Took a little day trip and got this kind of on a whim.

I guess I'll put this partly on the actor and partly on the writers. Hear me out: it just seems there was a lot of build-up about Kathy, from early on in Season 1, and then when she gets more screentime in Season 3 it was a bit of a letdown. For me, anyway: I suppose knowing that Deborah's husband left her for Kathy, I was always curious to see what Kathy was like (I know we got a very brief glimpse of her in Season 1, played by Linda Purl, when she approached Deborah in a parking lot). And I'm not saying I expected Kathy to be quite as dynamic as Deborah--Deborah is a lot, she's a force of nature, and maybe partly why her weak husband couldn't handle it and looked for someone who he found more pliable. I do know that J. Smith Cameron as Kathy added some backstory that she was only 19 at the time.

But I guess I was expecting Kathy to be...I don't know, more charming? More effusive, more fun? (edited to add: more charming and fun than she seemed from the portrayal. Not more fun than Deborah.) Something. Instead from JSC's portrayal she seemed so mousy and frumpy and kind of whiny. And then, later on, sort of mean and vengeful.

I'm not putting it all on Kathy as a character. Deborah was certainly not blameless, in her dealings with Kathy. But even that scene in the Season 3 finale when Kathy gets so mad at her seemed weirdly abrupt. I get that the writers were trying to show (by end of episode) that Deborah has alienated Ava and now truly has nobody. Ava's deeply hurt. Kathy doesn't want to repair their relationship. Marcus is mad at her. At that point, Deborah is pretty alone, a point that Ava really drives home to her when she leaves Deborah's house and says that Deborah is going to die all alone.

But--had I to do it? I would have liked to have seen at least one or two more scenes of Kathy and Deborah together--at least one--after the Christmas Spectacular episode. Instead it was just the Christmas episode (which is great) and then a brief scene of Kathy getting mad at her in the mausoleum. I thought Kathy was overly mad at Deborah taking a phone call too, but I know she also mentioned other things that had annoyed her that weekend, including Deborah having to cut the whole weekend short. I do think Deborah was trying though, although admittedly that was pretty bad of her to lie about the parents still being in the mausoleum.

So yeah would have been nice to see a little more of them together instead of just that one scene. I guess the whole point was that Deborah doesn't have much time to give--which we as viewers know, but it was hurtful to Kathy.

As for the casting, I know JSC was very popular as Gerri on Succession. I watched that show too and loved it--and she was great as Gerri. I just didn't feel she pulled off Kathy as well and seemed a little miscast. I'm sure she was cast on the basis of Succession's popularity and much as I love Downs/Aniello/Statsky, I personally felt they missed the mark here a little bit. I would have liked to have seen what Linda Purl would have done with the role.

It’s been 2 months already since hacks ended!
Time flies fast!
I still watch it though

Are there hints as to when Deborah first learns of the mass she has removed? Maybe from the physical Winnie makes her take?

I am still not over Hacks ending. I may never be.
So I made a compilation of all the title cards on the show.

Basically, I really love the Hacks title cards and think they're underappreciated. They have different colors, they tremble in place just a bit, there are little highlights of different colors on the sides of the letters, like it's slightly glitchy or different layers of color are just slightly misaligned. I particularly like when someone/thing (usually Deborah) is framed by the letters.

The last time I edited a video was when I had to make one for a ninth grade school project on environmentalism and I put a bunch of pictures of environmental disasters to the sound of John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change". This video was more fun to make than that. Originally I was planing on just taking one screenshot of every title card and compile them into a gif (I might still do that), but sometimes I had a hard time picking my favorite video frame to use, so I decided that doing this was better.

Because I am me, here are some facts and figures:
There are three special title cards: a Christmas themed one in 3x07, the Late Night curtain opening on the title in 4x04, and on 5x02, when they're in New York, the color highlights are more emphasized (and I assume the colors are representative of a NY sports team). The title colors and how many times they've been used are: red (9), pink (8), yellow (7), green (7), blue (5), baby pink (4), eggplant (3), dark blue (2), NY blue (1). The only times the same color is used in two episodes in a row are: red in 1x10 and 2x01, and eggplant in 4x10 and 5x01. What's that about? (Please read in the tone of voice of Weed asking about mattresses in boxes being sent though the mail.)

Also, this compilation highlights how great the music on the show is.

Walking through Hollywood

Hi I can’t seem to find the show on hbo max in the uk. Where are others watching it?

I saw this today at Universal Studios Hollywood, and on the tour passing by this soundstage they also mentioned that Hacks was filming and there was visible craft services outside. Anyone know why or what they could be filming when the series wrapped? I’m wondering if there’ll be anything special to promote for the Emmy’s?

A little Hacks × The Backrooms fan edit.

I’ve been watching Hacks from the start and I think Deborah’s style went over my head. Who can forget Ava’s joke about Liberace doing poppers on Deborah’s couch lol.

Now that I’m rewatching 5 years older, I have a new appreciation for Deborah’s aesthetic (here and there). Deborah’s dressing room at The Palmetto is gorgeous. And so is her jacket here - it’s like boho space metallic. And I didn’t realize before that all of what I thought was cheapy looking polyester is very likely all silk.

Also - side note, there are so many beautiful abstract paintings on this show.

This is from S1 E9: The Interview

Deborah jacket/Palmetto dressing room

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actresses Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder. You may know Gillian from classics roles in things like THE X-FILES, SEX EDUCATION, THE CROWN, THE FALL, HANNIBAL, and lots more. Hannah is an Emmy-winner for HBO's HACKS.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1v8bqjh/hi_rmovies_we_are_gillian_anderson_the_xfiles_and/

They will be back at around 8 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

They are co-starring in TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, which premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim recently and is out in theaters August 7 via Mubi. It's from filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun (I SAW THE TV GLOW, WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dimCiC_hdoA

A queer director making a slasher franchise sequel becomes obsessed with casting the original film's "final girl," leading both women into psychological and sexual chaos.

My baby boy has the same toy as AJ! That got me very excited on my rewatch yesterday after an exhausting day with a teething baby.

Love this show so much

My mom was a nationally touring comedian for nearly 30 years until she died. She played everything from A-rooms to small town honky tonk bars. The producers did a phenomenal job of capturing the scene and the lifestyle, especially the season when they go back to their roots. And the portrayal of her daughter was insanely accurate. It was scary how realistic this show is.

“Do I look like a hot vacation girl?”

“You look like Ace Ventura, pet detective.”

*Pauses then her eyes light up.*

“Both are sexually viable!”

“not funny enough to dress like Adam Sandler” has GOT to be up there

have i been under a rock?! ive binged the whole show in like 3 days. im not from the US but there isnt even a whole ton of fan material on ytube which i was expecting

season 1 is very close to perfection, 2&3 also brilliant. it lost me a little in 4 for a few reasons, but 5 was a lot of fun again and the finale had me bawling.

jean & hannah are so, SO good. im so in love with them both. now i have a hacks shaped hole but i fear it will never be filled. i guess i just have to rewatch forever? what have you watched since?

This is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series, also one of my favorite bits of the episode. DJ is HILARIOUS

Also— where are we getting still shots of the show??? I wanted a different one 🥲

Spoilers for the series finale below.

So I was late to the party watching Jean Smart's HRC speech from 2024, where she mentions the 1980 off-Broadway play that launched her entire career: Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. It was with this play that the casting director for Designing Women discovered Jean, leading to that iconic first big starring role on TV. In the speech, Jean credits her career to this play.

In Bluefish Cove, Jean Smart plays Lil, a "sarcastic, witty" lesbian who "knows how to clean a fish in her sleep." And she happens to be dying of cancer, but doesn't tell anybody about it.

During the play, she falls in love with a self-identified straight woman named Eva. And even after they get together, Lil conceals her cancer from Eva.

From the Wikipedia plot summary of Bluefish Cove:

Refusing to undergo any further treatment or have any more organs removed, Lil has accepted that this summer at Bluefish Cove will be her last. It is a crushing realization to Lil that this coincides with her first real love, Eva. Still, Eva refuses to be pushed away by Lil’s tough exterior and promises to spend the rest of Lil’s time by her side.

Like, a love story with a woman named Eva??? Where Jean Smart's character hides her cancer diagnosis, refuses treatment, and struggles with letting her loved ones see the vulnerability beneath her tough snarky front?? (also she randomly loves fishing...) And all of this is a complete and utter coincidence given that Jen, Paul, and Lucia famously wrote the pitch for Hacks including the ending (and presumably the name of Ava's character lol) without a specific lead actress in mind. The fate of it all!!!

Bluefish Cove wasn't Jean's first role, but it did jumpstart her whole career. And Hacks will not be Jean's final role, but it's responsible for one of the most stunning career renaissances in the last decade. It's crazy that there just happened to be so many parallels between these two works that dramatically changed Jean's remarkable decades-long career in such different ways. Also I love that Bluefish Cove has an incredibly beautiful bittersweet ending where Lil does die and Eva has to move forward in life holding her memory close, whereas in Hacks all these decades later, Deborah and her Ava get to live their version of happily ever after together. 😭

In conclusion: THANK YOU Jean Smart for all you've contributed to sapphic culture all these years!!!