When Hacks debuted on HBO Max on May 13, 2021, the Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky-created show was unlike anything we’d seen on the comedy television landscape. The story of a Joan Rivers-like comedienne who has a residency in Las Vegas and things seem to be going swimmingly. They are and they aren’t. Unsatisfied and desperate for more out of her life and career, our lead—Deborah Vance (Jean Smart)—takes on a young comedy writer in Hannah Einbinder’s Ava for a fresh take on life and laughing at it.
What Deborah doesn’t quite see is that Ava is as lost in this male-dominated world as she has been.
The entire first season was perfection. It was hilarious, heartfelt, and went deep with problems of family relations, personal issues, and others’ expectations that we cannot control, yet still, influence us greatly. Ava and Deborah’s lives are on a collision course and it may wind up being the best thing to happen to either of them in their entire existence.
Season two has finally arrived and will be hitting HBO Max on May 12 with not one, but two episodes. The Movie Mensch was able to witness the first six installments of the sophomore season and we can joyfully report that writers, directors, and of course the entire cast haven’t missed a beat. In fact, it could be argued that season 2 is more piercing in every manner of that word’s definition.
Not only do we get to further understand and are provided insight concerning our favorite members of this ensemble, but their evolution (or lack thereof) is an impeccable aspect of the plot for the eight-episode second season (the season finale will air June 2 after their unleashing two episodes a week format).
Smart’s Vance has decided to hit the road—something she has not done in years. She’s been performing her stand-up routine as a headliner in Las Vegas and now that she lost her gig (at the close of season 1), she sees it as an opportunity, not a setback. With her team in tow, especially Ava—who pens her jokes and provides a springboard for countless arenas of Deborah’s existence.
We often hear about stand-up comics, who haven’t picked up a microphone in front of unfamiliar audiences for years, speaking to the rewards—both professionally and personally—of going back to the basics. With this new season of Hacks, we see that Vance shares that belief. There is a whole new act for her that is, as of yet, to be defined. Ava and Deborah are literally “workshopping” material, stream of consciousness sets, and all the while, the audience is treated to a free of Vegas bonds Vance and away from LA and Vegas pressure for Ava.
They are not entirely “roughing” it. In fact, Vance has secured a luxurious tour bus that will serve as a home for however long she feels she needs to be on the roads and in the comedy clubs of America. The bus is a source of humor, mostly because of this luxe setting, yet Ava finds herself sleeping in a bunk that literally has her head millimeters from the roof of the bus. Yes, she may hit her head once or twice to hilarious results.
Meanwhile, the Meta aspect of Hacks is not lost as they traverse America in search of Deborah’s next move. She and Ava’s agent, Jimmy (Paul W. Downs, Rough Night) are holding down the agency’s Beverly Hills office and with a segment of his clientele away, writers have smartly created a narrative for him that allows us to truly see how this person who got where he is with a combination of nepotism and arduous work. Storytellers have also interwoven a fascinating subplot for Jimmy’s assistant, Kayla (Megan Stalter)—who also we should add is a product of nepotism herself. It would be easy to paint her as an idiot or not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. Through this season, viewers learn that Kayla is not an idiot, she merely has not had anyone believe in her, leaving her self-worth meter near zero—despite outward appearances.
Smart is career-defining fantastic, and that is saying something. This is a legendary actress who has produced some stellar performances over the years—from the commanding Martha Logan on 24, Laurie Blake on the TV miniseries of Watchmen, to her unforgettable turn as Stella Kay Perry in Sweet Home Alabama. It’s always such a blessing when a veteran thespian finds the role of their lifetime in the latter part of their career. For us as fans and appreciators of their work, to have what we have seen all along be discovered by millions more is a fantastic feeling.
What the actress does is beyond complicated. She portrays a grizzled comedienne who came up while it was the epitome of a “boys club.” (Still is!) Her Deborah has seen highs and lows, professionally and personally—often those elements are so intertwined it’s hard to see where one ceases and another commences. She was “this close” to having her own 11:30 p.m. timeslot talk show on a major network. Then, her sister had to go off and run off with her husband and she may or may not have burned their house down. That kind of press will turn off network executives immediately. Her dream wafted into the air like the smoke from a burning house.
That part of her life follows her around everywhere she goes. Vance has smartly embraced it and even mart it a part of her act. Yet, there is something in how Smart plays her as she has a life-changing awakening during season 2 that is the most explosive of revelations. The actress has illuminated mettle as a character trait for years, look again at Martha on 24. There is something how she displays it in Hacks that is otherworldly. Yes, she’s as tough as they come. Yet there is still a vulnerability there that is as fragile as spring ice on a lake. Between her previous work, with the spellbinding accomplishments she attains in Hanks, Smart has become an actress whose name alone puts us in the seats or has us flipping on the tube.
Einbinder gives a star-making turn as the writer/gal for all seasons that is Ava. She’s absolutely a woman in her mid to late 20s who thinks she knows what she wants out of her career, but as the reality of life washers over her, Ava’s footing tends to tremble. Her chemistry with Smart is sizzling. Honestly, when all is said and done, Hacks is not primarily about an older female comedienne and her struggles rising to the top and keeping herself on the public’s collective tongue as many an actress have simply faded away. The show is a study of female friendship.
It’s a unique thing that is and one that film, and television triumphantly captures so rarely when it succeeds it stands out like the blinding sun. Think Thelma and Louise or Cagney and Lacy. One can firmly add Hacks to that too brief list, what with Einbinder and Smart’s heavenly camaraderie anchoring a character study that will have you pining for each week’s journey.
Grade: A