The Client List

I'm already developing a sort of love/hate relationship with this show. The love part is with Jennifer Love Hewitt, especially with the way she is so good at creating warm, likable and lovable characters. That's a big plus for me because I just finished watching the first (and probably the last) season of Ringer only to never attain that feeling of empathy or connection with the characters. Riley is very easy to like and feel a connection with. I also like and care about the other characters on the show, her coworkers and her mother (played by Cybill Sheperd). I also like the premise of the show which is about a single mother trying figure out how to provide on her own and going into prostitution as a means to do that which has to be a common issue for some single mothers.

The problems I'm having with the show have to do with the plot lines and characters needing more depth and complexity. There's simply not enough internal and external conflict happening with Riley over the choices she's making. She fairly easily segues into performing sexual favors after being hired as an LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist) without the pesky conscience. What I would expect to see is a woman who might start this in need of money to raise her kids but would have a mixture of good and bad in choosing it. She might go through periods of self-searching and guilt or disgust while sometimes actually enjoying it. She might develop issues of self-esteem while at the same time feeling a sense of power and confidence in her sexuality and in her life in general. But her experience so far is one-noted and difficult to believe. It just all comes off as so easy for her.

Another problem is the glorifying of the prostitution. It's made to look (exclusively) like a glamorous profession, easy to do, fabulous clothes and men who are all successful and good looking. Seriously, the "johns" so far are guys who could easily get it for free. They need to show more average, bald, old, fat, insecure or ugly men and Riley having to deal with performing sexually on guys who it wouldn't always be so personally gratifying for her to perform for. There are other issues that also need to be brought in (and maybe will be) such as the threat of STDs, the john who is abusive or dangerous, the angry wife. They did a little thing of a wife painting "WHORE" on Riley's car but it was turned into a big nothing. I would like to see a situation where some wife or girlfriend writes "WHORE" on Riley's car and comes after her but Riley has no defense or justification or is not vindicated in some way but has to deal with the real repercussions of being a hooker and damaging marriages and relationships. They're whitewashing what Riley is doing for a living and they made it look like the wife was the one to blame for the husband going to a "brothel".

Finally, there's this unexpected issue with the show. LMTs are up-in-arms about this show because they feel that it is depicting their profession in a negative light. They feel it enforces the misconceptions and stereotypes that it's common that LMTs perform sexually for clients as part of their job. A perception that they've combated for many years. They are afraid that they will lose the respect they have fought for and that it will cause an increase in clients coming in expecting, or possibly demanding, sexual favors in a hostile manner. They are concerned that LMTs who work alone may actually have their safety compromised by a client who won't take no for an answer. At the very least, the show will dredge up a loss of respect, snickers and jokes about the profession that LMTs have been able to assuage through decades of public education. I think they're right. The reason is because this show isn't depicting this scenario as a tacky "massage parlor" that is an obvious front to prostitution (something that I think the original movie came closer to) but as a legitimate massage therapy facility where the LMTs are performing sexually for clients. When real LMTs have posted their concerns on the CL Facebook page and on various message boards, they are met with disdain and ridicule by (already) fans of the show and treated like a nuisance that is raining on everybody's parade but they do have legitimate concerns that should be acknowledged. I don't think the show should be canceled or pulled like some LMTs suggest but they could have depicted the premise in a different manner (like the movie) or possibly attach a disclaimer about this issue during airing of episodes (as another LMT suggested). People pretty much know the difference between reality and fantasy, that real LMTs aren't hookers, right? But the reality is that there are plenty of people who watch TV and think that they are being well "educated" about something and will act on it.

This show has a lot of potential to go into areas about the premise with intelligence, sensitivity and depth. I hope it does so.

My wife & I stumbled on this 2012/2013 2-season series on the "Recommended" row of TubiTV. We were looking for something to watch in this end-of-year stretch of nothing new to watch, and the strikes depleting the normal load of content.

I agree with the positive reviews I read, and am not going to repeat what they said.

I am not familiar with the book that is based on a true story. The synopsis of the 2010 movie is way different than the series, and I don't think would enjoy the movie version. This show was probably a little edgy for the time, but TV-14 rated and balanced with comedic and light to medium drama scenarios. The end of season 2 went a bit sideways. Too bad it was cancelled. There were a few good directions it could have gone, and I was hoping to see the story play out.

I'm really amazed by how honest and accurate this show is regarding sexuality. It completely flies in the face of long established post- war dogma.

1) The inclusion of obese women, while not visually appealing, makes the show realistic. No one can deny that female obesity greatly exceeds male obesity, yet outside of a few major metro areas this is a regular part of life that is not depicted on television.

2) We live in a world today that proclaims women as victims of all manner of sex crimes, prostitution among them. Uniformly in this show, we see how prostitution is very much entwined with all female characters even if it is simply tolerance.

3) Amazingly, male socio-sexual behavior is very accurately prescribed. Most men are without question losers, or desperately desiring female love and affirmation. It is hard to watch this show and believe in "the patriarchy". Yet, this is how it goes.

4) The depiction of the kids is really tremendous. This is a messed up show in many ways, and it does show them as a casualty. You can't walk away from this and think broken families are a good thing.

5) The diversity police weren't bad in this show. I feel like the black and white relations were very typical of modern Southern society. Nothing seemed forced, and it seemed genuine.

6) While the show clearly shows how prostitution is a part of the female existence, there is an element of caring to it that is not commonly understood.

7) The show indirectly brings awareness of the ongoing economic crisis. Soft prostitution has undoubtedly increased significantly over the years, and this shows just how it happens.

I read some of the reviews before watching and I would not have watched it except that I like Jennifer Love Hewitt. So I decided to give it a try. Now, I'm not an experience reviewer but, it's not true that the acting and the script are awful. Yes, maybe not award winning but I found it engaging and interesting. Character development is good. I felt empathy for the main character and her struggles. It's a metaphor for "anything that can go wrong, will". Yes, I found it a little ridiculous that all her clients were hotties but I got over that. I feel some of the reviews are plain hateful. The "don't waste your time" and "avoid at all cost" comments are totally off. So, the bottom line, it's worth a try, if you don't like it after one episode, you only wasted one hour.

I really miss Ghost Whisperer and was happy to see Jennifer Love Hewitt in another series. This show to me has a very similar vibe to Ghost Whisperer, but instead of ghosts being gently coaxed to go into the light, gorgeous men are coaxed to find a life outside paid sex, whether that be in the form of working on their marriage or ending their workaholic ways. Guess that's a little like going into the light.

It is indeed a very silly show. But then so was Ghost Whisperer. I'm not complaining, except for the prostitution aspect of it. The Client List is very entertaining. Jennifer Love Hewitt has something that comes across that screen and makes me care about what is going to happen to her character. I cringe to think of the day when Riley is outed to her family and friends.

It's wonderful to see Cybill Shepherd in another TV series, and she is living up to her well-deserved reputation as a great actor, comedy or drama. She's the perfect Mom to Hewitt. I still miss Moonlighting, one of the best shows ever made, and also very silly. And I love, love, love Loretta Devine as Georgia, manager of the massage parlor. Without her, the massage parlor wouldn't have the comedy that it needs, and even with her amazing talent, there is still not enough comedy in that workplace.

On the downside, I think the show would stand just fine on its own without using prostitution to show the plight of a woman struggling to raise children on her own.

If the prostitution in this show is intended to be comedy, then more needs to be done to let the audience in on the joke. The way it is now, there is just enough serious in the plot that it begs the point to made about what prostitution really is: a sad, heartbreaking thing that has more victims and tears than beautiful women, gorgeous men, and laughter.

Regardless, I still enjoy this show a lot, and I will keep watching it.