Long before Jennifer Love Hewitt became a fan-favorite on 9-1-1, she starred in one of Lifetime's most controversial scripted dramas, and the controversy began before the first episode even aired. The Client List, which ran for two seasons starting in 2012, originated as a hit Lifetime movie that earned Hewitt a Golden Globe nomination and sparked the network’s interest in expanding the story. Hewitt herself championed the idea, reimagining the story around a struggling massage therapist who turns to selling “extras” when financial desperation leaves her out of options. However, that premise alone was enough to ignite a wave of controversy the moment the series was announced.
'The Client List' Drew Criticism From Real-Life Massage Therapists
The Client List began as a hit 2010 Lifetime movie, also starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, about a struggling mother who takes a job at a spa that secretly offers sex work to select clients. The film’s success, and Hewitt’s Golden Globe–nominated performance, inspired Lifetime to expand the concept into a full series. The story shifted to follow Riley Parks, a Texas mom abandoned by her husband and forced to keep her family afloat. When she discovers her new workplace offers illicit "extras," Riley reluctantly steps into a risky double life in order to survive.
But the moment the series was announced, major controversy erupted. Massage therapists across the country, including the American Massage Therapy Association, condemned the premise for reinforcing harmful stereotypes that wrongly linked their profession to prostitution. The AMTA argued that the show “perpetuates the misconception that massage therapy includes inappropriate sexual contact” and launched a public campaign urging Lifetime to cancel the series. Hewitt stressed that the show was never meant to demean the industry, saying on KUSA news, “We are in no way saying that every masseuse in the world does this… It’s a fun, fantasy part of our show.” The backlash followed the production throughout its entire run.
Despite the controversy, The Client List premiered to strong ratings, making it the network's most-watched series premiere since Drop Dead Diva. The provocative setup may have grabbed attention, but what made the show work is Hewitt herself. From the start, she fully embraced the show’s campy, unmistakably Lifetime tone, being sexy and having fun when the story called for it, but also anchoring everything with the grounded warmth of a mother trying to hold her family together. Beneath the glossy setup, the series had a surprisingly wholesome emotional foundation, and Hewitt brought the same sincerity and heart she carried in Ghost Whisperer, 9-1-1, and so many roles before it.
Jennifer Love Hewitt's Performance Grounds 'The Client List'
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Riley Parks in The Client List
What made The Client List work during its two-season run wasn’t just the provocative and sometimes campy setup – it was the performance at its center. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Riley Parks with a compassion and emotional honesty that gives the series more weight than its sexy, splashy premise suggests. Speaking to Collider in 2012 about why she pushed to adapt the movie into a series, Hewitt called the role an opportunity to be empowering, saying Riley is “connecting, in a real, human way, with the human condition and the human spirit and hearts of the people on her table. It’s super-powerful.” That perspective grounds her scenes with clients and keeps the story rooted in the relatable fear of not being able to provide for your family.
Hewitt has long excelled at portraying empathetic, resilient women, especially now on 9-1-1, where her character Maddie has weathered unimaginable trauma while remaining the emotional core of the show. She brings that same depth to Riley. Instead of reducing her to a stereotype, Hewitt plays her as vulnerable, resourceful, flawed, and fiercely protective of her children. In that same Collider interview, she emphasized that, despite the provocative backdrop, the most important part of the role was “being a single mom. I’m playing a Texas woman in economic struggles.” That focus helps the series stay grounded even when the drama leans into very Lifetime territory.
Hewitt also met her future husband, co-star Brian Hallisay, on the show as a fun bit of behind-the-scenes trivia that adds texture to their complicated on-screen dynamic as the estranged husband who pushed Riley into this world. Her chemistry with the supporting cast, particularly Loretta Devine as the spa’s owner, Cybill Shepherd as her mother, and Colin Egglesfield as her brother-in-law, gives the series an emotional backbone that keeps it from slipping into total camp.
Beneath the controversy and the provocative marketing, The Client List ultimately works because Hewitt makes Riley’s journey feel human. For fans of 9-1-1, Ghost Whisperer, or anyone who appreciates character-driven dramas with real emotional stakes, it’s a short but surprisingly rewarding binge as one of Hewitt’s most quietly powerful performances, and another reminder of why her Golden Globe nomination for the original film was so well deserved.
