This series, created by Brian Hurwitz, began airing on Cinemax and other cable stations in June 2004, original episodes airing once a week. The series starred Tiffany Hendra (credited as Tiffany Bolton) as Cooper and Amy Lindsay as Olivia, two women who run a dating service, called Black Tie Nights. Glen Meadows plays Ryan, who starts off as a customer of the service, and then is hired by Cooper and Olivia to work for them.  Each episode’s main plot centers around their efforts to set up a new couple, and shows us that couple’s first date.  This series was unique among most softcore TV series at the time in that it often featured ongoing sub-plots and continuing stories that could carry over from one episode to the next. Each episode would begin with a recap of the previous episode and and with a preview of the next episode. The two main subplots were Cooper’s efforts to help get Olivia over the death of her husband and get ready to date again, and Ryan’s initially unrequited crush on Cooper, who isn’t interested in monogamy or relationships. This first season ran for 13 episodes, all directed by Julie Jordan, concluding in August 2004

DATE AND SWITCH
Written by D.B. Brooks, Windsor Goodman, and Anthony L. Greene.
This is the set-up episode of the series. As it opens, Olivia is a former lawyer who is still mourning from the death of her husband Vince (Hoyt Richards aka Hoyt Richardson) from 2 years prior. Cooper is a former pro-cheerleader (they don’t say for which team or sport) who wrote a famous tell-all book. Cooper tries to get Olivia out of her rut. Jeff Archibald stars as Frank, a fashion photographer who is bitter about love after his girlfriend Lola (Ander Page) dumped him. After Cooper brags that she can find a match for anyone, pointing out that she fixed Olivia up with Vince, Olivia bets her to find a love match for Frank. Cooper sets Frank up with actress Cindi  (Beverly Lynne), and they go out on a boat ride, but Cindi just talks about herself the whole time, and Frank ends up hooking up with Allison, the woman who drove their boat (played by Elina Madison). This makes Olivia suggest that she and Cooper team up to form a matchmaking service, utilizing both of their talents and connections. Cooper knows lots of celebrities and athletes, and Olivia has rich clients from her lawyer days, and they can set them up.

This episode has 3 full b/g sex scenes. Lindsay and Richards (in a flashback scene), Lynne and Billy Chappell (who plays her ex-lover Eduardo, in a flashback) and then between Archibald and Madison. There is also a scene where Ander Page is posing nude for a photoshoot.

NAUGHTY AND NICE
Written by D.B. Brooks & Karen O’Hara
In this episode Cooper and Olivia are interviewing assistants for their new agency. Cooper just wants a hot guy in the office, but Olivia hires an older woman named Gladys (Patricia Touceda). Ryan makes his first appearance on this series as a client, and the ladies set him up with soap opera star Andrea (Kehli O’Byrne). One week after the date, the ladies interview Andrea, who says the date went very well, they had dinner at a pizzeria and then she took him back to her place for sex. In the end the ladies have to fire Gladys for sexually harassing a male client (Shankura Collinson).

There are two full sex scenes in this episode, both b/g. Hendra has a scene with Paul Medrano, who plays Cooper’s ex, Carl, who she hooks up with in the back of a limo. And there’s the scene between Meadows and O’Bryne, which is hot due to how different from the norm it is. She handcuffs him to her bed on his back, pours hot candle wax on his chest, then has sex with him cowgirl-position. Femdom fans, like myself, will like this one. Hendra also has two brief scenes, one with Daniel Spangler and one with Onnik Hovanessi, who play men that are interviewing for the assistant job. Cooper imagines have sex with each one during their interviews, both scenes are brief with little nudity (Hendra getting topless). And there’s a third scene, with Dylan Jordan, another applicant for the job, where Cooper imagines she and Olivia all dancing with him in their office while he’s wearing a speedo and the ladies are in lingerie (but no nudity).

BEAUTY AND THE BEACH
Written by D.B. Brooks & Brian Hurwitz
This episode opens with Ryan in the office, asking for his money back because he didn’t find romance with Andrea. After hearing about the need for an assistant, he applies for the job and Olivia hires him, against Cooper’s wishes. The client this episode is pro-surfer Lance (Sean Reynolds), who wants a woman who isn’t a sports groupie. For his first assignment, to see if he can do the job, Ryan sets him up with Gina, a corporate lawyer played by Angela Nicholas. The date goes well and they end up going back to Lance’s place and having sex in his kitchen. There’s also a subplot where Cooper tries to prove that she’s not afraid of relationships, after Olivia bets her to find a man and make him fall in love with her in a week, and if she does, Olivia will fire Ryan. Spoiler alert: Ryan stays.

4 b/g sex scenes in this episode. Reynolds has a scene with Tanya Lemelle, who plays Tiffany, a groupie he picks up and takes home, who steals one of his trophies after sex. Angela Nicholas has a sex scene with Andy Hopper, who plays a lawyer that Gina used to be involved with, until he became too much of a workaholic for her. Then, of course, the aforementioned scene with Reynolds and Angela. And the final scene is with Hendra and Collier Landry, who plays the dude Cooper tries to start a relationship with.

A GIRL THING
Written by D.B. Brooks and Windsor Goodman
Grace Tom stars as Helen, a Talent Agent who hasn’t had a date in 2 years. From her interview, Coopers is convinced that Helen is secretly a lesbian, who just doesn’t realize it yet. Olivia and Ryan are skeptical, but Cooper sets out to prove it. She sets Helen up on a date with Bob, who is supposed to meet her at a restaurant. Helen gets there first and waits, but Bob stands her up. Helen meets another woman at the bar, her name is Ann (played by the legendary Monique Parent) and, coincidentally, is in the same business. The two women start talking and have dinner, where Ann admits to being a lesbian, and the next day the two women meet at the beach for an official date. It turns out that was Cooper’s plan all along, as there was no man named Bob, she was setting Helen up with Ann.

There 4 sex scenes here. Hendra has a sex scene with Noah Frank, who plays Cooper’s latest hook-up, and a scene with Meadows, in what is just a fantasy of Ryan’s. Both scenes take place on staircases, for some reason. And there’s a threesome with Monique Parent, Dawn Arellano, and Jon Fleming in a flashback threesome as Ann tells Helen about her first time having sex with a woman back in college. And then there’s the lesbian scene on the beach with Grace and Monique.

THE SEX SENSE
Written by Anthony L. Greene.
Amber France stars as Carol, an interior designer who hosts a home-makeover TV show. The agency sets her up with Jeff (Steven Kent), an architect who also flips houses. During their date, Carol comes along with Jeff when he goes to check out an old house that he is considering buying. The caretaker of the house tells them that some belief that the house it haunted by the spirits of two young lovers who were shot to death there years ago. This leads to a ghostly encounter, but then a sexual one.

The 4 sex scenes are, first one between France and Allen Nabors, who plays a man who was once a guest on Carol’s show, and Carole tells Olivia about hooking up with him once. Rochelle Vallese and Frank Mercuri play dual roles and have two scenes. In a black and white flashback they play the lovers who have sex in the house before they were killed. In the present they play the caretaker of the house and the handyman, whom Carol and Jeff catch having sex in the house. Watching them turns them on, which leads to sex between Carol and Jeff. Theyonly problem with that is that the episode uses split screens to show the two couples having sex at the same time in different rooms, which I find distracting, and kills the momentum of each scene. It would have been better if the episode focused on just one scene at a time.

Also, in a continuity node, Cooper gets a post-card from Frank and Allison, the couple she fixed up in the first episode, telling her that they’ve gotten married and are on their honeymoon. Cooper tells Olivia that, as per their bet, Olivia has to to let Cooper fix her up with someone now. Olivia remains reluctant, and we get a repeat of the flashback sex scene between her and Vince from episode 1.

LUCK BE A LADY
Written by D.B. Brooks and Anthony L. Greene
Tamie Sheffield stars as Darcy, a woman from a sheltered conservative background who wants to experience more out of life. They set her up with Nick, a party guy from Las Vegas, played by Ronnie Gene Blevins. Cooper thinks they’re each what the other needs, and she personally escorts Darcy to Vegas (with Ryan driving them in a limo) to meet Nick. Despit some initial uneasiness, mainly caused by the presence of Nick’s stripper ex-girlfriend “Diamond” (Symone Humphris), Darcy and Nick end up being another successful match.

Three sex scenes. Tamie and Michael C. Tucker, who plays Darcy’s ex Harvey. In a flashback we see them have sex in a classroom back in college. And a scene with Blevins and Humphris, as they have sex backstage in Diamond’s dressing room (Humphris also performs two topless strip routines in this episode), and then finally the scene with Sheffield and Blevins as Darcy and Nick have sex in her hotel room. And I have to single that out as one VERY hot scene.

GIRL ON PAGE 19
Written by D.B. Brooks, Anthony L. Greene, and Karen O’Hara
This episode wastes no time as it opens with a smokin hot scene between Amy Lindsay and Hoyt Richards, as Olivia is dreaming about having sex with Vince in their bed. At the end, Vince tells Olivia that its time for her to move on. The next morning Cooper tries to set Olivia up with Grant (Doug Jeffery).
Meanwhile, Ryan has a new client. Andy (Mark Weiler) wants to go out with some nameless model that he sees in a magazine. Even though this isn’t how they usually do things, Olivia and Cooper agree to take his case, which means trying to track down this model and get her to go out with Andy. We learn that Andy has been single ever since his ex-girlfriend dumped him 4 years earlier. In a flashback we see how he was dating a girl named Harmony, who had an identical twin sister named Lizzy (both played by Selena Lori). One weekend the three of them were planning to go camping together, but Harmony got six, so Andy and Lizzie went together. The first night they got drunk and had sex in a tent. It’s good scene, but since it take place at night in a tent it’s kinda dark so we can’t see as much.
Grant and Olivia’s first date is a little awkward, as Olivia is still holding back. But that night she had a dream which started as her having sex with Grant, but then turned into sex with Vince. She goes on a 2nd date with Olivia, but explains to him that the problem is he reminds her of Vince a little too much, so it wouldn’t work out between them. So she ends up setting him up with her friend Sonya (Ria Solova).
Cooper and Ryan do find the mysterious model, her name is Sheila and she’s played by Belinda Gavin, but during her date with Andy she helps him realize that he’s not over Harmony, and she gets him back together with her, apparently she’s forgiven him for banging her sister, and the final scene is Andy and Harmony going camping and having sex in that same tent. Because of this success, Cooper invites Ryan out for drinks…

MAKEOVER
Written by D.B. Brooks, Anthony L. Greene, and Karen O’Hara
This episode opens with Cooper and Ryan waking up in his bed together after a night of drunken debauchery. But we later learn they didn’t actually have sex, because they were too drunk. Afterward, Cooper insists on them going back to normal and not telling Olivia what happened. Back at the office Olivia is still having imaginary dream sex with Vince.
Ryan calls a plumber to fix his shower. The plumber is named Bo (Daniel Anderson), and they end up talking about Bo’s love life, as his wife Patty (Janet Tracy Keijser from Hidden Beauties) left him for a “more stylish” man. So, after a flashback to a hot sex scene, Ryan brings Bo to the Agency, so they can find him a new woman. But the ladies think that involved giving Bo a makeover first.
Cooper takes Bo to a stylist and then sets him up with Andrea, the soap opera start from the 2nd episode (again played by Kehli O’Byrne). Even though Andrea initial lies about her job, claiming to be a police officer, when they go to dinner they run into Patty, who instantly recognizes her, which is great for Bo as seeing him with her clearly makes Patty jealous. Bo and Andrea go home and have hot sex.
Meanwhile, Olivia gives Ryan a makeover of his own, and convinces him to try again with Cooper. This time, both sober, Cooper and Ryan go home together and FINALLY have sex.

LOVE IS BLIND
Written by D.B. Brooks, Anthony L. Greene, and Amanda Olsen
Chelsea Chandler plays Renee, a successful model since she was young. But when she turned 30 she got dumped by her former manager and boyfriend David (Danny Pape) for a 18 year old new model, and has been feeling insecure about her looks ever since. The thought of having sex with someone with the lights on terrifies her. So they set her up with Brian (Philippe Til), a sculptor who happens to be blind. The two of them get to know each other through talking and touching, and that leads to hot sex. They actually have two scenes together. But that’s not even the real main story in this episode. olivia meets a chiropractor named Charlie (Drake Dorado) at a yoga class. They hit it off, and agree to a date. They go out to dinner and back to her place, and Olivia is finally able to let go of her memories of Vince and she and Charlie have sex. Cooper and Ryan also have sex in the office, while Olivia is out, and the comically rush to clean up the place before she gets back.

THE LEGEND
Written by D.B. Brooks and Brian Hurwitz
This episode stars a legend alright. The one and only RON JEREMY plays himself. He comes to the agency because it has trouble finding women who are really interested in getting to know him as a person, they’re either disgusted by or turned on by his reputation. They set him up with Sandy (Danielle Petty), a chemist. They go out to dinner and things seems to be progressing well, as Ron struggles to avoid telling her about his history. They go back to his place and plays the piano for her. And after discussing how they both want a real relationship, they have sex.
In the main plot, Olivia is having second thoughts about her and Charlie, whom it turns out is a longtime friend for Cooper’s and she set them up, and even considers breaking it off with him. But he convinces to go spend a weekend at his cabin in the woods with him first. It’s very romantic, and they have sex in a hot tub. But still, in the end, she decides that it’s still too soon for her.

It’s a good episode, and Ron Jeremy actually acts very well. But, admittedly, it was little hard to suspend disbelief that a young attractive woman like Sandy would be physically attracted to him. This is not helped by the sex scene, in which they both get naked (there is an earlier sex scene of Ron with a porn groupie, played by Daniela Rossler, where she gets topless but thankfully he keeps his shirt on). Come on, no woman is banging him unless she’s getting paid to. #letsbereal

WHOSE THING IS IT ANYWAY?
Written by D.B. Brooks and Anthony L. Greene.
Another episode that wastes no time as it opens up with a scene of Ryan and Cooper having hot passionate sex in the shower. Despite the regular sex, Cooper remains hesitant about going public with or labeling their relationship. So, at Olivia’s suggestion, Ryan tries to make Cooper jealous by spending time with a new client named Edwina (Patricia Skeriotis), who has been openly flirting with him. At work, that days clients are Cass and Harry (Jenna Dee and Cole Winkler), both a couple of young people who recently moved to L.A. from New Hampshire and Maine, respectively, to try to be actors. Olivia manages to get them both roles as extras on a soap opera, for their “first date.” They meet and sparks fly, but a misunderstanding involving the two starring actors of the show, Drake and Margo (Ross Orso and Aria Noir) almost derails their budding romance before it even begins. And Charlie is continuing to call Olivia, but she’s avoiding talking to him, insisting that it’s over. Although she does flashback to having sex with him.

In addition to Ryan/Cooper and Olivia/Charlie sex scenes. There is a scene between Dee and Winkler, and one between Orso and Aria. They’re all good scenes, and it’s a good episode that moves that series forward. The only disappointment is that Keriotis didn’t have sex scene. She was smokin’ hot in DREAM MASTER: THE EROTIC INVADER, and I would have loved to have seen more of her.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Written by D.B. Brooks and Anthony L. Greene.
Catherine Sexton stars as Ellie, a romance/crime novelist. She says she wants someone unconventional, because she doesn’t want a boring romance. So the agency sets her up with Jon, played by Brad Bartram, a book critic who has trashed all of her books. Cooper sets them up to join two cops on a ride-along through East Los Angeles. They spend most of the ride sitting in the backseat arguing with each other, but it eventually turns into playful flirting. At one point the cops have to rush to the scene of a crime and arrest a carjacker. Since, they have to take the carjacker to jail, they have to leave Ellie and Jon at some warehouse until they can come back to pick them up. So Ellie and Jon go inside and have sex while they wait. Unfortunately it’s dark inside, so we don’t really see much. There’s also an earlier sex scene with Ellie and Curt Butrum, in a fantasy scene where she’s describing a sex scene from her latest book. Shankura Collinson and Diana Rio play the two police officers who drive Ellie and Jon around. They’re also lovers, and we get a sex scene between the two of them as well.

The side story is that Cooper meets her ex-boyfriend Jackson (Cameron Graham) to retrieve an expensive pair of earrings that he once left at her place. Cooper is worried that Ryan might be jealous so she assures him nothing will happen, but he insists that he trusts her. Cooper meets Jackson for lunch, and there is a sex scene between them as she remembers the last time they were together, but that’s it. As he drops her off, he gives her kiss goodbye, as he’s moving to Paris, but Ryan just happened to be near, and he sees that and assumes that she cheated on him. At the end of the episodes, he calls Olivia to quit his job.

SOMETHING WILDER
Written by D.B. Brooks and Anthony L. Greene.
This is the season finale, which attempts to wrap up all stories. Ryan has quit the agency, and Cooper and Olivia are struggling to keep things running smoothly without him. Because of all of the confusion in the office, Olivia ends up re-hiring Gladys (Patricia Touceda) to be their assistant. Beverly Lynne returns as Candi from the first episode. Due to the confusion in the office, Catherine is accidentally set up on a date with a man named Louis (Spencer Wilson), even though they are polar opposites (she being a wild extrovert and he being a shy introvert). Predictably, their date doesn’t go so well.

While out driving Louis’ car breaks down in the middle of a deserted road. Candi tries to flag-down a ride and flashes her breasts at a car to get it to stop for them. The car turns out to be driven by the local sheriff who arrests them both for indecent exposure. After a short while he lets them go, but the car is impounded, and it’s raining, so they have to stay in a crappy motel for the night, and there’s only one room. Somehow through all this, they start to like each other and, of course, have sex.

Cooper finds out that Ryan is working as a manager at a restaurant and, after imagining a scene of Ryan having sex with his new cow-worker Pam (played by Ashley Fires), she confront him and, rightly, berates him for assuming the worst about her without even talking to her about it. They make up and have sex in the kitchen. Ryan comes back to work, after they fire Gladys again finding her running a phone sex business out of the office.Olivia goes out with Charlie again, and they have sex. But, she insists, even though she is over Vince now, she’s not interested in another committed relationship right now, and wants to play the field for awhile. So it’s sort of like she and Cooper have switched placed from the start of the series. And with the unexpected success of Candi and Louis, Ryan says that Black Tie Nights has the “midas touch.”

So that concludes the first season. A well-directed, and well-acted series, containing many hot sex scenes, while also telling a coherent and complete story. This is highly recommended, wiht a Chacebook rating of 5 STARS

Get the UNRATED dvd HERE
A few notes: Over a year later, in October 2005, this series returned for a 2nd season of 13 episodes. But only Glen Meadows returned as a regular cast member. From what I have read, Hendra and Lindsay were written out of the show, with the explanation that Cooper and Olivia had moved to Paris to start a new dating service there, for some reason. They sold Black Tie Nights to Glen to continue to run, and brings in Candi the actress and client from the first season, to be his new partner. So they continue to set up dates, while there is also an ongoing subplot of their budding romance over the course of the season. And when it aired on TV it was renamed Hollywood Sexcapades, although you can still find that season packed with the first season on DVD as BLACK TIE NIGHTS: THE COMPLETE CABLE SERIES. But you can also find the season by itself as HOLLYWOOD SEXCAPADES: THE COMPLETE SERIES. I have only seen a few episodes of that season here and there, so I can’t comment on the quality of that season, but I may get around to buying it so I can post a full review. And this season clearly had a lasting impact on Glen and Beverly Lynne, as 4 months after the season ended, they got married. So good for them.