On paper, Hacks seems like a deceptively simple comedy. Pair an older, well-known and battle-tested actor (that would be the great Jean Smart) with a young, relatively unknown actor (that would Hannah Einbinder, who, much like her character, has only grown in strength as the series has played out) and base the show’s comedy on this odd couple as they work their way through the highs and lows of showbiz. See, simple. But it turns out, there’s absolutely nothing simple about Hacks, the best comedy on TV (sorry, The Bear, you may be a half-hour series, but you aren’t a comedy) that only seems to get better as the seasons roll on.
I last wrote about Hacks back in 2021, at the close of its first season. Back then, the series was focused more on how the differences between Deborah Vance (the Joan Rivers-esque fallen star looking for a road back to the big leagues played by Smart, who has won two Emmys for the role) and Ava Daniels (the Gen Z comedy writer hired by Deborah to help with that climb to the top, played by Einbinder) and less on how the pair are growing and changing to become an even better duo – and, perhaps, even better people (although, when the goal is navigating show business, “better” is a complex goal for those who might need to toss another under a bus for their own advancement). I enjoyed the show a lot in season one. But what has happened with the series since in the subsequent two seasons (a fourth season was just greenlit by HBO in response to the strength of its just concluded third season) has taken this capable comedy and turned it into something truly special.
Hacks only works if the chemistry between Deborah and Ava is electric. We have to believe that these two women have this deep magnetic pull between them that won’t allow them to fall too far out of each other’s orbit. In the words of Christina Yang from Grey’s Anatomy, they are each other’s person – even if neither would ever openly admit that fact to the other. They need each other to continue to survive in the business. Sure, they may split apart at different times in the narrative journey and find a modicum of success on their own (and, really, that’s necessary for the story to work – there’s no character growth to be had if your leads can’t bounce off other folks along the way to understand why they need their one central person in the end), but we know the writers (led by the brilliant trio of co-creators Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs – who does double duty as Ava and Deb’s agent, Jimmy, and Lucia Aniello) will find a way to get our dynamic duo back together in the end.
From butting heads in season one, to learning to trust each other in season two, to learning that perhaps they can learn a thing or two about strength and humility from the other in season three, Hacks has managed to take the same basic blueprint for each season – Deborah and Ava need to overcome their own issues with one another to work together for a common goal – and twist the story into completely different outcomes each time around. It’s pretty impressive. Hell, after the second season finale, which I won’t spoil here because it was just too good (and may or may not have made me cry), I was convinced that the series should hang up its hat and move on. There was no way it could top such a pitch perfect ending to the story it was telling. And then came the season three finale, which not only raised the stakes in a manner that felt entirely true to the story and its characters, but also managed to top all that has come before it.
When you tune into Hacks, you’re not only getting two spectacular leading performances from Smart and Einbinder (and the chemistry to match), you’re also given the chance to see a stunning supporting cast fill in the gaps and make this fictional world all the more enticing. And then there’s the writing. Oh boy, the writing. When a series is centered on two women butting heads for a variety of reasons, it can be so easy to make the drama their interpersonal squabbles. To make the women catty and angry and at each other’s throats. That doesn’t happen here. Oh, Deborah is a vindictive jerk a lot of the time, but we get just enough chances to see behind her steely façade and understand just what went into building that thick armor – and we also get to see just who has the chance to get under her skin and impact her in ways she doesn’t see until it’s too late (and it’s not just Ava). And Ava can be so wrapped up in her own neurosis that she can’t see the forest for the trees, but just when she gets to the point of making you want to throw something at the TV, the writing comes around to knock her down a peg or two, never shattering her worldview, but letting it crack just enough. The impeccable writing keeps that key balance in check, making sure neither woman walks too far in one direction, while still making it clear both are very much fallible. It also doesn’t hurt that the show has two aces in the hole like Smart and Einbinder (and Megan Statler, as the wholly inept but still lovable, Kayla to ratchet up the ridiculous when needed) to keep everything on track.
Hacks easily could have been a show that focused on biting burns and acerbic clashes between its leading characters. But its focus on bringing great emotional depth to Deborah and Ava’s personal and professional journeys has turned the series into the absolute best comedy on television. And, in case you haven’t been keeping up with your Max account, it just might be the best show you aren’t watching.
