Jean Smart and Caftans: Part 2

The first thread

The season finale was a brilliant set-up for season 2.

My review of the finale from the previous thread:

Episode 10 - The hotel bits are Jimmy and Kayla’s funniest exchanges yet 😂 Also, I don’t think I will ever like Marcus again. I was thrilled with the turn his storyline took.

Most importantly, I have never been more in love with Deborah and Ava as individuals and as a “couple.” Smart and Einbinder are everything. I laughed, I cried, I came to terms.

As I opined weeks ago upthread, though the series’ first episodes struggled a bit to find their footing, they also felt like they had the components of a great show in the making. Sure enough, it not only found its footing, it hit its stride. The last six episodes have been amazing.

At times, the humor can feel awkward and forced, but, then again, so are it’s characters, so it feels organic and apropos. There’s a wonderful charm to it all. Most importantly, the series soars when it tackles the deeper, darker emotions churning beneath the surface of its characters and Smart and Einbinder handle these moments adroitly and with piercing precision. They are phenomenal.

I will follow this series to the very end.

Oh, and the cliffhanger- 😭

[quote]I am all for Wilson naked but Marcus....ugh.

Wow, really? I think Marcus has a hot body. Love those skin-tight shirts he wears.

Published yesterday:

Jean Smart Is Finally Getting What She Deserves—and Hacks’ Creators Are Thrilled

Plus more intel from Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, who discuss their HBO Max series’ emotional ending and hint at what’s coming in season two.

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Hacks has been the sleeper series of this spring, the jaded but heartfelt show we didn’t know we needed: a serrated buddy comedy about the generation gap between two female comedians. Along the way, the HBO Max dramedy poked at the underbelly of comedy culture—the misogyny that for decades shaped and limited women’s careers, the question of who gets to be the punch line, and how once-edgy humor hardens into shtick.

The brilliant thing is that it did so while clinching the Smartaissance. On the heels of her winning supporting part in Mare of Easttown, Hacks offered 69-year-old Jean Smart a long-deserved starring role on a TV show, in a world where women over 50 are still often relegated to long-suffering mother or, worse, sassy grandmother parts.

“There’s so much happening now, with rewriting the narratives of women in popular culture, and I just feel like people have finally caught up to Jean Smart,” says Paul W. Downs via Zoom from Mexico, where he is vacationing (between Zoom calls) with Lucia Aniello, his longtime partner. Aniello and Downs created Hacks with Jen Statsky. The trio met in New York’s improv scene and worked together in the writers room of Broad City, where they helped conjure a joyfully anarchic, unapologetically feminist comedy about two 20-something best friends. Hacks is less antic, but does revolve around a similarly odd couple.

A comedy pioneer who almost got to be the first female late-night television host, Smart’s Deborah Vance has calcified into a flashy Vegas fixture. She endlessly recycles her ancient, self-deprecating routines to pay for upkeep on her lavish desert lifestyle—until she collides with oversharing 25-year-old comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), who encourages her to forge a more authentic act out of the trauma she’s been suppressing all these years. “There was a line cut out of an episode about how much the world has changed in the last 15 minutes,” says Aniello. “Recently, things have shifted just enough that people might actually want to hear [women’s truth].”

Hacks walks a tightrope between comedy and pathos, and its first season culminates in a finale that brought as much emotional upheaval on set as onscreen. The funeral scene that brings Deborah and Ava back together was integral to the season’s arc, dating back to the original pitch. The idea was that Deborah would say she doesn’t do funerals—but would ultimately decide to show up to Ava’s father’s service, entertaining the mourners as an olive branch to Ava.

Smart’s own husband of nearly 34 years, actor Richard Gilliland, died just before the scene was to be filmed. “It was very unexpected and then we had this week left of shooting an episode about grief, which was really profound and difficult,” says Downs. “She took time off and we didn’t expect her to come back for a long time. We didn’t want to adjust anything that she didn’t want adjusted.” But Smart did return, as she told my V.F. colleague Sonia Saraiya last month. In some ways, she said, filming the episode was “a good distraction.” The show dedicated the finale to Gilliland.

Continued below.

Aniello still marvels at Smart’s willingness to take on any challenge they threw at her. “Often there would be something that we would say, ‘Oh, we can change that to make it easier for you.’ And she would kind of shoot us a look, like, I don’t need anything to be easy for me, I’ll do what the script says,” Aniello says. Smart even wanted to do her own stunts—like when Deborah tries to run Ava down with her Rolls-Royce or jumps into a helicopter. “She is honestly Tom Cruise–level committed to her stunts, and I’m being dead serious,” Aniello continues. “If we told her we wanted her to strap herself to the side of a plane and have it take off, I guarantee you, she would do it.”

Hacks builds toward the moment when Deborah finally lets loose on stage. She is being put out to pasture by her Vegas casino, and Ava is helping her write a final set that will serve as an uncomfortable cultural reckoning, à la Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette. “We really wanted to explore that kind of internalized misogyny that made or encouraged women to be self-deprecating—and not just women, but any artist or comedian that’s on the fringes,” Downs tells me. “And we hope the Ava character helps Deborah [understand], you don’t have to make yourself small to make them laugh! You can punch back, and a lot of them are still going to laugh.”

But the show’s writers made the decision not to show viewers Deborah’s no-holds-barred stand-up performance. The idea instead was “to focus on the offstage moments of these women's lives. We really wanted to do a show about why these women tell these jokes,” Downs says. “We really wanted, for instance, her performance at the funeral to be the performance that you see—she’s exposed and just being herself, but she’s naturally liquid funny.”

The finale also required serious acting chops from Einbinder, a 26-year-old stand-up comedian in her first major TV role. “She’s so sweet and lovely and squishy and hilarious and great and just also a dream, to have such a new little bird in your hand,” Aniello says affectionately. “I joke that she has production-assistant energy, because she’s just so happy to be there and she’s like, ‘Can I get you something to drink?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re number two on the call sheet!’”

After Ava flirts with another job offer, she has a knockdown fight with Deborah, who is getting cold feet about making herself vulnerable onstage. “To be able to hold your own with Jean Smart, who’s operating at 10 out of absolute 10…that’s really not something you can teach in acting school. She does it,” Aniello says of Einbinder. “Ava gets the shit slapped out of her, and I believe that moment, when her voice is cracking and she says, ‘Well, I quit, obviously’—that felt like the moment a new star arrived.”

Hacks is at least partly a tug-of-war between boomer and zoomer cultural modes. Deborah came of age on an old-school sitcom; Ava got kicked off her TV-writing gig for a bad-taste tweet about a politician. Deborah believes jokes need to have a punch line; Ava declares that “traditional joke structure is very male, so focused on the ending.” Her idea of funny—“I had a horrible nightmare that I got a voicemail”—utterly baffles Deborah.

Funnily enough, Aniello and Downs fall right in between these two generations. Although Aniello points out that when they first pitched the series roughly five years ago they were closer to Ava’s age, she accepts the idea of them as a middle ground: “In every argument, they’re both a little right and a little wrong. Even though they won’t admit it,” she says. “We do love both characters and hopefully, you can feel that.” In fact, Downs himself plays the man in the middle—Deborah and Ava’s shared agent, Jimmy, who tethers them together for better or worse.

Hacks has been renewed for a second season. When I ask Aniello and Downs if they’ve started working on new scripts, they both shake their heads no. Still, Downs says, “When we pitched the first season, we knew where season one ended, and where season two and hopefully three go.”

Might the next chapter involve a very extravagant tour bus in which Deborah and Ava will be trapped for long stretches of banter-filled time? “I think you might be heading in the right direction,” Aniello says with a smile. “And maybe this is a spoiler, but I think they're gonna argue over who gets space in that fridge.” Downs adds, “When you have to refrigerate many, many face creams, there’s not a lot of room for somebody else’s tofu.”

The last episode, knowing when it was filmed and what it likely took Jean Smart to get thru it, was so powerful and heart-breaking.

Give her all the awards.

"We're going to have to euthanize Mr. Creampie!!"

I find Marcus and Wilson super hot (responding to the end of the last thread).

Is there any way Carl Clemons Hopkins doesn't have a massive schlong? Not just the height, but he has such long limbs. I guess I could answer my own question - I've been with guys like that who were medium - like 7 inches erect, which is just fine, but on that sort of frame seems "small."

Love the show. Hannah is annoying, but that's what I sort of like about her. Einbeinder nails the Gen Z aspect yet also makes me root for Hannah and like her overall.

"Wow, really? I think Marcus has a hot body. Love those skin-tight shirts he wears."

Marcus has great style.

What explains Deborah's change of heart about Marcus? Why did she suddenly apologize to him? It seemed out of the blue to me but maybe I missed something.

For S2, I'd like to see more Christopher McDonald and DJ and less Marcus and his (ex?) boyfriend. The boyfriend storyline is just boring.

Deborah says that she bombed but did she really? She's been doing the same show every night for years and gets the same audience reaction so perhaps anything other than uproarious laughter from her die-hard fans is considered "bombing" to her. Just a thought.

R12, my interpretation is that Deborah knows what Marcus was about to say, and to head off anything extreme ("And so I'm quitting"), she did an end run around losing the person who has been loyal to her. Not entirely cynically, so I think she also realized (at that point, with the information she had) that he's the one to trust.

R13 I was just writing a variation of your response. That’s how I read the scene too.

"What explains Deborah's change of heart about Marcus? Why did she suddenly apologize to him? It seemed out of the blue to me but maybe I missed something. "

Nothing in particular happened. Also, I wouldn't describe it as "a change of heart" - in the sense that Deborah had issues with Marcus or was ever thinking of replacing him or anything like that. He had been there for a long time and she simply grew to take him for granted, and at the same time he never spoke up. So with everything going on in those last episodes, he really got pushed to the back.

I think the fight with Hannah is what spurred the quick fix with Marcus. When Hannah talks about human relationships, Deborah's inability to take in negative information, inability to communicate - you can see Deborah knows there's some truth to that and she can also see that those aspects of her personality are driving Hannah away. So, IMO, the minute Marcus speaks up, Deborah goes into action and shows him that she values him. She doesn't want to lose more good people. Plus, in acting quickly she doesn't have to go through any sort of intense reflection and communication. Which is why Wilson is pissed.

[quote] I think the fight with Hannah is what spurred the quick fix with Marcus. When Hannah talks about human relationships, Deborah's inability to take in negative information, inability to communicate - you can see Deborah knows there's some truth to that and she can also see that those aspects of her personality are driving Hannah away. So, IMO, the minute Marcus speaks up, Deborah goes into action and shows him that she values him. She doesn't want to lose more good people. Plus, in acting quickly she doesn't have to go through any sort of intense reflection and communication. Which is why Wilson is pissed.

This is almost exactly what I started to write. Good job.

This is the song from the scene where Ava walks into Paramount Studios

It was Jean Smart’s departure (and not Delta Burke’s) that killed Designing Women. She was the heart of that show. Thrilled for the recognition that been long overdue.

[quote] The funeral scene that brings Deborah and Ava back together was integral to the season’s arc, Smart’s own husband of nearly 34 years, actor Richard Gilliland, died just before the scene was to be filmed.

Wow, I had assumed when watching last night’s finale that it was filmed a long time before his death. 😢

Yes, R15, I thought the sequence of scenes made it very obvious.

The whole season has featured the women's relationships and personalities in contrast to one another.

Deborah is stuck in the trauma of her sister and husband betraying her and she keeps all people at arm's length while investing all of her emotional energies into work. She loves her daughter but can't get emotionally involved with her and so she and her daughter have a relationship centered around business. Her daughter doesn't feel supported or cared for and so she is trying to be an entrepreneur to earn Deborah's respect and love and attention. Deborah's deeply scarred and it has affected her inability to be emotionally open with anyone. She has a perfect relationship with Marcus because Marcus is all business.

Ava is of course the opposite. She's an emotional exhibitionist and she confronts people with psychobabble. She's obnoxious. Deborah appreciates that Ava is outspoken and has gumption even though she thinks she is a bullshitter, and Deborah has fun batting Ava around but also recognizes now that Ava is right about problems she has that no one else around her will say to her.

When they fought, Ava told Deborah that she pushes everyone away and Deborah pushed her away. Then she opened the gift and saw that Ava really does care for her and respect her, and she had been ruminating (with Ava) on her whole past life of traumas, and so it all came together for her. She realized she pushed Ava away and so she broke through her wall with the one-woman show. Then at Ava's father's funeral, Deborah saw that Ava had not lied to her about being on an interview and that she has been open and they just came to terms with one another and were grateful for one another. They were both at their most vulnerable, apologetic and trusting.

Marcus approached Deborah after Deborah had her epiphany about pushing people away. If she sensed Marcus was going to leave her, she did what she never does and expressed appreciation, apologized and gave him sincere motivation not to leave her. That marked her big emotional turning point, coming out of denial, taking responsibility and beginning a new chapter that's not stuck in the past.

Perfect summation, R19.

"Nothing in particular happened. Also, I wouldn't describe it as "a change of heart" - in the sense that Deborah had issues with Marcus or was ever thinking of replacing him or anything like that."

I should clarify - when I say "Nothing in particular happened," I mean nothing in particular happened between Deborah and Marcus before their brief conversation leading to Marcus' promotion and raise. Obviously, as the rest of my post points out, something very particular happened in the fight between Deborah and Ava which spurred Deborah's actions towards Marcus.

[quote]THIS is a career defining performance by Smart which is saying something considering she is mostly an episodic TV actress but damn - when you add Charlene, and 24, and Fargo, Samantha Who? and then Mare of Eastown and now this, it's like the resurgence/re-evaluation that Lange got with her Murphy work.

She also was astonishing in "Dirty John" as the mousy Christian housewife mother of Connie Britton. It was such a change that I don't even think audiences realized it was her.

Add Legion and Watchmen

All I know is Jean better be winning some fuckin’ Emmys for her work this year.

The cat using the litter box next to the assistant’s head was genius. I wonder what breed Mr. Creampie is? He is so fluffy and gorgeous.

I'd just like to add to the love for Marcus and the extreme dislike for Kayla.

I’m really hoping that next season they continue to have people mistakenly refer to Ava as a millennial. I want to hear her zoomer take downs of them while throwing in some good put downs of boomers as well.

[quote] I find Marcus and Wilson super hot (responding to the end of the last thread).

You said it sis.

I would like to get with Marcus.

I can’t even think of anyone who could beat Jean for the Best Comedy Actress Emmy. Her only real competition is Hayley Cuoco, who probably had it in the bag with The Flight Attendant until Hacks came along.

The question is, will they run Hannah in Supporting? She’s definitely the co-lead, but I can see them not putting them in the same category.

Speaking of Emmys, does the public really care anymore? Of course, the awards have meaning within the industry, but it seems like no one under 40 has network TV anymore. (Not one of my Millennial coworkers could even name a single broadcast network when I asked a few years ago; when I explained to them what ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are, none of them could understand the difference between them and basic cable networks.) The entertainment industry awards shows seemed important to my generation (X) because they were big network events that commanded attention, but now I think they are totally lost in the mix. And streaming channels have made even great TV series just minor blips because the whole series is binged and then forgotten.

Although, speaking of that, I think HBO Max was really smart to issue Mare with one episode per week, and I'm curious why they released Hacks differently. No one I've seen all year touches Kate Winslet's performance as Mare, but setting that aside, I actually enjoyed Hacks more overall. It feels like it'll have a greater lasting effect with deeper characterizations, whereas Mare came and went and it felt overwhelmed to me by gratuitous plot twists and misdirection. Since networks tend to dump batches of episodes of series they don't believe in (as ABC just did with the last two eps of Rebel), dumping two episodes per week of Hacks makes me feel like the network doesn't think it's important enough to string out for a longer time.

Mare was an hour long drama vs. a 30 minute comedy (dramedy?) for Hacks. So, at least in terms of having to sit and focus (Mare was complicated and heavy), I can see why they released Hacks 2 episodes at a time. Also, releasing 2 episodes made the end date June 10 and maybe they were thinking that ratings wouldn't be as good as more and more people get deeper into their summer activities and plans if they released it one episode per week. 5 additional weeks and Hacks would have ended mid-July. Just a guess.

R31 I’ve been noticing that for awhile. Back when there was the digital switchover, a lot of people, not just millennials, didn’t realize that local affiliates still broadcasted for free. They thought you had to have cable or satellite to get them. A good many people still watch network tv, they just don’t realize it because they consider them part of basic cable.

The only people I know who still watch network tv shows are Boomers.

Poor Jean. Having somewhat of a period of professional triumph and yet her husband died recently

What was the recent podcast she was on where she spoke about her husband’s death? Was it NPR’s Fresh Air?

R36 I’m not sure if she addresses her husband’s death in this interview with Terry Gross (I just started listening), but here you go:

She does. I listened to that Terry Gross interview recently. Terry awkwardly apologizes three times - she seems to overdo it a bit.

Wow. Jean reveals quite a bit about her husband and his death. I can’t believe the hospital refused to do an EKG prior to his conditioning getting worse.

This is an excellent interview, both personal and covering a good portion of her stellar work.

What happened to the husband?

R40 Most reports say that he died due to a “brief illness,” though Jean reveals it had something to do with his heart.

Thanks R37 that is the one I was looking for.

Jean Smart is a national treasure.

i can't bring myself to watch the final episodes. So much foreshadowing of Deborah bombing and pissing off the people at QVC and having a big blow-up with Ava after which they kiss and make up. I love these characters--I hate the contrived situations. Please get a better story editor. Also, show up more of the little luxuries of Deborah's life like her personal blackjack dealer, her soda fountain and her midnight fishing. Lifestyles of the rich and famous.

[quote] I think Marcus has a hot body. Love those skin-tight shirts he wears.

His trousers are snug enough to be revealing - except they aren't. classy.

When the water meter guy was first introduced he was adorably cocky in his uniform but now all his scenes show him to be a simpy nag. I'm disappointed in his character arc.

The femmy muscle gay lives in Las Vegas, works as a Water Cop, and enjoys camping??? Are there any gay men on the writing staff? Seems unlikely.

Works for me.

I’d been hoping Kaley Cuoco would receive some well-deserved Emmy recognition for her terrific work in “The Flight Attendant”, but now I’ve switched my allegiance to Jean Smart for her outstanding work on “Hacks”. She really is a national treasure.

Nice article with the writers of the show.

And just to be sure no one gets triggered. . .SPOILERS!!!

R50 You little bra-ed tit, you.

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Nobody should be putting their hands on another person, but Ava sure had it coming. It was very gratifying to see Deb slap her. Ava was an obnoxious, pretentious little twat with a few endearing qualities. Deb had her character flaws too. But when Deb did something shitty, you knew where she was coming from as a tough broad trying to survive in a really tough business. Ava was just a little asshole at times. That said, I really enjoyed this show and look forward to season two. I can't wait to see how Deb and Ava's growing bond overcomes Ava's betrayal.

So since S2 was announced already, Jean Smart would get the nom for Best Actress in a Comedy, correct? (Whereas, HBO Max could've played the "Limited Series" card that HBO is known for and she might've gotten a nod in that category.)

The finale was good, but I was disappointed we didn't get to see at least a little bit of Deborah's final show at the Palmetto. I suppose it's up to the viewer to decide if she really, truly bombed. I also found it weird that Deborah would just wander around Ava's bedroom. But that set-up of privacy was needed for them to have their talk after the funeral.

**** SPOILER ALERT ******

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I think Deb found the first email that Ava sent and Ava thought was deleted, Marcus knows what's in Deborah's cloud, and DEBORAH forwarded Ava's first email to the dumb ass git Brits.

All publicity is good publicity. Just like she benefited from the rumor that she burned down her ex-husband's house, Deb will know how to turn Ava's email into her own benefit.

Kathryn Hahn - whom I LOVE - looks to be the front-runner for the Emmy in Limited Supporting Actress over Julianne Nicholson and Jean Smart in Mare of Easttown. Unfortunately for her really overrated performance on WandaVision (which I loathed). Who do you think will prevail? One of the Mare actresses or the otherwise fantastic Hahn. I just hate to see her win for that Marvel/green screen shit where she was just howling at the camera into a fan.

R56, HBO Max is holding off on renewing 'Mare', hence it can definitely compete in Limited series (just like 'Big Little Lies', etc did). I don't see the Academy giving Kathryn Hahn an Emmy before they give one of the 'Mare' supporting actresses one. Even 'The Mandalorian'--while a regular series--has garnered nothing but technical Emmys; no acting Emmys. I think the Academy still deems itself above the Marvel/Star Wars franchises insofar as acting is concerned.

Jean Smart will win above Kaley Whocaresabouther...Kaley has never been particularly likeable, and most people know she inexplicably lucked out several times in her career. (Granted, I realize she produced 'The Flight Attendant' with her 'BBT' $$$...good for her.) Jean will also have the built-in sympathy vote for working during/right after her husband passed away. This is the Hannah girl's very first acting job, so I doubt they'll even nominate her.

R58 WTF?!?!? SIGGY, you needed it, girl! 😭

That being said, I would never replace Smart. She was exquisite.

If like me, anyone recognized the actress playing the Mayor in a couple episodes, but couldn't place where they'd seen her before, she is Lauren Weedman. She played the character Doris on the HBO series & movie Looking.

Lauren Weedman can do undignified like nobody else.

She nails the nasty-crazy of the current LV Mayor.

R60, thank you. I'd forgotten Doris, but I knew I knew the actress. Yes, she's very underrated...and yes, R61, she does our current (joke of a) mayor here in Vegas justice. Perhaps just a few more martinis before her speeches and public appearances, though.

I'm glad we didn't see Deborah bomb at the Palmetto. It would be like watching Dave Chappelle bomb at a Republican fundraiser. Great material landing on deaf ears. That was the whole point--Deborah was swinging for the fences instead of her safe shmaltz for the Floridians. We'll see her attract a younger/edgier following in Season 2.

I like the balance Deborah has created for herself between Marcus and Hannah. He with his Gucci-loafered foot planted firmly in reality and precaution, and Hannah with her hideous boot constantly kicking Deborah out of her comfort zone.

High Society

Just watched the finale. I'm glad I stuck with it, episodes 2 & 3 were a hurdle. Smart was great throughout. After learning to brush off some of the writing, I can see coming back for a 2nd season, which they've clearly setup for. I'll admit that I was relieved viewers were spared the actual content of Deborah's last show.

R66 reminded me...when Jean Smart is submitted for the Emmys, is it for the whole season, or just one ep? I know the directing, camera work, etc are submitted by x1 ep.

Interesting read - part of her Emmy FYC campaign?

Jean would have been great to play Vivian Vance.

Jean Smart has type 1/juvenile diabetes.

Water cop is now partying with Colton Underwood in Mexico.

R72 I'm guessing water cop is draining a lot of hoses this week, judging by his IG stories. Good thing men can't get pregnant or else there'd be a lot of "Any of you could be the father!" drama among the gays of Instagram.

Had no idea until today that Hannah is Laraine Newman's daughter.

Me neither, but that would explain why Laraine showed up in some on-set group photos. In an interview with Smart she said she half jokingly refused to do the show if Hannah was not selected for the role, so she must have made an impression. It took me some time to warm to the portrayal of the character, I couldn't tell if it was the actress or the frequently dumb stuff was expected to say. It was the later.

R71 Water cop and Colton enjoying margaritas in the infinity pool.

It appears that Hannah got the pre-fame nose job.

Her sister, Sheidel, has the original equipment.

Hannah's father has a snub nose and she inherited it. If you look at old photos, Hannah's nose is exactly the same. Her brother Spike, not so much.

Just binge watched the show and absolutely love it.

I think the concert with the new material bombing made sense, since it's common practice to try out new material on the road first (where other comedians steal the best bits).

Marcus wasn't mean or evil, he was just insecure about his relationship status with Deborah and when he found out Ava was lying to Deb about where she was (claiming to have a doctor's appointment when she was auditioning for a gig in LA) he was looking out for his boss.

r77, I am glad she inherited her mother's post fame nose.

Started a rewatch last night, and I find it just as enjoyable as the first time around. I SO covet Deborah's Rolls Royce with the umbrella holder in the frame.

Just started watching. Meg Stalter is screamingly funny.

I love this show, but "Deborah Vance" doesn't sound like a hacky Vegas comic to me—it sounds like a name for a news anchor, a soap actress, or a character played by a soap actress. Deborah seems more like a Pat or a Barb to me.

I re-watched several episodes and was surprised by how poorly written Ava's character was. She says horrible things to people for no good reason and when it runs counter to her interests. Really ambitious people are excellent at sucking up and finding mentors. Ava's explosions drive the plot but they make her sound like a nutcase. Jean Smart is the show.

"Really ambitious people are excellent at sucking up"

You haven't been paying attention. Ava is incredibly conceited--she thinks that she's Hollywood's savior and that people should suck up to her.

Right, R84. I think she's well-written. She's conceited because she WAS in Hollywood, got canceled and now has to slum in Vegas. 75% of the season is her coming to terms with the fact that no one cares that she was a Hollywood writer or gives a shit that she believes she's above Vegas.

R68, thanks for sharing the NEW YORKER piece. Odd how they make it sound as if she did the Aileen Wuornos TV movie before DESIGNING WOMEN, when in fact it was one of the public's first glimpses of her AFTER she left that show.

I think Ava is well written and well acted, just unlikable and pretty awful (to begin with; she is obviously on a trajectory to become a better person).

And a lot of the time her being terrible to people is what she thinks is funny. And she has been rewarded for that with a comedy writing career, in part because she did kiss people's asses. (We see her do it with people in L.A., and one of her acquaintances tells her she is an awful person who is only engaged when she needs something, and that surprises her, which says a lot about her.)

Ava is a generational cunt. All generations have them.

Watching the episode with Perla now. LOL

This started off fun but then went off the rails to sucksville in the final few episodes (after suicide cokehead):

- Deb pays some mook $1.69 mill and that’s supposed to be a feminist burn?

- How does some hipster comedienne NOT know about Vance’s career? GenZ live for feeling like they alone discovered esoteric woke shit so Deb being a hot saucy feminist bitch (pilot) would have been well known to her. This isn’t revolutionary stuff.

- Ava’s mom is NOT funny and instead cringe

- Plots where we’re supposed to dislike career-oriented types (Marcus) are gross. Sorry waterboy, I have a job. Deb isn’t giving him an ultimatum but this new piece is? Gurl bye.

- SHE DIDN’T GIVE HER ONE DAMN JOKE ALL SEASON

I wanted more of the hot Asian bitch Kiki. She was real af. Loved Jean but won’t be checking into season 2 unless there are CORGIS!!! Disappointing end.

We shall see what happens at the Emmys on Sunday.

Wasn't perfect but I really enjoyed it.

Just binged it because of Emmys PR

Agree that I thought Paul Downs was gay and Water Cop was hot.

Jeff Ward (suicide guy) is hot AF, but I have a thing for guys with dark hair, olive skin and light eyes

Plot was a little uneven-- some characters like Jimmy's assistant Kayla are over the top sitcom and seem like they should be on a different show.

But overall arc was good and kept me engaged.

Jane Adams, who plays Ava's mom, has one of the strangest careers in Hollywood. She seems to specialize in playing spacy-crazy women--her character, Tanya, on Hung was essentially the same person as Ava's mother.

I do wonder if they'll bring up Ava's resentment of all these people her age working in Hollywood who don't really have to worry about money because they have parental support.

Rich people supporting their children's careers in showbiz are legendary. That funky comic whose inlaws bankrolled him. Even Robin Williams.

I agree it wasn't perfect, but overall Season 1 was very good.

Seems like they can do a lot of different things in Season 2. I wonder how much they'll be out on the road. Wonder if water cop will be back and if he'll date Marcus again? And will Marcus make it through the season as Deborah's CEO?

Kayla was fun in very small amounts - like the first two times she's on screen. But that whole thing in the last episode where she's with Jimmy in the hotel in LA was just so unnecessary.

Also, while Kaitlin Olsen's character doesn't annoy or distract me, I'm surprised how much I don't like the D.J. character. It's Sweet Dee light and just a typical Kaitlin Olsen character (which I guess is why they hire her).

Remembered that Jane Adams also played the same exact character on Amazon's "Sneaky Pete"

I meant the hotel in Vegas.

Is there any other way of watching Hacks other than subscribing to HBO Max? How long do you think we’ll have to wait?

Well, if Deb is an amalgam of Rivers and Reynolds, then in some future series I predict Deb buys her own boutique hotel.

Future dialogue:

Marty, I own a casino AND pay myself FOUR TIMES what you did. HA! Who fucked whom?

100!

Everyone ready for S2?

I’ve just finished S1. I think my thoughts have been covered already for the most part. It’s not a perfect show, but it’s incredibly enjoyable. I watched it through twice and found the second viewing better as I caught little things I had missed. For example, Deb saying she doesn’t do funerals sets up the final episode. Ava stealing lines from Deb and the blackjack dealer. DJ also grew on me during the second viewing.

I will say though that it is soo similar to the events of Joan Rivers’ life that I’m very surprised the writers have been able to bat that off and pretend otherwise. The character herself may not be the same as Joan but several of the sequined costumes are replicas of ones Joan wore! QVC, the one daughter, a late night show, the generosity with fans, boarding tour buses, doing cruises, going to the opening of an envelope if the check cleared, an ornate home, collecting antiques, a husband who caused embarrassment but also became part of the act, the workaholism, the surgery, the fear of a blank calendar, the lack of a romantic life.….. At times the similarities took me out of the show on the first viewing “wow they’re stealing that bit of Joan’s life too!”

Nobody can convince me that Hannah’s parentage didn’t influence their decision to hire her. No acting credits, no SAG card and she’s reading for this show and had Jean calling her (and only her by Jean’s own admission) the night before the final audition for the part. Puhlease! I don’t think she was bad. In fact, at times she shone but I couldn’t help but think what some other young actresses could have done with the role. There with a certain something missing. I don’t think the performance quite captured the poor kid from MA with a sick dad, a neurotic mother and no backup plan.

Oh yeah and the agent and his secretary can disappear in S2. They wore out their welcome.

[quote]I don’t think the performance quite captured the poor kid from MA with a sick dad, a neurotic mother and no backup plan.

Absolutely. No way would a girl from that background behave the way Hannah is in the role. Hannah is good, but she plays the part as if the character comes from money and connections.

Agent can stay (in small doses). Secretary can very much go.

SEASON 2 IS ALMOST HERE!!!

Just enough time to leisurely re-watch the first season.

Laurie Metcalf as the tour manager makes up for her not being cast as Deb's sister

It's back today, ladies and gentlemen!

Laurie Metcalf's two long scenes with Jean Smart on Getting Over were my two favorite moments of that amazing show.

This show and Mrs. Maisel show how hard it is for sitcom writers to write stand-up.

Why doesn't the "brilliant comedy writer" ever show any wit?

Are Devon Sawa's tats real?

[quote]Are Devon Sawa's tats real?

I don't know, but his butt cheeks were, and they were fine.

Having watched the most recent episode in S2, I see that they've been building up for Deborah's set to click into place and get funnier. A bold move, to hold back and start out with not very funny bits.

Is there something off about Devon Sawa's speech or mouth?