One of the very many things that I love about Hacks is how Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky (and the rest of their writers) seemingly write themselves into a corner in every season finale only to find a new way to get Ava and Deborah back on track the following season. Because, at its heart, Hacks isn’t a complex story. And every season charts essentially the same path. Our dynamic duo start of at odds, find their way together – creating biting and great comedy for the betterment of Deborah’s career – and then end the season with some sort of betrayal that appears to shatter the delicate relationship that has been built over the course of the season. Back in season three, that betrayal, for the first time in the series, was Ava taking a page out of Deborah’s playbook and threatening to reveal that Deborah slept with the head of the network mere weeks before she was handed the choice late night hosting gig in exchange for Ava being named the head writer of said series. Cold blooded and so un-Ava like, she finally got what she wanted – at the expense of her relationship with Deborah.
Of course, we’re two episodes into season four and already a tentative truce has formed between Deborah and Ava (Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are, once again, on fire this season) – even if we’ve been reminded on several occasions that Chekhov’s “affair with the head of the studio” continues to hang over the series.* Getting us to this point, where Deborah would willingly hire writers suggested by Ava and be ready to whisk them all away to a “writers’ retreat” in Vegas wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for our pair – but it managed to take them from their traditional starting point of apart and not speaking to working together for the betterment of both of their careers in record time. While still being bitingly funny and keeping the resolution to a seemingly insurmountable problem grounded and reality (Winnie reading them the riot act – essentially the only character on the series with the power and clout to smack down Deborah and get her to listen – was smart, necessary, and absolutely something that would happen with the way those two have been carrying on in public), the chess board has been reset and it’s time to see just how Deborah and Ava can work together to turn this late night show into a hit – or else.
*Judging from past seasons, that particular Sword of Damocles hanging over Deborah’s head is going to fall at some point. Having Ava accidentally reveal it would be too much like season one’s major turning point. But meeting Bob’s wife and having Deborah lie about anyone else knowing about their tryst to Bob all but ensured that secret is bound to come out at some point. My money is on someone else discovering the secret and revealing it, leading to Deborah’s career hanging in the balance and Ava having to decide if she’s going to go to bat for her platonic soul mate one more time.
While the heart and soul of the series is the up and down relationship between Deborah and Ava, I’m always incredibly impressed at how much the supporting cast on the series is given to do. From Jimmy (Downs, impeccable as usual) and Kayla’s (Megan Stalter, just perfect) odd couple pairing to poor Damien (Mark Indelicato, so good) being Deborah’s put-upon errand boy, there was more than enough story for everyone. I continue to be amazed at just how good Stalter is at both making Kayla an absolute imbecile but also making it clear that not only is her heart always in the right place, she also really wants to do a good job. This isn’t a joke to Kayla; she absolutely wants to help her people succeed. And then there was the Marcus storyline. I was honestly unsure how they planned to write Marcus out of Deborah’s employ (and whether or not it would mean the end of Carl Clemons-Hopkins on the series), but what a perfect way to do it.
One of the few characters who can tell it like it is to Deborah and take the heat when she explodes, seeing Deborah lash out at the thought of losing someone – once more – as soon as she reaches the top was hard to see. But naturally, Marcus understood that he needed to weather the storm – even if he shouldn’t have to – to get to Deborah to a point where she would see reason and eventually let him go. Both Deborah and Ava have relied on Marcus to keep the balance in their relationship throughout the series, so not having him around is going to be a huge blow to that key aspect of what makes them work (Jimmy is certainly not going to cut it as a buffer if things go south once more). But I certainly hope Marcus continues to be a confidant for Deborah when she needs one – since we all know she won’t head to chat with Ava for at least another several episodes (we have to get them past their annual détente and into their friendship era once more before Deborah will be fully vulnerable – and Ava might never reach that stage again with her mentor after everything that has gone down).
But boy, are we on the right track for another stellar season of television. Hacks is, for my money, far and away the best comedy on television, full stop. And now that Ava and Deborah are, at least on the outside, more equal than they have ever been professionally, there is so much more the series can do to tie our gals together before they inevitably get ripped apart in the end. And I, for one, cannot wait to see just how that journey goes.
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