to come together and to try to do this, and the emotional price that one may pay for it."

On this episode of Hung, the partnership and friendship between Ray and Tanya us tested.

That's what happens when the client with which one's pimp sets one up with doesn't pay any money for one's services.

But there appears to be a happy ending at the conclusion of "Strange Friends." Read our detailed recap of events now.

A few of our favorite Hung quotes from the episode:

Tanya: We're friends, right?
Ray: Strange friends. | permalink

Tanya: It's like my mother always said: I'm too desperate to be liked.
Ray: You're mother said that? That's awful.
Tanya: Let's not go there, Ray. | permalink

Ray [to Tanya]: You're the worst pimp in the world! | permalink

It looks like HBO has hit a home run with its new Sunday night lineup.

With Entourage returning for a sixth season last night, the cable network has found a one-two-three punch that rivals any on television...

• The sixth season premiere of Entourage earned its largest audience in more than two years, as the premiere pulled in 3.4 million viewers. 
• The second episode of Hung grew 29% from its season premiere; it was seen by 3.6 million viewers last night.
• True Blood posted its umpteenth series high: 3.9 million viewers, continuing its string of record-setting growth.

Can a pimp and her prostitute be girlfriend and boyfriend?

Hung will explore this age-old question as the HBO series progresses. Asked about the relationship between Tonya and Ray, executive producer Colette Burson told E! News:

"We do have a lot of interest in them as a couple obviously. As the season goes on, [Ray] realizes that there's no one else that he can express his emotions to. He comes to realize that she's his only friend. She is really attracted to him and attached to him throughout."

The put it bluntly, as proven on the series premiere, she also loves his large penis.

On Hung, Jane Adams' character of Tanya has agreed to serve as Ray's pimp.

Such an arrangement has troubled a few viewers, as they grapple with the moral decency of such a set-up. (This causes us to wonder why they tuned in to the show in the first place, of course, as it never made any secret about its storyline.)

In response to such criticism, Executive Producer Dmitry Lipkin told E! News:

"Tanya really thinks they're doing something new and groundbreaking. They're bringing happiness into the world. Maybe it's misguided, maybe it's not, but we embrace that idea. She's not seeing it just as a moneymaking venture. She's seeing it as a way to change her life and change other people's lives."

So there you have it. Is this a satifactory explanation of Hung's intentions?

Or do you not care, as long as the show is entertaining?

Ray Drecker's penis isn't the only thing that's big about Hung.

The series premiere of the HBO series delivered 2.8 million viewers in its 10 p.m. timeslot Sunday; combined with its midnight replay, the show drew 3.7 million viewers.

Those figures make Hung - a light-hearted drama about a depressed high school coach who becomes a gigolo - the highest-rated HBO premiere since John From Cincinnati.

Undoubtedly helping Hung's cause was the major ratings garnered these days by True Blood, which preceded the new show.

Sunday's installment was the series most-watched ever, bringing in 3.7 million viewers in its 9 p.m. timeslot, and 5.1 million overall.