‘Hacks’ Season 4 Press Conference with Cast and Crew

(L to R) Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

‘Hacks,’ which has been a huge, award-winning success for the Max channel, is returning to our screens this month with its fourth season.

The show stars Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a legendary comedian who has built an empire out of her darkly honest stand-up routines and enjoys a residency at a swanky Las Vegas hotel and casino.

But when her aging material sees her pushed out of her prime slot, Deborah begins to face the realities of modern comedy. Her agent suggests pairing her with younger, slightly neurotic comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), who initially has trouble finding common ground with the pushy, diva-tastic Vance.

Yet they make the odd partnership work, Ava helping to rejuvenate Vance’s following and Vance in turn giving Ava a real grounding in how the business works.

(L to R) Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

In the latest season, tensions rise as Deborah and Ava endeavor to get their late night show off the ground and make history doing it.

The cast also includes Paul W. Downs as Jimmy, Deborah and Ava’s ambitious but nervous manager and Megan Stalter as Kayla, his chaotic assistant-turned-partner at the management firm they have launched together.

Downs also co-created the show with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky and together they run the series, with Downs and Aniello also directing some episodes.

Max held a virtual press conference with Smart, Einbinder, Stalter, Downs, Aniello and Statsky. Here are 10 things we learned at that press conference, edited for clarity and length. ‘Hacks’ Season 4 will debut with its first two episodes on Max on April 10th.

1) The fourth season finds Deborah feeling the pressure of launching a late night show

(L to R) Jean Smart and Helen Hunt in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Smart’s character starts having unusual crises of confidence in her new role as talk show host.

Jean Smart: She definitely has something. The pressure gets to her. I give credit to the to the writing for that. It continually amazes me that they are able to find more and more for us and, and also keep this dynamic going, because I think that’s a lot of the fun for the audience is this relationship and the fact that they’ve been able to keep that the way they have, because that was my biggest fear after the first season, was that, well now that they’re kind of friendly and working together, is that going to be as much fun for the audience see them butting heads? But it’s amazing to me that it continues in the same vein and just gets better and better… And meaner and nastier!

Some of Deborah’s fears are manifested as coyotes appearing in her dreams or hanging around her Los Angeles home.

Jean Smart: All of her fears have been turned into this creature, who keeps popping up, and living in California, they’re always this specter out in your yard. So I thought it was really a clever idea to have that be symbolic.

2) Einbinder’s character is also seeming different this season

Hannah Einbinder in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Building off from Ava essentially blackmailing Deborah into giving her the head writer job on the new show, the season finds her in a fresh dynamic with her mentor.

Hannah Einbinder: I think Ava’s hand has been forced. A lot of people ask me, “has Ava turned bad?” No, I think she has to speak Deborah’s language. She still has her core, she retains that spirit but has to play ball. It’s been really cool to get to play the adversarial thing. Obviously when we have to fight, the director calls cut and we’re just [mimes hugging] “I’m sorry!” But it’s fun to traverse this winding road with the two of them.

3) The house used for Deborah’s Los Angeles residence was lost to the fires

Jean Smart in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

The production had thankfully finished shooting in the mansion before the wildfires destroyed it.

Jean Smart: The beautiful mansion that was built in 1930, I think. It’s been sitting there and untouched by fire for 100 years almost. And it burned. It was really sad. We had just finished shooting there, I think the week before. To envision those beautiful rooms and that, that beautiful fountain and the yard… The couple that lived there and their dog, they’re safe, thank God. But yeah, that was, that was shocking.

4) Downs, Aniello and Statsky didn’t have to look too far for subject matter this year

(L to R) Hannah Einbinder and Paul W. Downs in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Downs explained the creative trio’s writing methods.

Paul W. Downs: We have a Magic Eight Ball, and when we have an idea, we ask, “is it good?” [Laughs] No, we have been building this for a long time. We always knew we wanted Deborah to get her white whale, this late-night show. But like with stand-up, we’ve always said that this is a show about the wig-off moments. The behind-the-curtain moments. So there is a lot of behind-the-scenes drama and comedy that happens at a late-night show. It was really fun to explore that, and also to write what you know as writers writing a comedy show. It was easy!

Aniello appreciated the new setting as something to spur creativity.

Lucia Aniello: It was a fun, fresh challenge to be able to write the two of them in an office setting, so whether they’re arguing about coffee makers or about HR or hiring, it just feels fun to put them in that scenario because that’s a scenario the rest of the world knows more than potentially some comedians.

5) While the show is usually shot in Los Angeles, it headed to Vegas for a longer stint this season

Jean Smart in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

The vast majority of ‘Hacks’ is shot in L.A., but with Deborah’s home base in Vegas, it would often spend a day or two there per season. In the new season, an entire episode was filmed in the city across days.

Jen Statsky: We feel really lucky to have shot in L.A. for four seasons now. It’s a testament to our amazing production team that so many people are, “oh, you moved to Vegas for five months, right?” And we’re, “no, every season we’ve only done one or two days there.” So this season, that third episode was the most time we ever spent in Vegas because, we just felt like it was a really fun setting for a writers’ retreat.

6) But don’t worry if you’re a fan of the Vegas characters in Deborah’s sphere…

(L to R) Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Even given the L.A. setting and changed circumstances for some of the characters, fan favorites will still show up.

Downs: This is not a spoiler. We absolutely see DJ [Played by Kaitlin Olsen], Deborah’s daughter, this season. We’ll see Kiki played by Poppy Liu. It’s really important to us to keep our ensemble and the ecosystem that is around Deborah Vance, always there. Obviously, to greater or lesser degree, depending on the story. We really come at it story first and character first. It’s actually very true to the life of someone like Deborah who is this star, that she moves around and her world moves with her.

7) Megan Stalter is loving Jimmy and Kayla’s own new dynamic

(L to R) Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

With Downs’ Jimmy having proposed the new company to Kayla at the end of season three in a scene that spoofed romantic comedies, the latest episodes find them figuring out the new professional partnership.

Megan Stalter: I really tear up when I think about last season. Jimmy chooses Kayla. She gets her guy. He’s finally, “I can’t do this without you.” It’s romantic. I hope in the next season she gets pregnant. I don’t think that –– I don’t want her to hook up with Jimmy –– I want her to get pregnant, and then Jimmy has to take the role of father, I think I want him to step up as the father. But all that to say is, I think Kayla is living her dream in this season, being able to be in some sort of power and having her guy by her side. She’s on top of the world. I don’t think it’s romantic between them. Again, if he was in love with someone, she would kill them. I think that he doesn’t want them to be together. But she does want to have a family with him.

8) Jean Smart prefers support to tough love, unlike Deborah’s style

(L to R) Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Smart related a personal experience to how she prefers directors and others interact with actors, in opposition to Deborah’s more abrasive tactics with Ava.

Smart: I have a 16 year old and he’s in the drama department at his school, and he just finished this weekend playing a part in the school musical. Of course he stole the show. I don’t know where he got that, I can’t imagine! But his teacher can be verbally abusive, and it’s very upsetting as a parent, and I don’t agree with it either. As an actor, I’ve never had that in my experience. I don’t see how you can possibly get good results out of somebody or have someone be able to work in that environment. I guess it’s sort of the cliche of the crazy directors screaming and yelling or the drama teachers saying you need to suffer for your art. It’s, “why? I don’t!” I never got that. Or it’s, “tell us your most private moment. It’ll make you a better actor.” “Really? No, I don’t think so. Just tell me what to say, thank you. It’ll be fine. Just calm down.” I like warm and cozy.

Einbinder has a slightly different take.

Einbinder: I will say like I have a background in athletics, we’ve all had coaches. I think I do like having like that coach dynamic a little at times. But I think that can also exist with support.

9) Jean Smart balks at being asked about women getting along on set

(L to R) Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in Season 4 of ‘Hacks’. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

Smart rejects the idea that women naturally feud, and is clearly tired of the question being asked a lot.

Smart: I’ve always found it a little bit insulting that people have this idea that women can’t get along, and that men do. I’ve found that strange. I remember a million years ago when I was doing ‘Designing Women‘; people used to ask us that constantly: “Wow. What’s it like on the set with four women? Oh, boy, that must be tough!” I said, “Do you guys ask the ‘Barney Miller’ cast that question?” I find that really bizarre.

10) Smart knows what keeps her tethered even as she wins awards and acclaim.

Jean Smart accepts the Best Actress in a Comedy Series award for ‘Hacks’ onstage during the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association.

Smart is under no illusions as to how people see her, but she’s just trying to live and work.

Smart: Who said I was grounded? It’s a dreadful thing to say! [Laughs] I used to say, especially when my kids were younger, “I think of myself as a housewife with a really weird job.” But I know certainly that’s naive to say that in a way, I know that the outside world, as we put it, the civilian world, they look at our job as being very exciting and sometimes, God knows it is. But I think we have kids and a house and that keeps you grounded.

“Better late than never.”

TV-MA4 SeasonsMay 13th, 2021

What is the plot of ‘Hacks’ season 4?

In season 4, tensions rise as Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) endeavor to get their late night show off the ground and make history doing it.