I don’t know what took the pay television executives so long. But the guy who said, “Hey, if we produce our own television shows, we can get away with ... anything!”
Hope they gave that man a cigar. And a
$25 million bonus.

HBO began the trend, airing shows networks could never touch. They were edgy and different, with topics that could be explored in R-rated episodes intended for adult audiences.
And they were wicked successful.

The early brainstorming sessions must have went something like this:
* “How about a show about mob guys, complete with all the violent whacks, all the swearing, all the fights at home?”
* “Let’s do a show about a funeral home, and show graphic death scenes, the funeral technician’s basement and their troubled relationships!”
* “Four women, their loves and lives in New York City — it will be a smash!”
* “The old west the way it was never shown on ‘Bonanza’ or ‘Gunsmoke’ — let’s show all the seedy characters and situations, the mud, the blood and the booze. And we’ll use swear words they’ve rarely touched on television!”

That’s how HBO subscribers got “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “Sex and the City” and “Deadwood.” And I haven’t even mentioned my current fave, Bill Hendrickson and his three wives — a show about polygamy! — in “Big Love.”

I haven’t been as bullish on Showtime’s stable of over-the-edge programming. I gave high marks to “Dexter,” a series about occasionally friendly and occasionally ruthless serial killer Dexter Morgan — he only rubs out people who have it coming. But I have not committed to the suburban dope growers on “Weeds,” the gangster-politician duo on “Brotherhood,” the female crew of “The L Word” or the troubled, goofball novelist in “Californication.”

Last week, I tuned in Showtime’s newest series — “Secret Diary of a Call Girl.” And I might become a regular customer.

The show isn’t really new. The British-made, 24-minute program stars Billie Piper as Belle, a call girl who tells viewers an appreciation of both sex and money are the reasons for her secret life. Showtime is running the first eight episodes of the series, which first aired last fall in Great Britain.

You would think prostitution would be one subject TV — even pay TV — would not be able to touch. The “world’s oldest profession” ruins lives on both ends of the business deal. But maybe someone said the same thing about a realistic mob show. Or about a program that wrings laughs and drama out of growing marijuana at home.

At any rate, Piper is an appealing lead. And the show, at least at first glance, is relatively tame.
In the first episode, Belle and her boyfriend waste a real estate agent’s by looking at a house they could never afford. Belle also spends time with her agent and a couple clients. By the end of the show, she’s in her underwear, wearing a cowboy hat and playing old west with a weird dude in long, full sideburns. Guess that look is still in around London.
The second season is currently filming in London. A third season is planned.

A show about call girls — perhaps the mildest words to describe “ladies of the evening” — would never fly on the networks. I wonder how the writing will develop — seemed a little weak, even a little corny — the first time out.

Still, I think people will like to watch just because there’s never been anything like it before.
That’s a big reason why folks like these premium channel productions .... for doctors, lawyers and cops I’ll go to ABC and NBC.
For mobsters, funeral directors and polygamists — and now call girls — I’ll go someplace else.

Another episode comes calling tonight at 10:30.