A typical day on the set of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s new Lifetime movie, “The Client List,” had the actress in four different lingerie outfits, tying one man to a bed and covering another in whipped cream.
“It was such a weird existence,” Hewitt tells the News. “I would send my mom pictures from the set and we would joke about it. I would say, ‘Mom, are you proud?’ and she would say, ‘It’s what I’ve always dreamt for you.’”
All kidding aside, Hewitt fully embraced the chance to play Samantha Horton, a former Texas homecoming queen and physical therapist who turns to a life of prostitution to help her family survive the recession.
“The Client List,” premiering next Monday at 9 on Lifetime, reveals Samantha’s desperate situation. When both she and her husband lose their jobs and the bills keep stacking up, she accepts a position at a massage parlor, not knowing it’s actually a front for a high-end prostitution business servicing a wealthy clientele. But instead of walking away, the money is too good for Samantha to turn down.
Cybill Shepherd also stars, as Samantha’s opinionated mother.
“I was initially hesitant [about the role], because it was something different than I had ever done before. But once I got into the story, I was like, ‘Wow, there’s so much here,’” Hewitt says. “I love who Samantha is as a person. I love that you can judge her and root for her all at the same time.”
Hewitt also serves as executive producer on the project, which allowed her to push her boundaries when she felt comfortable, then back off when she didn’t.
“The thing that I really liked about the project, that I’m really proud of, is we could have pushed the envelope even more, but we chose not to,” she says. “It’s not about how naked can she be. We walk a very classy line of telling the story and doing it with integrity.”
For the record, Hewitt isn’t naked in any of the scenes.
The character of Samantha Horton was inspired by true stories, but she is a fictional character – a compilation, Hewitt says, of many women in desperate situations.
“Right now in the United States, more women than ever are going into the sex industry due to the tough economic times,” says Hewitt. “They want to feel like they’re contributing somehow to their family.”
“The Client List” will be the audience’s first peek at Hewitt since her long-running CBS series, “The Ghost Whisperer,” was canceled. Hewitt says she’s considering other projects, but it may be a while before she gets back into series television.
“I’m not in a huge rush to do that again,” she says. “I’m looking into a lot of different film options. I’d love to do some romantic comedies.”
