It’s Hank’s first turn as producer/writer on set of Santa Monica Cop, but things very quickly derail for him as he has to deal with diva artists, actresses that want to sleep with him, as well as every other obstacle that could possibly ruin his big day as first-time producer.
The episode kicks off on the set, where the show’s star Hashtag, is acting overly dramatic and trying to change the lines of the script Hank wrote so he can use derogatory language towards his female costars. Hank’s then propositioned (again!), by the lead actress on the show Amy, who asks Hank back to her trailer so he can give her some “notes”. Rath then appears and tells Hank that he needs to stay away from the actresses. He also tells him that he’s producing the episode so it’s up to him what changes are made to the script. When Hank’s walking away, he runs into Julia who rushes him into her trailer. She tells him how badly she wants him inside her, and while Hank tries his best to avoid the situation to further getting into any trouble, Julia is impossible to resist. Levon then nearly walks in on the two of them, which is a very weird situation for everybody considering that it’s actually his mom and dad.
In Hank’s attempt to avoid Hashtag and deal with all his demands over changes to the script and episode, Levon asks him to come sit in on his audition for a small part on the show. Levon is sweating profusely and is extremely nervous for his audition, so he tries to center himself by doing jumping jacks and some random stretches. But he accidentally falls over and crashes onto the tripod in the process. Things then get worse when he begins farting in the middle of his audition, which totally ruins it. The audition is then interrupted when someone comes rushing in to tell Hank that Hashtag is coming up the stairs looking for him.
On his way to meet Hashtag, Hank runs into yet another female admirer. Another writer on the show pulls him into her office and propositions him right there on her office couch, telling him that they should partake in an inter-office romance. Fortunately Hank is able to dodge the situation before he gets into any more hot water with the women on the set. Then yet another interference comes Hank’s way when Charlie randomly appears on the set. He tells Hank about Stu’s million-dollar offer for him and Marcy. Just as he tells him about the offer, Stu himself appears on the set (he’s executive producer) and tells Runkle that he’s going to put a time limit on his offer. Charlie responds by swiftly punching Stu in the stomach.
Hank then runs into Hashtag who invites him to come smoke pot and talk to him about the show. Hashtag tells Hank about all his insecurities and worries with the show. He also tells him that he had some of his comedy friends rewrite parts of the script Hank wrote to make it funnier. He also explains to Hank that he’s hot for the female lead Amy (who Hank has been fooling around with) and wants to incorporate a kissing scene somewhere in the episode. Their meet-up concludes and Hank is dragged into Amy’s trailer again. Now she’s in her finest lingerie and starts making out with Hank. Hashtag then walks into her trailer and finds them making out, which causes him to go mental because he had pegged Amy as the woman to fill his need for an on-set romance.
Just as Hank’s stressful day as producer keeps compiling, he’s set to meet Karen in a half hour to have a drink and discuss the situation of telling his daughter Becca about his estranged son, and estranged other family. This puts the pressure on Hank to sort everything out and make sure the episode comes together at last.
Finally, they’re ready to shoot but Rath appears and is angry that Hashtag is trying to run the episode. Hashtag then throws Hank under the bus when he tells Rath that he should keep Hank away from the actresses, and that he walked in on Hank and Amy in her trailer five minutes ago. This angers Julia who yells out that her and Hank had sex just a few nights ago. Rath is livid with Hank as he knew that he liked Julia, particularly considering that he confided in Hank when he told him about his feelings for her. Levon then jumps in and is ecstatic on the prospect of his mom and dad possibly getting back together.
Everything finally calms down and Hank receives a call from Karen’s phone. He answers it thinking that she’s just angry that he’s running late. But it’s actually Marcy calling from Karen’s phone. Karen has been in a horrible car accident and is in the ER. The episode then concludes as Hank frantically speeds off in his Porsche.
There are only four episodes left. There’s no question that the final ending of Californication is slowly being unraveled now. Now it just begs the question, is Karen going to recover? Or is this just the tip of the iceberg for that heartbreaking ending we didn’t want? Tune in next week for all the flashbacks taking us through Hank and Karen’s past!
