Hacks

For all its gut-punch humor, ‘’Hacks’’ is dead serious about how show business treats women. You might be laughing too hard to hear it, but there’s a low frequency scream running just beneath the comedy. This show makes a rich contribution to the buddy comedy tradition, never superficial or skin deep and always very, very funny.

Hacks is the rare comedy that not only nails its punchlines, but brutally deconstructs the pain, effort, and genius it takes to make jokes land. ... A spectacular showcase for its leading ladies, and above all, a love letter to life in the comedy trenches.

It’s clear this series has legs, as a much-deserved showcase for Smart, as a thoughtful story about the evolution of comedy, and as an original series that’s very much its own thing. Let’s see where this show can go.

The show excels in these small moments of discovery. And Smart, the reigning Meryl Streep of tough broad types, excels at absolutely everything. ... Einbinder, an LA-based stand-up comic tackling her first leading role, is immensely appealing as Ava.

The genius of Hacks is how deftly it critiques decades of TV comedy, reminding viewers of what’s missing now (stars of Deborah’s wattage and grace) as much as what’s changed for the better.

"Hacks" writes a surfeit of generosity into everyone, especially Deborah, whose vulnerability Smart readily accesses. ... Through it all "Hacks" steadily builds a real respect and friendship between these two women, expanding our view of what it means to secure and defend a throne at the banquet table, while appreciating the enormous struggle it takes to even get on the wait list. Watching and enjoying it is enough, but Smart and Einbinder make us want to sit with these two, Smart especially, as Deborah and Ava enrich each other's existence.

Jean Smart is fantastic in Hacks. ... [Einbinder’s] a strong match for Smart in a relationship that’s adversarial but also, as time goes on, more and more like one between a mother and daughter. They’re terrific together.

“Hacks” is her [Jean Smart's] master class – a series that showcases just how much she can add to anyone’s work. ... “Hacks” nicely fills the void left by “VEEP.” It, too, is acerbic and on point. ... While “Hacks” may be a harsh title for something this deliciously good, it captures the price some are willing to pay for celebrity.

Throughout the six episodes I screened, the core of the show is Smart’s performance, which brings the perfect balance of steeliness and vulnerability. ... The pithy, insightful Hacks offers further confirmation that Smart is living through a career renaissance of her own.

Deborah and Ava’s relationship develops with both heart and surprising texture and richness. That heart comes from both performers: In Deborah, Smart has a lead role worthy of her prodigious intellect and ferocious delivery.

HBO Max’s best series since “The Flight Attendant” and easily the funniest new TV/streaming comedy of the year.

Even when we take a subplot detour into the lives of the backup players, “Hacks” never loses its edge — but it’s when Smart and Einbinder have the floor to themselves that this show sparkles brighter than Deborah’s outfits under the Vegas spotlight.

The series works best in quieter moments where Smart and Einbinder get to reflect.

After a slow start (honestly, though, how many shows nail their beginnings?), the series moves at full tilt as the writers explore dark and unexpected places. With a strong cast and some stellar directorial choices, Hacks is a necessary addition to your summer watch list.

There are plenty of laughs along the way, but it’s the unforced emotional truths that make Hacks a right and proper vehicle for Smart.

Smart has rightly been winning awards left, right and centre for her performance, but Einbinder brings a nervy energy to Ava that perfectly complements her. Deeper than the ironic name suggests, Hacks digs into vulnerability, self-image, and gender politics in refreshing ways.

“Hacks” is not a joke machine; the later episodes are downright melancholic. ... It’s not convincing that this person would force an awakening in someone like Deborah. But Einbinder works hard to match Smart, and, at moments, seeing them get into grooves of compassion, I felt myself flush. The rest of the cast, by the way, also kills.

“Hacks” is all about Jean Smart, and if you don’t enjoy her dry, direct delivery and her tough-broad demeanor, you have no business here. The HBO Max comedy is first and foremost a vehicle for her, one that starts off shakily but gets sturdier with each new half-hour.

On the evidence of the first three-fifths of the series, it’s difficult to tell where things might be headed over the remaining two or just when the engine that will drive the story to some conclusion or cliffhanger will kick in.

Hacks really sings when it puts its two leads together to annoy, insult, and occasionally learn from each other. Would it help if the jokes the two work on were stronger? Sure, but Hacks also talks a lot about how hard good joke-writing is. It gets everything else right, so it deserves the extra time to figure that last part out.

The show itself can sometimes feel as lost as the women at its center. It’s also tonally unsteady, with a delicious, slightly heightened sense of humor driving early episodes (at one point you can literally hear Ava gulp when caught in a lie) that’s noticeably abandoned as the season progresses. ... The performances, though, are consistently good throughout.

The imbalance in Hacks' odd-couple premise is that while every quip out of Deborah's mouth is a hoot, nothing about whiny Ava suggests she's comedically worthy of laundering her boss' caftans. [24 May - 6 Jun 2021, p.9]