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Hacks in the Media


BetterButter
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22 hours ago, arc said:

Anyone else a little baffled by this comment from creator Paul Downs:

"...Many years ago, we set out to tell a deeply important story that needed to be told — that of a handsome, charming talent manager and his two demanding female clients. We’re so glad that story resonated with audiences, and we can’t wait to get to work on season two. See you soon!”

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm, or if the show was originally supposed to be about the manager (sorry, can't remember his name).  Yeah, he's important for the setup of the premise - getting Ava and Deborah together - but how is this his story?  (And how is it "deeply important"?)

 

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19 hours ago, arc said:

It's sarcasm. Downs also plays the manager, Jimmy.

Thank you @arc.  That totally went over my head.  It makes so much more sense in context.  (I think the article should have pointed out the connection.)

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22 hours ago, chaifan said:

Thank you @arc.  That totally went over my head.  It makes so much more sense in context.  (I think the article should have pointed out the connection.)

I love Paul Downs.  I guess you are right though, if you don't *know* his personality, his sarcasm may come off weird.  

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Emmys 2021 for Hacks:

  • Lucia Aniello wins outstanding directing for a comedy series
  • Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky win outstanding writing for a comedy series
  • Jean Smart wins best actress in a comedy
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13 hours ago, arc said:

Jean Smart wins best actress in a comedy

She's amazing! Her speech was lovely and heartfelt and genuine. I love that she got a standing ovation, it's quite something when your colleagues respect and admire you as they do with her. Well deserved. 

If I was in that category, I'd be running around tell everyone "I lost to JEAN SMART!" I'd wear it as badge of honor. 

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EW's post s2 finale interview with the showrunners.

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Let's get into the finale. When Jimmy walks back into the Palmetto theater and announces the guy who had a heart attack is okay, does Deborah believe him, or does she sense he's lying to make the show work?

DOWNS: Ding, ding, ding! Door number two.

ANIELLO: Yeah, she sniffs it out. Deborah's a very astute performer and mover in the world and she knows. Jimmy kind of does something that Deborah herself would do in that moment, so she's aware of what went down.

STATSKY: And I think that's a moment where it crystallizes for her that Jimmy is the manager for her. Sure, she could go with Janet Stone, who's cutthroat, who's a bitch, who might have some opportunities that Jimmy might not have for her. But, in the end, Jimmy is a good guy and he is, as she says, a sweet kid, but he also is just enough of a shark that he works for her. And so I think that's actually a pretty awesome moment between the two of them, because it turns out he's actually a shark too.

How seriously is she considering getting rid of him before the show, when Janet goes backstage?

DOWNS: I think it's very serious. I think the stakes are so high, that she's self-producing this thing and it really has to work. And for someone to have an opportunity if it does work to then merchandise it is once-in-a-lifetime, potentially.

And Deborah, while she really cares about people who are loyal to her, and she has her own sense of justice around that, she also puts her career before most things, including relationships. And so because of that, it is a real threat, and it is a real consideration for her. She loves Jimmy. She has a lot of history with him, but she needs this to work, and having an agency behind her is important. So I think she's really, really considering it until she sees just how cunning he can be.

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When you crafted this, how did you think about it? Was it like, "This is just a season finale," or "This is a series finale," or "We're not sure because sometimes you never know in this business, so let's do something that works both ways"?

DOWNS: We wanted to feel like there was resolution and it was really satisfying. And I think when you feel really satisfied at the end, it can often feel like something final. But Lucia said this, so I'm going to steal her quote. We feel like this is only the second chapter in a larger story that we want to tell. And when we pitched the show, we actually pitched where the series would end, which is not what you saw in episode 8 of season 2.

But yeah, I think we just wanted it to feel like there was resolution to this season, but also make it a cliffhanger in itself because it's sort of like: What does the future hold for these two women?

So what does the future hold for this show then? Is that still up in the air?

LUCIA ANIELLO: We haven't been picked up yet as far as we know. But Paul and Jen and I are in the same space because we're already meeting and talking about what we want to do moving forward. So creatively, we are moving forward and thinking about it because we're just so excited, but we haven't officially been told to do so exactly.

But you have story you all have been working on?

ANIELLO: For sure, yeah.

JEN STATSKY: We have season 3 already. We have more than that. We are very excited about what we have planned.

DOWNS: We have multiple chapters already planned.

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39 minutes ago, arc said:

EW's post s2 finale interview with the showrunners.

Thanks for posting that. I suspected Deborah knew the truth and that’s why Jimmy kept the job (though I was half-expecting Kayla to announce his death at the after party.) I really felt good about the S2 ending and am not eager to see them go through the ups-and-downs of life, but I’ll give S3 a chance if it’s picked-up.

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On 6/14/2022 at 5:23 AM, TakomaSnark said:

Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs discuss the second season of the show on The Watch podcast, begins at 37:41.

The Watch - Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs

Yeah as of the time of that interview the show hasn't been renewed for season 3 yet.

They got a hatchet guy now in charge of Warner's and Discovery.  He already canceled some Max Originals like Made for Love.

He took over after Discovery bought out Warners which includes HBO Max.  Looks like he's killing a lot of shows that was ordered before him.

So as highly praised as this show is, there are no guarantees.  The show runners very much want to keep doing more seasons.  Two of them got married, just had a child.

Maybe they can take it to another streamer if HBO Max cuts them.

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On 1/4/2024 at 10:43 AM, aghst said:

The show runners are a couple so maybe they were able to do some work on scripts during the WGA strike.

My understanding was that the guild asked members not to write for struck productions during the strike, even if it wasn't going to be shared with the studios until after the strike resolved. Obviously this is next to impossible to police, but this mostly went on the honor system.

But in any case, if production had already started on s3 before the strikes, then writing would have been almost entirely done before filming began. (Yes, with network shows they'll start filming one episode while episodes due a few weeks later aren't even written yet, but for cable and streaming shows, esp with shorter orders, the tendency is for the entire season to have full teleplays written before filming begins.)

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I'm so bummed that Hacks is coming back!  Well not really, what I'm really bummed about is that I no longer have MAX, and I don't think I will subscribe again just for this. :(

 

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Good lord this site sucks. Last night the forums were down and I had to reload this screen 3 times to get a working screen. 

I saw on IMDB they had a 4 sitting out there so quickly googled to see that it was renewed. I wonder what direction they'll go? Deborah and Ava with the relationship they've always had, or will it become adversarial because Deborah will consider Ava a backstabber. 

They'll have unlimited potential for season 4 for guest stars, and I would imagine lots of areas to take the show as far as relationships.

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This show's award clout is too strong for even WB to ignore!

Round Table with THR: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder Weigh in on ‘Hacks’ Season 3 Finale: “My Baby Has Learned Her Lessons Well”

Variety: ‘Hacks’ Creators on That Finale Twist and Deborah and Ava’s Relationship: ‘It’s Arousing That She Has a Worthy Opponent’

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Vanity Fair's Awards Insider email has this:

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One of those big end-of-May finales? Max’s Hacks, which has accomplished the rare feat of gaining in both buzz and acclaim with its third season, airing a full two years after its second. By all accounts, the Jean Smart vehicle is the best it’s ever been right now, which has blessedly thrown some chaos into a comedy race most assumed would be fully dominated, once more, by The Bear. (It helps that Hacks is, ahem, a bit more of an actual comedy than the reigning champ.) I moderated a Hacks FYC event last night (which included a screening of the terrific finale) at the Television Academy theater before a packed, ecstatic house—a testament to just how much enthusiasm is swirling around the series right now. It helped that Smart; her onscreen foil, Hannah Einbinder; and guest stars including Kaitlin Olson and J. Smith-Cameron were ridiculously charming onstage. And that season four had just officially been greenlit, giving the occasion an extra air of celebration.

 

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