Cathouse: The Series

Returning to the site of two of HBO s highest-rated adult documentaries 2002 s Cathouse: AU and 2003 s Cathouse 2: Back in the Saddle: AU these 2005 & 2007 Cathouse Editions, take viewers back to one of Nevada s premier tourist attractions: the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel located in a sparsely populated desert community outside of Reno. In addition to up-close-and-personal interviews with Ranch management and the women who work there (many of whom appeared in the first two specials), 17- half-hour episodes will utilize hidden cameras in the brothel s party rooms to eavesdrop on customers and working girls before, during and after sex. The series also includes footage of workshops designed to help customers (many of whom have come here with the blessing of their partners) learn about sex and become better lovers at home, as well as some wild-and-crazy revelry that takes place behind the scenes when the girls aren t working. The oldest profession is probably one occupation that Mike Rowe will never get around to for his Dirty Jobs series. Until then, we have Cathouse, a reality series broadcast on HBO that goes behind closed doors at the BunnyRanch, a legal and licensed Nevada brothel that was the subject of two previous America Undercover specials. Owned by burly Dennis Hof and run with maximum efficiency by Madam Suzette, the BunnyRanch is, excuse the pun, always hopping. There is prurient interest in watching the ladies ply their trade (shown in graphic, but not overly explicit detail), but Cathouse puts a human face on prostitution. What's a nice girl like, say, Isabella Soprano, a former prom queen and honor roll student with an infectious smile and laugh, doing in a place like this? Loving it, she assures us, "I love being able to help people." Anyone looking for a gritty expose on prostitution is advised to look elsewhere. Outside of a couple of women who "don't have what it takes" or the odd this-brothel-ain't-big-enough-for-the-both-of-us personality clashes, the BunnyRanch gals are presented as happy hookers. Variety is the spice of this series. The encounters range from "freaky and kinky to romantic," and the ladies are nothing if not versatile. Nothing and no one faze them; not a just-married couple, a transgender, frequent phone calls and videos from someone aptly named "Diaper Boy," nor even an appearance by Dan Haggerty (don't worry, Grizzly Adams fans, you won't see him "bare" all). Come for the series, but stay for Cathouse: The Musical, a 40-min. special in which several of the ladies put their own provocative and saucy spin on the American songbook, including "Let's Do It," "Let's Misbehave," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "Why Don't You Do Right?" It gives the series, and this set, the requisite happy ending. --Donald Liebenson