I think I first heard of "Hacks" with Kevin Smith extolling its virtues on his podcast. I do love me some Jean Smart, so I mentally filed it away until the last few weeks and then watched the first season, which I enjoyed.
Ava (Hannah Einbinder) is a comedy writer who finds herself "cancelled" following an inappropriate tweet. Her agent sends her to work with Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) a legendary Vegas comedian, who performs her well honed act for an appreciative audience, to a great financial reward. Though they don't hit it off, Ava comes to appreciate Deborah's earlier work and tries to convince her to do a new act, with a more candid, autobiographical style of humour.
One thing I think "Hacks" manages to do very well is avoid falling into the pitfalls that might have derailed a similar version of the show. It's not a straight sitcom, despite the 30-minute episode runtime, but a comedic drama that leans quite heavily into the comedy but with some substance behind it. Another show might have presented either character; savvy, eccentric, antediluvian Deborah or chaotic, haughty, millennial Ava as being the "right" one, with the other as just a foil, but the show balances the foibles of both characters to keep you on their side, rather than a side.
The sparring between the two of them is a reason to watch, but then, with perhaps the only exception being Kayla - Ava's agents assistant, I liked when the supporting characters are featured. They're generally written as real people, with conflicts and motivations, rather than stereotypes or exaggerations, which might have something to do with why Kayla, who's much broader, than anyone else, feels a bit out of place.
Whilst I wouldn't say it's my new favourite (it's not even my favourite show on Amazon Prime about a female comedian) I really liked "Hacks" and look forward to starting season two soon.
Ava (Hannah Einbinder) is a comedy writer who finds herself "cancelled" following an inappropriate tweet. Her agent sends her to work with Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) a legendary Vegas comedian, who performs her well honed act for an appreciative audience, to a great financial reward. Though they don't hit it off, Ava comes to appreciate Deborah's earlier work and tries to convince her to do a new act, with a more candid, autobiographical style of humour.
One thing I think "Hacks" manages to do very well is avoid falling into the pitfalls that might have derailed a similar version of the show. It's not a straight sitcom, despite the 30-minute episode runtime, but a comedic drama that leans quite heavily into the comedy but with some substance behind it. Another show might have presented either character; savvy, eccentric, antediluvian Deborah or chaotic, haughty, millennial Ava as being the "right" one, with the other as just a foil, but the show balances the foibles of both characters to keep you on their side, rather than a side.
The sparring between the two of them is a reason to watch, but then, with perhaps the only exception being Kayla - Ava's agents assistant, I liked when the supporting characters are featured. They're generally written as real people, with conflicts and motivations, rather than stereotypes or exaggerations, which might have something to do with why Kayla, who's much broader, than anyone else, feels a bit out of place.
Whilst I wouldn't say it's my new favourite (it's not even my favourite show on Amazon Prime about a female comedian) I really liked "Hacks" and look forward to starting season two soon.