Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder dish on the fourth season of critically acclaimed comedy Hacks
A dream has come true on Hacks, with the fourth season introducing Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) as the host of her very own late-night talk show. As one of the rare women to hold the spot, Deb is now at the pinnacle of her career and a feminist representation of industry success. But as with every dream, one has to wake up and face the harsh reality that, despite having reached the top, nothing has changed in terms of the fraught relationships that define her personal and professional lives.
Having decided not to hire Ava (Hannah Einbinder) as head writer on the talk show, the comedy writer gets creative and blackmails her way to the gig. Knowing that Deborah slept with the chairman of the company, right before landing her show, Ava threatens to go public with the knowledge. In the end, everyone winds up in the positions they’ve always wanted.
Then how come things don’t feel better? “I give credit to the writing for that. It continually amazes me that they are able to keep this dynamic going, because I think that’s a lot of the fun for the audience,” says Smart. “My biggest fear after the first season was that, now that they’re kind of friendly and working together, is that going to be as much fun as seeing them butting heads? But it’s amazing to me that it continues in the same vein and just gets better.”
Of course, in typical Hacks fashion, there are deep currents running underneath the overt antagonism between these two. “I think Ava’s hand has been forced,” says Einbinder. “A lot of people ask me if Ava has turned bad. No, I think she has to speak Deborah’s language. She still has her core. She still retains that spirit. But she has to play ball. And it’s been really cool to get to play the adversarial thing. We traverse a windy road with the two of them.” Smart agrees that this last twist has not turned Deborah into an antihero either. “There are a lot of characters throughout history that we love to hate, but hopefully, you see the part of her that’s also a little bit more vulnerable,” the actress muses.
Series creators, directors and writers Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs (the latter also plays Ava and Deborah’s manager Jimmy) always knew Deborah was going to get the thing she wanted the most, and that it would only be the beginning of her woes. “We’ve always said that this is a show about the wig-off moments, the behind-the-curtain moments,” says Downs. “There is a lot of behind-the-scenes drama and comedy that happens at a late-night show and it was really fun to explore that.”
The writers have found the office environment a new challenge to play with, as Deborah and Ava take their lively debates inside a studio filled with writers and production staff. “Whether they’re arguing about coffee makers or about hiring, it feels fun to put them in that scenario because, you know, the rest of the world knows more than potentially some comedians,” says Aniello. “That’s why we did end up making 10 episodes this season, because we just felt there was so much to play with.”
The series also returns to its homebase of Las Vegas for one episode, allowing the cast and crew to give a nod to previous seasons. “Deborah, as she’s feeling all this pressure, feeling all the eyeballs, feeling the coyotes coming for her, she would want to retreat a little bit back to her castle where she feels comfortable,” says Statsky. “But it is ironic. We feel really lucky to have shot in L.A. for four seasons now — every season we’ve only done one or two days in Vegas. So, this was the most time we ever spent in Vegas.”
While Hacks showcases a successful woman in her 70s, what Smart doesn’t love marinating in is the emphasis on her age. “I get a little uncomfortable when the subject comes up, because I feel like I don’t want to be, like, the poster child for older actresses,” she says. “But certainly, it’s nice to be able to play a character where you show that people have the same kinds of hopes and dreams and desires that they do when they’re 30. It’s not something we’re used to seeing in film and television. But why not? That’s part of real life, and if our show has helped with that a little bit, then bravo, you know?” To the three creators, a person’s age is no indicator of whether they are allowed to pursue their dreams — or continue to evolve as human beings. “There’s something really cool about the fact that Deborah Vance is continuing to grow, learn and open her heart up,” says Aniello. “I think people who continue to do that always find their lives to be enriched as a result.”
Hacks airs Thursday, May 22, on Crave1