Lake Bell Goes Topless on HBO’s ‘How to Make it in America’

Clearly, this woman knows How to Make it in America, as the most recent episode in the HBO show features actress Lake Bell topless in bed.

On Sunday night's episode Money, Power, Private School Bell's character Rachel hooks up with her drug dealer Domingo, played by Scott Mescudi, known to most as rapper Kid Cudi. While viewers were already shaken by the situation, 32-year-old Bell appears in bed topless, which has dropped the jaws of many.

My boobs are appreciative of all your kind/lascivious words. After all, it's solid support that'll keep them perky, Bell tweeted the next day in response to her topless debut.

In its second season, How to Make it in America follows two men, Ben Epstein played by Bryan Greenberg and Cam Calderon played by Victor Rasuk, on their quest to make it in the fashion world in New York City. The HBO series is produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Rob Weiss and Julian Farino, responsible for the hit series Entourage.

Since debuting in Feb. 2010, the show has received mixed reviews from critics. The New York Times compared the series to Entourage, the first spawn of its production team whose characters have already made it; How to Make it in America takes another road, though not less travelled by, of twenty-somethings trying to make it, or depressed about not making it.

Back in April when its first season wrapped up, the Los Angeles Times reported the series might not continue with a second season, as it struggled to find an audience, averaging fewer than one million viewers. While HBO does not necessarily rely on ratings as much as cable channels, if a show tanks with a small number of viewers, the fate of the television show can be grim.

It doesn't take much to get renewed on HBO these days, so I wouldn't be surprised if How to Make It in America gets a second season, The Daily Beast reported back in February. But I will be shocked if it becomes a bona fide hit.

Shortly thereafter, HBO signed on for a second series to renew the show for the paid cable channel, which began on Oct. 2.

Lake Bell, in her pre-topless days, has quite a lengthy filmography file, appearing most recently in the film Burning Palms. She has also held roles in 2008's What Happens in Vegas, 2011's No Strings Attached and 2009's It's Complicated.

Perhaps Lake Bell's topless scene, which you can view here (warning: video is NSFW), is a ploy to increase ratings...