Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is a womanizing, hedonistic, self-loathing writer struggling to write in L. A. His baby mamma Karen (Natascha McElhone) is the love of his life but he could never take the big step to marry her. He's furious that she and their daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) have moved in with her fiancé Bill. Hank sleeps with a young woman who punches him during sex. He's shocked to find out that she's actually Bill's 16 year old, underage daughter Mia (Madeline Zima). On top of that, she starts using his unpublished works and steals his latest novella. Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) is his idiot agent and Marcy (Pamela Adlon) is Charlie's on-again-off-again loud-mouth wife.
The first season is fantastic. The oversexed Hank Moody is a compelling destructive character. F*king & Punching is a hell of a way to start a TV show. The show does deteriorate after a 9/10 first season. The first mistake is probably Karen walking out on Bill. Karen's marriage would have created another level to Hank's self-destruction. It would have also kept Mia in the show a lot longer. The end of season 3 brings another opportunity with Mia bringing the sleazy manager. Character actor James Frain is amazing and he could drive a whole season simply by himself. In the end, the show opted for more raunchy slapstick comedy and some sitcom writing rather than going darker.
The first season is fantastic. The oversexed Hank Moody is a compelling destructive character. F*king & Punching is a hell of a way to start a TV show. The show does deteriorate after a 9/10 first season. The first mistake is probably Karen walking out on Bill. Karen's marriage would have created another level to Hank's self-destruction. It would have also kept Mia in the show a lot longer. The end of season 3 brings another opportunity with Mia bringing the sleazy manager. Character actor James Frain is amazing and he could drive a whole season simply by himself. In the end, the show opted for more raunchy slapstick comedy and some sitcom writing rather than going darker.