S04.E04: I Love LA

[chitowngirl]

During a dress rehearsal, Deborah experiences a shocking "first" that stands to throw her off her game before she takes the stage for her first episode of Late Night. Meanwhile, Ava makes a connection at a sex shop.

[catsitter]

I was confused about whether the show was supposed to be "Late Night With..." or just a generic late night show, because I had seen reviews suggesting the latter, so I am glad that this episode confirms it is "Late Night With Deborah Vance". But the only version of Late Night that I have seen is the current one, and Deborah's show seems so different from that that I guess that in the Hacks universe, it has followed a completely different course.

[SnarkAttack]

Really hate to say it, but not liking this season so far.  

[Blakeston]

I adored the first three seasons, but this one feels a little underwhelming. Ava and Deborah clashing at the beginning of the season but bonding as the season progresses feels very formulaic.

Also, Deborah's standup jokes are worse than ever, and we're supposed to think she's doing really well.

Deb just told us that late night is for mechanics, and that Ava's niche style of feminist humor is wrong for it. But it seems like the jokes we're hearing are mostly Ava's typical socially conscious gags about women being undervalued. Isn't that specifically what Deb doesn't want?

[txhorns79]

I liked seeing Deborah so undone during her dress rehearsal, and getting it back during the first show by concentrating on Ava.  Also enjoyed the cameo by Carol Burnett, and Deborah being genuinely respectful towards her in a way she really isn't with most people.  

2 hours ago, Blakeston said:

But it seems like the jokes we're hearing are mostly Ava's typical socially conscious gags about women being undervalued. Isn't that specifically what Deb doesn't want?

Didn't Helen Hunt react badly to Deborah saying she didn't want to be seen as a woman at the press conference?  Perhaps that convinced her to be okay with those types of jokes. 

Also, how were there not press all over Deborah at Cedars?  Someone at that club would have leaked to TMZ that Deborah did drugs, passed out and had to be hospitalized.  The show sometimes plays fast and loose with Deborah's celebrity.  Sometimes she's being filmed in public.  Other times, no one seems to remember their phones can record.       

[aghst]

Hmm Ava parked at a sex paraphernalia shop.  The BTS showed out takes of Hannah riffing jokes to that cashier.

She hurriedly buys a dildo to get the parking validated but happens to meet a swinger couple who is interested in her?

I like how Kayla is being mean to the staff since she represents Deborah and Ava and they’re expected to be demanding.

So a little more thawing of the frost between them, as Deb still has Ava as her emergency contact.  Whether she forgot to change it or not, there’s still an emotional dependence, if not when she’s hospitalized, then when she’s stranded on a hiking trail.

Even if Ava hadn’t blackmailed to get the job, you get the sense that they’d have found themselves back with each other, somehow.

[iMonrey]

I don't remember Damien, at all. Yet IMDb tells me he's been in 26 episodes. I must be losing it.

17 hours ago, catsitter said:

was confused about whether the show was supposed to be "Late Night With..." or just a generic late night show, because I had seen reviews suggesting the latter, so I am glad that this episode confirms it is "Late Night With Deborah Vance".

Yeah she mentioned watching the show as a kid so apparently she's just replacing whoever the last host was. But I'm not clear on whether it's a fictional show or if it's supposed to be Johnny Carson's/Jay Leno's/Jimmy Fallon's show.

16 hours ago, SnarkAttack said:

Really hate to say it, but not liking this season so far.  

Something is definitely off. I feel it too.

Edited April 26 by iMonrey

[slowpoked]

I like this episode. You just know that Deborah and Ava will eventually find each other at the end of the night, especially when both of their dinner plans fell through. I actually thought they would end up with Jimmy and Kayla, who made dinner plans for them. I just didn’t expect for them to reunite at a hospital.

When Deborah made that call at the restaurant, I thought she was calling Josefina to join her. So she called Damien but not Josefina?! 

No Marcus at her first ever late-night episode?

I really like Helen Hunt’s addition to the show. Like previously mentioned, Deborah’s never had a boss, and Winnie is just powerful enough to give it straight to Deborah. That clunker line probably felt like a stab in the heart.

15 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Also, how were there not press all over Deborah at Cedars?  Someone at that club would have leaked to TMZ that Deborah did drugs, passed out and had to be hospitalized.  The show sometimes plays fast and loose with Deborah's celebrity.  Sometimes she's being filmed in public.  Other times, no one seems to remember their phones can record.

I assume maybe they’d touch on this the next episode. I mean, there were a lot of selfies, IG live streaming, etc. There’s no way that wouldn’t come out.

The Carol Burnett cameo was lovely, and I’m glad they wrote her as her, and not as a character.

[yesferatu]

I really don't understand the point of the whole Marcus situation. He's either in the show or he isn't so what's going on? He wasn't even in the latest ep.

[Dev F]

On 4/26/2025 at 10:46 AM, iMonrey said:

I don't remember Damien, at all. Yet IMDb tells me he's been in 26 episodes. I must be losing it.

Damien was Deborah's put-upon personal assistant (in one memorable sequence last season, he chases her jet down the runway because he had to stay behind to retrieve Deborah's missing sunglasses), but he took over some of Marcus's duties when he resigned (hence another memorable scene last season in which he breaks down crying at the news, because "I don't want to talk to vendors!"), so he's now appearing in a slightly different context, which might explain the confusion.

Quote

But I'm not clear on whether it's a fictional show or if it's supposed to be Johnny Carson's/Jay Leno's/Jimmy Fallon's show.

It's called Late Night, which in the real world is the name of NBC's second-slot late-night show (currently hosted by Seth Meyers), but on Hacks it's apparently the first-slot show on one of the Big Three—which one is unspecified. So it's apparently supposed to be a vague fictional composite.

Edited April 27 by Dev F

[EtheltoTillie]

I was not impressed with the much ballyhooed Merrill Markoe cameo. Her delivery was kind of stiff. She’s not much of an actress. 

[chitowngirl]

If anyone watches Mythic Quest, Kayla and Jo could be clones. In fact, husband thought it was the same actress, the delivery and mannerisms were that close.

[MicheleinPhilly]

While I am enjoying this season, I'm getting the same vibe I got during Gilmore Girls when Rory and Lorelei had their LONG separation. That element just isn't working for me. 

This show thrives on the chemistry between Deborah and Ava and I'm missing that sorely. 

[iMonrey]

16 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I was not impressed with the much ballyhooed Merrill Markoe cameo. Her delivery was kind of stiff. She’s not much of an actress. 

Oh that's who that was.

[Night Cheese]

This one didn't really work for me. I'm still not enjoying Deborah and Ava being at odds with each other and curious how they're going to handle Deborahs late night gig if the show goes beyond this season. I'm starting to get the feeling Deborah will do the show for a year and realize she just needed to prove that she could do it, and then step away from the hosting gig. Which may work, or may feel like a waste of a whole season (of Hacks).

Loved the Carol Burnett cameo and loved that she played herself. We need more overt praise of and metaphorical love letters to these amazing trailblazers before they're not around anymore. This was perfect. 

[roughing it]

On 4/27/2025 at 11:59 AM, Dev F said:

Damien was Deborah's put-upon personal assistant (in one memorable sequence last season, he chases her jet down the runway because he had to stay behind to retrieve Deborah's missing sunglasses), but he took over some of Marcus's duties when he resigned (hence another memorable scene last season in which he breaks down crying at the news, because "I don't want to talk to vendors!"), so he's now appearing in a slightly different context, which might explain the confusion.

Even with this explanation, I don't remember him either.

On 4/27/2025 at 6:00 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I was not impressed with the much ballyhooed Merrill Markoe cameo. Her delivery was kind of stiff. She’s not much of an actress.

Who??

[EtheltoTillie]

11 minutes ago, roughing it said:

Even with this explanation, I don't remember him either.

Who??

Merrill Markoe is a well known comedy writer.  At one point early in her career (and his) she was Letterman's girlfriend and a writer on his show.  So this was a stunt cameo that was talked about on many forums.  The cameo took place in the coffee room at the office in the first half of the episode.  Merrill was talking to Ava. 

Edited Tuesday at 06:56 PM by EtheltoTillie

[wendyg]

Markoe was Letterman's head writer and invented some of his most famous bits.

[iMonrey]

20 hours ago, roughing it said:

Even with this explanation, I don't remember him either.

Good, not just me then. Although I now have a vague recollection of him. I think part of the problem is the year-long break between seasons that are short to begin with, and the glut of content out there on streaming these days. I always have to watch recaps of previous seasons on YouTube before I dive into a new one. Also, as far as I can recall, Damien has not been much of a presence in the first three episodes this season, which made him even more forgettable.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 4/26/2025 at 3:24 PM, slowpoked said:

When Deborah made that call at the restaurant, I thought she was calling Josefina to join her. So she called Damien but not Josefina?! 

Josefina told Ava she had tickets to see "Wings of Desire" in 70 mm that evening.

Edited Thursday at 02:10 AM by ItCouldBeWorse

[Dev F]

31 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

And it airs at 11 PM, not 11:30, which is strange for one of the networks.

I think it is at 11:30. In the press conference in the season premiere, one of the journalists asks, "How does it feel to be the first woman at 11:30 on one of the Big Three?"

Edited Wednesday at 11:23 PM by Dev F

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 hours ago, Dev F said:

I think it is at 11:30. In the press conference in the season premiere, one of the journalists asks, "How does it feel to be the first woman at 11:30 on one of the Big Three?"

I rewatched and I think I was confused by Deborah being so upset at not being able to turn on the TV in her room at 11:18. 

[Dev F]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I rewatched and I think I was confused by Deborah being so upset at not being able to turn on the TV in her room at 11:18. 

I was confused by that at first, but I think the idea is that they had less time than they thought to find a TV and tune in, not that they were already missing the show.

[LuvMyShows]

On 4/25/2025 at 11:42 PM, txhorns79 said:

I liked seeing Deborah so undone during her dress rehearsal, and getting it back during the first show by concentrating on Ava.  

Can someone tell me how much time actually elapsed in real time on her show with her freezing? Clearly she did not just stand there for 15 seconds or more, so did any freezing actually happen, or was it all in her head as sort of working it out there?

On 4/26/2025 at 6:56 AM, aghst said:

I like how Kayla is being mean to the staff since she represents Deborah and Ava and they’re expected to be demanding.

Sorry, can't pass up an opportunity to reiterate how much I hate, Hate, HATE Kayla's character!