Jean Smart is a darkly (and gloriously wryly) comedic force to be reckoned with, and Hacks celebrates those abilities like no other show has before. Smart portrays a veteran comedian, Deborah Vance, whose relevance had seen better days at the start of this series, and Hannah Einbinder has broken out as Ava, the other half of the central hate-love dynamic. And yes, Ava can write the jokes for younger generations, but Deborah’s the one who delivers them in Vegas and beyond.
As viewers recall, the pair went through rough-and-tumble times in the first season when Ava violated her NDA agreement and spilled some nightmare details about Deborah. In turn, Deborah dragged Ava through various rounds of purgatory while they toured the U.S. during the second season. From there, Deborah grabbed a chainsaw, which had nothing to do with how the two parted ways. Will they stay apart? Some clues do exist.
Plot
The Max series keeps the synopsis simple while only revealing, “A year after parting, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles.” So, at least that condo is getting some use, but what else?
A new trailer shows the former begrudging teammates bumping into each other, and they don’t seem to be mad about it. However, it’s clear that the show aims to shake things up by showing how Ava and Deborah are doing their own things, which is one way to keep a wonderful series from going stale. Ava is also shown in a tryst with an oil heiress portrayed by Christina Hendricks, and Jean Smart revealed that Deborah Vance would be seeing romance as well. Could that be part of what co-showrunner Jen Statsky alluded to while telling Vanity Fair that success isn’t enough for Deborah this season?
“This character is defined by being a dog with a bone,” says Downs. “So very shortly into this season, she finds something else that she’s hungry for. And in a way, it is what drives her this season.”
Adds Statsky, “She finds another goal to work towards that is her hardest challenge yet.” Smart tells me that Deborah’s success “renews her drive—the good parts of that drive and the bad parts of that drive. It ends up revealing things about Deborah that aren’t necessarily the most positive parts of her, and that causes an interesting interaction between her and Ava. I never thought we’d see her in the light that we see her.”
Previously co-showrunner Lucia Aniello let the world know that these two will probably aways need each other more than they’ll ever want to admit, which suggests that no matter what, they will remain the key focus of the story. Aniello also noted that Ava actually kind-of liked being sued by her mentor because it was “a way to see Deborah.” Oh damn.
Cast
The dastardly duo, Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, return as Deborah and Ava, thank the comedy gods. Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter have been promoted to regular cast members, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins will continue to steal scenes as Marcus. Additionally, Kaitlin Olsen portrays Deborah’s daughter, and expect to see Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Mark Indelicato, and Lorenza Izzo.
Guest stars will be off the hook this season, including not only saucy Christina Hendricks but also Christopher Lloyd, Helen Hunt, George Wallace, and Tony Goldwyn.
Release Date
This irresistible return on May 2 with the rest of the ensemble in tow. Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky created and act as showrunners, and they have their lean and mean laugh machine down to a virtual science.
Trailer
Behold, these two cannot quit each other.