Hacks
How ‘Hacks’ Snuck in Climate Activism Between Jokes
In the HBO hit Hacks, the quip-rich dynamic between the extravagant, cynical stand-up doyenne Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her anxious, earnest Gen Z head writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) is both an engine of comedy and a way to explore generational disconnects over contemporary issues, from ageism and sexism to evolving gender norms. A major arc […]
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Behind the Most “Badass” One-Take Scene in ‘Hacks’
Season three of Max’s Hacks begins with a suspended camera pan above the Las Vegas Strip that guides viewers inside Caesars Palace, where it follows a familiar figure through the casino for a gag of a reveal. Captured in one take, the shot, which the show’s director of photography Adam Bricker calls “kind of badass,” […]
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‘Hacks’ Star Jean Smart on Getting ‘Watchmen’ Role After Sigourney Weaver Turned It Down
On May 18, five-time Emmy winner Jean Smart added another accolade to her résumé: hometown hero. The star of Max’s Emmy-winning comedy Hacks returned to her Washington roots at a special career-retrospective event and award presentation hosted by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), which marked 50 years this spring. Held inside the famed SIFF Downtown […]
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Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 10 Best TV Shows of 2024 So Far
Faves from the first half of the year include a pair of addictively dark Netflix dramas, a heart-tugging sports doc/celebrity bromance and a stronger-than-ever season of 'Hacks.'
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‘Hacks’ Guest Star, Kaitlin Olson, on Royally Trashing Jean Smart as Her Mom
When The Good Place creator Mike Schur called Kaitlin Olson to convince her to take a guest role on an upcoming comedy series back in 2020 — the passion project he was producing from a trio of showrunners about a legendary female comedian staging a career resurgence — the actress says she was a little […]
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How to Roast a Comedian and Other Trade Secrets From Hollywood’s Top Production Designers
Girls5eva Teresa Mastropierro says that since Girls5eva began, she had a box of CDs under her desk “just waiting for their day in the sun.” So when she heard that the eponymous girl group would be performing at a mansion for a nostalgia-themed birthday party in season three’s “Orlando,” Mastropierro knew she had to put those […]
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‘Bad Boys’ Hit Hollywood, ‘Hacks’ Stars Celebrate Season Finale and This Week’s Best Events
Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Hacks and Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. Feud: Capote vs. the Swans FYC event Ryan Murphy joined the Feud cast, including Naomi Watts, Tom Hollander, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny and Demi Moore, […]
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Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder Weigh in on ‘Hacks’ Season 3 Finale: “My Baby Has Learned Her Lessons Well”
[This story contains spoilers from the Hacks season three finale, “Bulletproof.”] Just hours after Hacks was renewed for a fourth season, the cast and creative team behind the hit comedy reunited for a conversation about its twisty season three finale. The final episode, which dropped this week, saw Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) beginning […]
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‘Hacks’ Star Hannah Einbinder Teases Her Debut Stand-Up Special: See the Trailer (Exclusive)
Hannah Einbinder doesn’t perform the stand-up comedy in Hacks — that falls to Jean Smart, who stars with Einbinder as veteran comic Deborah Vance — but that was her primary job before she landed the role on the Emmy-winning Max series as Ava, a struggling writer who reluctantly takes a job with Deborah and, over the course […]
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‘Hacks’ Scores Season 4 Renewal at Max
Hacks is headed back to the stage at Max. The streamer has ordered a fourth season of the Emmy-winning comedy starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder. The renewal comes on the day Hacks concludes its nine-episode third season (just under the wire for Emmy eligibility this year). “We congratulate Hacks’ brilliant cast and crew, and […]
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How ‘Hacks’ Season 3 Was Hatched
The three creators and showrunners of Hacks are as concerned with amusing lead Jean Smart as they are with entertaining their audience. Storylines, set pieces and even guest stars are often engineered just to get a reaction from the venerable actress, who has now won two Emmys — she has five in total — for […]
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Jean Smart Recalls Losing Late Husband: “It Was So Unexpected”
Jean Smart is reflecting on her late husband’s death. In a sit-down interview on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max, Smart recalled the shock of Richard Gilliland’s dying March 2021 due to a heart condition. Smart described the ordeal as “the worst.” She continued, “Because it was such a shock. It was so unexpected. […]
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