Hung - Season 2

I didn't really genuinely start liking this show until the second half of the first season, and it doesn't do very much to keep that momentum this time around. Despite not knowing anyone who really enjoys the show or even watches it, it's getting a third season. I'll keep watching because the show still has its good bits and I've grown quite fond of Thomas Jane's depiction of a down-on-his-luck Detroit dad. There's less focus on his business as a prostitute this season, and more general worrying about the economy, dealing with the likely loss of his job, and trying to rekindle something with his ex-wife.

Even when he is seeing a client, there isn't much going on with it. Jemma last year was a unique and interesting situation for him to deal with, and the only one who isn't a one-note joke this season is Francis, who ends up sequestered in her own subplot with his friend Mike. It's really shifted away from the show it was supposedly supposed to be, as the creators try to say something about everything and it just becomes less tightly plotted than it should be, which is an issue when you only have five hours to do everything you want to in the season.

I was disappointed with Tanya this season, too. She's very likable when she's put upon, but they tried to make her act much more aggressively this time, and just didn't do the work to make her still sympathetic in that situation. Lenore's the one who's supposed to be a horrible woman, and Tanya just doesn't wear it well. His kids are just sort of there again, and Ronnie just ends up as an unlikable shit when he really should be a pitiable character. I don't know. It's stuck between being a comedy and a drama, and does neither particularly well. Still, it's watchable enough that I don't want to give up on it. I guess that's something?