Hacks Season 4 - Part 1

I’ve loved the show but, you know….maybe it’s time? How much more can they stretch it out realistically? The constant “I’m a lesbian GenZ” shtick is sort of played out too.

R1: I think season five should be its last season and we all know it's getting renewed for season five. I agree Jean and the creatives shouldn't be the last ones at the party.

Just watched both episodes and this remains the best comedy in TV. I had no idea who Robby Hoffman was, but she's hilarious, not a beat missed. Jimmy's red sweater in the second episode was to die for. Helen Hunt is starting to look like the Changelings in DS9, I have no idea what's going on there.

r1 The reviews are all glowing, it's most definitely not the time to pull the plug yet, show is as fresh as ever.

[quote]The constant “I’m a lesbian GenZ” shtick is sort of played out too.

I found it telling that she had to consult an even younger Zoomer on the Insta caption for her NYT cover because she's already losing touch with what's cool. Kayla, on the other hand, still seems in tune with what's hot and not.

This is one of those shows I keep watching even though I get no enjoyment out of it. It feels like something to get through and get it over with. I can tell that some of the dialogue is supposed to be funny, but it’s not to me. It’s mostly unpleasant. The fat chick is the saving grace for the comedy. Mark Indelicato Is always adorable, even when he’s chunky and I don’t like chunky, so that’s saying something.

I don't understand how you can allow yourself to get chunky when you're on one of the best shows on TV. Especially now with Ozempic around. I mean, that's a pretty noticeable transformation for Indelicato in my eyes.

I think it will get at least two more seasons.

It's not just the Deborah and Ava stuff anymore, the Jimmy and Kayla side of things is getting funnier and funnier as well. When he trod in dog shit in his own office, I nearly lost it. A Lassie reboot!

I do wonder what they intend to do with Marcus, he's the one character I could actually see leaving the show.

I think the best moment was at the very end of season 1.

When Jean Smart told Ava that after the show ended that she would never speak to her again…and meant it.

The look on Hannah’s face when Jean said that was very moving.

[quote] When he trod in dog shit in his own office, I nearly lost it.

I had a feeling that there would be people who would find that funny.

Yes, it takes all sorts to make the world go round, surprised your humourless ass hasn't learned that yet at your advanced age.

r9 is why this whole place is getting more and more deserted.

I really enjoy this show - but the tension some times makes it hard to watch. I'm going to be devastated if its not a happy ending. 😀 Debra's show had better kill it!!

I felt like it was a setup for developments later in the season. That said, there were some good moments like the Deborah/Ava hug after the dinner party.

Helen Hunt did well in her speech emphasizing that they weren't taking the job seriously enough, but my God, as was mentioned above, she looks like someone threw acid in her face. Given her sour reputation, that's entirely possible.

I think Mark Indelicato is looking super hot these days. I kind of want to hit it. When he isn't speaking.

First two episodes were very good. Marcus leaving was sad, but makes sense. I am just not a Robby Hoffman fan. Much like early Kayla on the show, it's not like her presence will ruin the show for me or anything. But, I don't find her schtick that funny.

Still enjoying the show as much as ever. Hard to see what direction they are going to go in. Deborah realizing that she's turned Ava into a version of herself and tries to stop it?

So is the feuding completely over? I thought that aspect could get a lot of mileage and be explored more - getting the show together despite being at war with each other.

I fucking love when Deborah showed up outside Ava’s mall apartment and she tried to run up the escalator the wrong way.

I thought the first two episodes were great and very funny.

I found it dark compared to earlier seasons... so not quite as funny, for me. But they effectively mined the fury on both sides. It just feels a bit different to me. Still, can't miss.

[Quote] but doesn't Paul W. Downs know woke is over?

Why, because the stupidest 23% of America put your boyfriend back in office?

Think again.

I feel like this shows popularity is made up. Unlike the White Lotus. I don't know anyone who cares about it.

Jean Smart is brilliant. Keep the show going on and on. I'm nowhere tired of any of it.

'Hacks' is the best show to come along in ages.

I'm glad Marcus is leaving the show (hopefully). There's nothing wrong with that actor but they were never able to do anything interesting with his character.

I didn't even notice that Damien had gotten chunky. He looked fine to me.

I enjoyed the first few seasons but lost interest during a plot line about the lead characters getting lost on a hike. I made the mistake of telling my sister that I felt the writing was getting preachy and some plot elements were strained and implausible, like Jean Smart’s character doing a keg stand on a college campus. My sister was pretty disappointed in me for saying that.

[quote] I didn't even notice that Damien had gotten chunky. He looked fine to me.

Are you saying that compared to your size?

We share your sister's disappointment in you r25 Please invite her to post here while you proceed to the nearest grease fire.

Please post a shirtless pic, r26

Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder have an insane amount of comedy chemistry. I love any scene with the two of them in it together.

R20, I completely agree. It’s good but the tone has changed. Hoping it bends back again.

I can’t help but admire Jean Smart in almost any performance. She’s a great pleasure to watch. I do agree that some of the conflict feels constructed, but that’s needed to advance a plot and storyline.

Some funny lines make it into the script. I liked one about “the oldest whore after Mary Magdalene”.

The best exchanges between the two leads are when they use humor to call out each other’s inherent flaws and weaknesses. I also like the production quality of the series (the lighting in particular).

R30, I rewatched both episodes and now I'm reversing my opinion. They've made some clear and unsentimental choices. They moved to LA, but it seems they haven't moved the whole original cast a la Laverne and Shirley or some such bullshit where every character uproots their lives and moves. People come in life, people go. Jean Smart so far as I am concerned won her next Emmy with the this is what happens to me every time my dream comes true melt down monologue. It was a great riff on what drives these people and the intensity of the need that never really goes away... Norma Desmond without the camp? It's definitely getting a little more dramedy than comedy with a few dramatic insights, but it's a really well crafted reinvention. By series four you could be running out of gas.. I think they've breathed new life into it, just takes a bit of getting used to. (I still feel they've a bit heavy on the Jimmy and Kayla content.)

Hacks - The Ozempic Season

I can definitely make use of the "I hear you're in the running with Mary Magdalene for world's oldest whore."

Mary Magdalene being a hooker was debunked long ago. Typical of this show's lazy approach to comedy.

None of Deborah's supposedly hilarious stand-up is at all believable; that's been the show's problem since the beginning.

I agree with what was said upthread — people are pretending this is a great comedy, and it really isn't. It's a career hosanna for Jean Smart (well deserved), but the anemic writing lets her down constantly.

The whole "women power" thing that Jimmy was saying wasn't meant to be woke, it was him kissing Ava and Deborah's ass.

I think the creators/writers have said they mapped out a five season show, and while I love the show I also agree that there's only so many times they can do the push/pull between Deborah and Ava, so hopefully it's five and done. I think this review says it all.

I hated last season but this season so far is MUCH better. I really liked it.

[quote]I agree with what was said upthread — people are pretending this is a great comedy, and it really isn't.

Thank you for pointing out that the empress has no clothes.

R35 I agree but got flamed above and in real life for mentioning that. I wish we could be honest about the quality of media without arousing competitive progressivism.

Please, if you want to Hate Watch, just say you're hate watching. Nobody's being fooled by using scholarly terminology.

Love the show; thought first two episodes of season 4 were very good. But, episode 3 was pretty bad.

As a huge fan I have to be honest; I’m not digging this season thus far.

The writing is sharp and the plot is focused. But there are just no laughs. Every episode of every previous season had at least one outrageous, laugh-out-loud moment. This season…not so much.

The Deborah-Ava feud has been so mean spirited and ugly that it’s left no room for humor. They’ve boxed it into a challenging corner where the situations are so intense and coarse that it’s challenging to mine for laughs.

There were a couple of chuckles with the writers’ retreat but nothing memorable. The main supporting cast is also being wasted as they make room for the writing team members.

Hopefully it can get back on track because when it’s on, there’s no funnier show on television.

I love Mayor Jo.

Liked episode 2 more, 1 and 3 seemed a bit try hard/meh. But definitely still liking it overall. Just get back to a good dynamic with the two main characters. Do that.

I'm eager to binge watch. Fan of Jean (although enough with the repeated Emmy wins) Maybe Hannah will win this year finally.

I prefer the more objective reviews instead of the eye rolling "Greatest show on TV ever!" hyperbole.

I actually don’t mind that it is more dramatic lately.

I think that would have saved Veep. Julia Louis Dreyfus is a good dramatic actress too and if the show had sometimes leaned into the drama, I think it would have sustained the last few seasons better.

Roseanne back in the 90s was good at mixing pathos with comedy

Episode 3 was a waste of time. Just the final scene with the HR woman made me smile.

I thought it started rolling once the mayor showed up. That was some funny stuff.

Mayor Jo is a scream, she should have a scene in every episode.

A roomful of new writers, and they’re mostly ugly, not funny, an annoying bad actors. That throw-up guy was horrible. That creature who goes by the name “Holmes,” got a huge makeover since her days on that horrible show, Welcome to Flatch—but she's still difficult to look, and she’s never been funny.

Kayla and this bland passel of new writers seriously dilute what was once a solid comedy with two great leads and a strong ensemble into a puddle of “let’s get this over with."

The eternal problem with this show, probably similarly to Mrs. Maisel (which I never watched past the first season), is that “famed comedienne” Deborah Vance has never once told a legitimately funny joke. So the “comedy” and success thereof is always based on the other characters’ reactions, including fake audiences who undoubtedly would need to be told what “jokes” are actually funny.

Centring an episode - probably this entire season - on whether the characters can right funny jokes or not doesn’t bode well for entertainment purposes because Hacks will certainly never rely on the laughter of its actual viewing audience to determine if anything Deborah says is funny.

It’s sort of like watching a show about a master composer made by people who can only tap out notes with one finger on a Casio keyboard. We already know where this is going. Deborah’s show will be No. 1 as the actual show drifts off into its own fantasyland of how a late night show works as if The Larry Sanders Show actually never happened.

Why did Kayla need her own “Kayla”? That seems really tired. And Jimmy is supposed to roll his eyes at both of them?

When the show started they spent a lot of time casting the perfect actors for the characters they had written. Now they are just trying to plug "friends and family" into supporting roles as they enjoy watching them, but they don't make sense for the show.

I love Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder is very good, but I'm over the repetitive feuding between Deborah and Ava. The writers' room segments weren't funny, though I did love the mayor of Las Vegas.

My partner insists on watching the behind-the-scenes featurettes after each episode, where Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul Downs walk us through every narrative beat and metaphor. Some of it is very obvious and heavy-handed "the coyote blocking Deborah's car is Ava, because she won't back down!". I don’t know when this trend of over-explaining became so ubiquitous, but I miss when the work was allowed to speak for itself.

[quote] By series four you could be running out of gas.. I think they've breathed new life into it

It's their Edna's Edibles.

What we think about Debra’s poppers related injury this week.

R56 Honestly? The only genuine laugh in the show.

Still the most unfunny season yet.

Is Paul Downs' character gay?

R58 he feels almost asexual to me. I don’t think we seen him express sexual attraction to either men or women? It would track if he was gay. Most of the men that Debra has around her are gay.

I'm sure Paul wouldn't mind having some on screen action.

I don’t mind the drama. When Jean listened to Carol Burnett and chose to present the show to just Ava, that was incredibly moving

Not as bad as last week but not great. First two eps of the season were good.

The first episode of Deborah's Talk Show was dreadful. NOTHING new and exciting - and the big get? Randy Newman who looked like he was melting into a wheelchair? Are you f*in kidding me? That show would only kill with the DL demographic. Terrible writing. So disappointed. And the traffic on this thread proves it.

R63 I assumed that was the point of Randy Newman? She choosing things she knows her audience likes. And honestly if deb was real her most devoted audience would be datalounge users. It looks like next episode is being set up to be about response to show getting low ratings.

I could see Jean submitting "I Love LA" as her Emmy episode but I'm sure she'll have better material later in the season.

She might as well have Dorothy Kilgallen as a guest!

I thought it was typical of this show that when her late night debut was premiering in the hospital waiting room nobody laughed. But people still said she was great. Sure.

Jimmy looks good for 42!

This show has largely been driven by Jean's acting. If the show writers were capable of writing a truly funny late night show, they could make a lot more money doing that than writing this niche show.

[quote] I could see Jean submitting "I Love LA" as her Emmy episode but I'm sure she'll have better material later in the season.

I wouldn’t be so sure. Extremely weak season and could qualify as a drama at this point.

I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Ava being groomed to be part of a throuple. That came out of nowhere and was telegraphed like a lightning bolt.

And Helen Hunt with a toddler? She’s in her 60s. I guess it was adopted or a frozen egg. Helen Hunt having heterosexual relations, even for a role, is the stuff of science fiction.

I hate to say it, as I've been a fan of the show since the beginning, but this season is really not good.

And in what world would a network let a 70 year old helm a late night talk show?

^^and not just a 70 year old, but a 70 year old who isn't funny.

r72, she GOT Randy F*cking Newman as her guest on the opener. That's AMAZING!

I'm glad someone else noticed the absurdity of Helen Hunt having a small child, r70.

She's VERY stiff and one-note considering how long she's been acting. Jean Smart is way more believable and natural.

Maybe the kid can have playdates with Nicole Kidman's adorable toddlers

"And in what world would a network let a 70 year old helm a late night talk show?"

They briefly reference that in the fictional world of Hacks, late night has nose dived and Deborah got the job because no one else wanted it, yet the out-of-touch network still wanted to give late night a go. So, the answer is in the fictional world of Hacks.

Agree that this season is lacking.

Looks like the show's entering the pre-Jump The Shark period where they can now get famous guest stars, but most of the time, they really shouldn't.

If you watch the post-credits round table with the creators, it becomes obvious they’re inhaling their own fumes this season. I sense after the reaction to this season thus far, Season 5 will be a “back to basics” approach that returns the laughs and hopefully the Vegas setting.

It’s become clear how crucial Vegas was as a character this season and how truly cliched and boring Los Angeles is as a poor substitute.

I've just sat through the first two episodes of season four. They were surprisingly watchable.

Well of course they’re all inhaling their own fumes, R78. They’re all working on a set where they have to pretend Paul W. Downs is straight.

The first two were good. The last two were questionable . So sad.

[quote] She's VERY stiff and one-note considering how long she's been acting.

Helen Hunt is the Sam’s Club Jodie Foster. Only less feminine.

My biggest beef with this season is how unrealistic all of this network stuff is. Last year when they were setting it up it felt like it had some gravitas - Tony Goldwyn felt like an actual executive and there were high stakes with Jean sleeping with him, etc

The blackmail scheme with Ava was masterfully done.

But now what we’re in the trenches of the network it all seems so inconsequential- bumbling executives and dopey HR classes and employees.

As a result, Eva and Deborah have no real stakes - they’re smarter than the people they’re working for!

Imagine how much better it would be if their employers were actually concerned about the bottom line and her success in the new role! Deborah and Eva would be forced to set aside their fued in order to prevail over their corporate overlords.

What were are gonna get is some mushy makeup probably around episode 6 that is completely unearned.

It saddens me how much this show has declined. The previous seasons were so good and consistent. Yet each episode this season feels like a chore to watch. Even Jean Smart’s charisma can’t save the lackluster writing this time around.

“ My biggest beef with this season is how unrealistic all of this network stuff is….. dopey HR classes”

That is practically a documentary about how awful those HR classes are in real life

So true r85. As one who has suffered through bullshit HR classes, they are pretty close to what is shown on Hacks. They're interminable.

The writers/creators have made the mistake of basking in the acclaim that was 89% Jean Smart, 6% the ensemble and 5% the writing.

Having said that, iffy episodes of this show are still superior to so much else. Jean Smart is sublime.

It's lame that they can't even come up with consistency with such short episode seasons. The BBC has done this for decades without breaking a sweat.

Americans want a pat on the back for being "daring" for doing shorter seasons and still churn out tired, reductive writing in limited time frames. I'm not impressed.

The Emmys will still reward this, along with The Bear, despite the fact that both seasons are considered excrement. Just because. Again, reductive.

Also see Ted Lasso.

You may be right r78. Isn't there some old rule: don't give your characters their heart's desire. Well maybe not, but I did worry that giving Debra the talk show she'd always dreamed of, they were going off track. I don't think she has to lose all the time, but it's a big risk when you win in the way you always wanted. Make them win in some other, unexpected way seems better. Reinvent herself in some new, unexpected way that surprises everyone.

r82 More like the Temu Jodie! LOL

She should have hit Burnett up as her first guest.

[quote] I sense after the reaction to this season thus far, Season 5 will be a “back to basics” approach that returns the laughs and hopefully the Vegas setting.

The Plan To Save Hacks!

R91, the rule is if you ever go looking for your heart’s desire again, never look further than your own back yard.

I thought episode four strengthened again, a little... the dark hostility ebbed a little. It was better. But yeah, I agree there's a problem generally in that Deborah isn't that funny on the show. Markoe was funny. But there could have been a whole episode built around Ava's insecurity over Markoe - Ava watching out of the corner of her eye and the resolution is the whole time Markoe wasn't scheming to get Ava's job, she was scheming to get an OK on bringing her dogs on set - or decided to bring the dog on set in defiance of some rule at the end. There was something there maybe. Agree with the assertion upthread the season would have been better with a quick pivot from blackmail to both Ava and Deborah realizing they're in over their heads in a shark tank and building the whole season as the two of them as voices of reason in a world of Hollywood cutthroat losers. They could have done a Howard Beale thing where Deb turns against her corporate overlords and her comedy keeps going from strength to strength - and the ratings with it - as she turns her comedic sights on them and their products. They work better as team and while the sentimentality can be moving in moments, I have a feeling we're just building toward a great big hug.

Was there something in the ER waiting room scene, because the only people into it were the two leads - and they were only chuckling.

The poppers thing was funny if a fairly tired trope.

I found Ava's three way build kinda sexy. I don't get the Einbinder hate. I think she's a very likeable presence with a great voice.

Finally, is there some significance in the Randy Newman scene? Because I just don't get it.

This season feels like one with an idea, but no themes.

Ava is the only humor this season.

Hannah E ^^

Do they have a writer from late night working on the show? They should, and have that person write the monologues for Deborah.

‘Hacks’ Breakout Robby Hoffman To Co-Write & Star In ‘Unentitled’ Comedy Series In Works At HBO

Robby Hoffman is only a "breakout" in the sense that my face was a "breakout" when I was 15.

So this episode had Hannah get her pussy eaten to orgasm by a hot guy she’s in a trouble with!

That definitely has gotten the show back on track!!

Episode 5 finally paid off Michaela Watkins' character.

That poor actor, R102. I hope he gets paid extra and a year or two of intense therapy for having his face near THAT.

I think the HR plot line and the HR actress are completely out of sync with the rest of the show.

I think I’m burnt out on this show. It’s just the same thing over and over again.

And why is Deborah always dressed in old lady glam like she rolled around in Charles Basso’s dressing room at QvC? Wouldn’t they want her in something more on trend? Like maybe a nice tailored suit. Like the way Nora O’Donnel dressed when she was doing the CBS Evening News? Smart is already looking too old for this part and they keep her dressed like she’s the sequined version of Maude.

This show is now so dark and I'm finding both leads unbelievable. Vance's show looks unredeemable.

We really didn't need to see Ava getting her pussy eaten. Ugh.

Too much of disgustingly fat, hunchbacked, obnoxiously unfunny, mush-mouth Kayla. I can understand probably half of what she says, and what I do understand is just not funny. Why would any of these intelligent people want her around? I really miss Marcus, who seemed to ground the show. And, yes, the show is just too dark and chaotic, it’s become a chore to watch.

For what it measures, I keep forgetting to watch this show the night it airs... like White Lotus, I knew that was Sundays. This season of this show, which I had loved, I keep forgetting tonight's the night on Thursday.

This anemic thread is on life support. Further proof this show is dying.

Enough with this Kayla. She's play acting, NOT acting. Where the fuck is the director?

This season is such a drag. I think season five should be its last.

The dance mom storyline felt like filler and wasn’t funny at all. Also, the celebrity cameos this season don’t add much.

Fuck Jimmy Kimmel. I didn't think I could hate him more, until I saw that scene with Deborah.

Hated dance mom. And the pussy eating was absolutely revolting. We did not need to see that.

Actually, new episodes of “Hacks” drop on Thursdays.

[quote] Fuck Jimmy Kimmel. I didn't think I could hate him more, until I saw that scene with Deborah.

R115 You do realize he was [italic]acting[/italic] and playing a parody of himself in doing so, yes?

[quote]And the pussy eating was absolutely revolting. We did not need to see that.

And it went on so long. I immediately thought of Aunt Sassy: "I don't need to SEE that!"

[quote] Fuck Jimmy Kimmel. I didn't think I could hate him more, until I saw that scene with Deborah. Hated dance mom. And the pussy eating was absolutely revolting. We did not need to see that.

You are a wise man.

[quote]I think the HR plot line and the HR actress are completely out of sync with the rest of the show.

She's the only one who's made me laugh the last two episodes.

^ yeah I get it. Me too. I guess I just found it pretty broad compared to the general vibe of the show.

I did not expect RuPaul’s Drag Race to have a longer lifespan than Hacks. But here we are.

Whenever a show becomes a hit, it becomes a hot mess

See also

The Last of Us

White Lotus season 3

Desperate Housewives

Glee (anything Ryan Murphy)

Greys Anatomy

This season has been annoying. The Throuple storyline seems forced as does the tension between Ava and Deborah, which seems like a rehash. And Kayla should have a fatal accident.

I think part of it is the culture shift that has happened since season 3 aired last summer.

We are in the early stages of Trump 2.0, and I personally am finding it more difficult to laugh at a rich, un-PC boomer clashing with an uber-liberal millenial these days.

Also, some of the storyline here doesn’t make sense. Deborah has been the queen of QVC for years, how does she not know how to connect with fraus? And it would have been realistic for Deborah and Ava’s fight outside the Comedy Store to go viral, with all those people watching, leading to speculation in the media that the show is in trouble-that would have been more interesting.

Trump?

Stick a fork in it. on another note, I asked AI to imagine Jean with a facelift. This was the result.

[quote]We are in the early stages of Trump 2.0, and I personally am finding it more difficult to laugh at a rich, un-PC boomer clashing with an uber-liberal millenial these days.

JFC WTF does Trump have to do with this show. Some of you are obsessed.

BTW Ava is Gen Z, not a Millennial. This was made clear several times over the course of the show.

The Last of Us is a hot mess? It's only been on for maybe 10 episodes so far?

I get what you mean, R125. For me it mostly shows up in my attitude towards the late night show as the high-stakes crucible for this season’s plot. I keep thinking it’s so beneath all concerned - including us as the audience. Not only is it a dead genre but pretending it’s the major feminist rubicon that we now have to cross just feels wildly tone deaf. Like, we’ve got a billion other fish to fry these days. Being in Los Angeles the whole time only adds to that sense of elder millennial comedy writer provincialism - I can’t believe how much I am missing Vegas.

Also, there is a weird “educational seminar” quality to the way the show treats Ava’s sexuality, which actually feels quite retrograde. Like, when Deborah’s sexuality comes into focus as a plot point it’s actually about Deborah, the person, whereas with Ava it always feel likes it’s in service of re-explaining some aspect of bisexuality to us?

I know people hate her, but Kayla and Jimmy (who should also just come out as bisexual already!) setting up a fledgling talent agency is the half hour show I now want to watch - and broadly drawn but very funny characters like Robby Hoffman’s and Michaela Watkins’ would be perfect in that world.

I miss Vegas and all the bizarre and hilarious side characters - Josephina, Miss Loretta, Kiki and of course Mayor Jo. They added a lot to the show and Vegas was a better setting. Kayla needs to die in a grease fire.

be funnier

This season is cratering pretty quickly First two eps were pretty good but its been going downhill fast. It was so good for two seasons and still strong for the third season, if not as good.

👅 🐈‍⬛

Jesus fucking Christ Kayla needs to fucking die.

Both Deborah and Ava are loathsome this season. The show is so much better when they’re interacting honestly constantly and the extended feuding has made that near impossible. Their relationship has gone from deep, quirky and real to artificial and perfunctory.

The talk show and everything surrounding it are awful and the entertaining supporting characters have been jettisoned for new, dull substitutes.

The Ava throuple storyline is pure titillation and has zero impact on the plot. Los Angeles is so generic compared to Vegas.

I don’t think the season can be salvaged at this point. At least we were spared an appearance by raging heterosexual Helen Hunt this week.

[quote]The Ava throuple storyline is pure titillation and has zero impact on the plot.

Ava has zero impact on the plot.

There, R136. Fixed that for you.

“ The Ava throuple storyline is pure tit”

THANKS!

The only funny line was when the HR woman blasted Ava for constantly looking up the deadline for the entry submission for the Peabody Awards. That sums up Ava to a tee. As if Deborah!s shitty show would be nominated for anything.

Also, Ava was a total cunt to Deborah in the restaurant when she was busted with her throuple partners. She reignited the feud for no reason.

The writers have totally lost touch this season.

Deborah’s talk show makes the Pat Sajak Show look like late-night brilliance. It sucks donkey balls.

The “Hacks” producers can’t even get good celebrity fake guests despite its countless Emmys. Are they not even trying?

Truly tragic.

Why doesn’t Ava fuck more guys on the show? She should be constantly hunting for dick. Nothing feels better than a giant, hard dick in my hungry pussy.

I love dick.

Dick!

The red-haired actress has no self-respect to agree to show nudity on camera for cash. She's disgusting.

Well this last episode was total crap. I'm really so bummed with this season.

R142 = Lynne Cheney.

R142 = Larraine Newman.

The Guardian's Zoomer critic gave it 5 out of 5 stars:

R146 Critics used to be seasoned journalists with an objective eye, specific knowledge and writing skills honed over many years.

No one with a brain wants to work in the news business anymore so now they’ll take any woke idiot right out of J school.

A tragic end to a once noble profession.

R142=sighted people everywhere

I liked it better when it was Mrs. Garrett screaming at Blair and Jo that they were both being little cunts.

The show worked better when the leads were 2 sides of the same coin.

Now they are getting too emmeshed in each others lives and it's turning into a Sam/Diane, Tony/Angela situation, where they should just fuck and get it over with.

R150 they can’t fuck when Ava is having graphic cunnilingus heterosexual/bisexual threesome scenes.

This lack of character self awareness reminds me of the Connors where Sara Gilbert cast herself as a sexually viable female lead, constantly beating lovers off with sticks and the center love triangle desires.

You’re correct, R151. Looking at that sexy, exotic couple all you can think of is “In depraved, beautiful Los Angeles the best you can find for a third is dumpy, titless Ava?” Terrible clothes, awful hair. She doesn’t even have a good personality. The writers have to humanize her with clumsy pratfalls because she’s so odiously woke and obnoxious. And the three of them were eating in what appeared to be a very high-end restaurant and they were practically fucking each other at the table. So tacky and trashy.

Ava is such a selfish bitch. The show should end with Deborah taking a hit out on her and then driving her Rolls Royce through the desert and coyly smiling as she spots a pile of freshly tilled soil, knowing the worthless carcass that lies rotting beneath.

I’m right there with ya R152, until that last paragraph. Yikes. A little potent just for a TV show you’ve grown tired of, no?

This is Datalounge, r153.

R152’s posts hits all the right notes except J don’t see a reference to cunt bones being kicked.

Ava IS annoying and titless and about as sexy as a pissing toad.

I didn’t understand the casting of Emmy-winner and indie darling Julianne Nicholson as…”Dance Mom”?

I’m not sure she was even doing her own dancing.

Like, maybe cast a comedy actress if you’re trying to do satire…?

Absolutely NOBODY wants to eat Ava's yeasty puss! Let's get real now.

This show has been a weird one for me. It's just "there". It's watchable but I feel nothing for any of the characters, I get bored by end of each episode and just catch it later. It's similar in tone to The Comeback- which I was- and still am obsessed with. That show I still rewatch episodes- I really love Valerie. I feel nothing for Deborah. But I still watch. Very surprised by the critical acclaim.

That Jimmy Kimmel scene was awful. But then again this entire episode was one of the worst ones ever for this show, even beating out the “stranded in the wilderness” episode.

The Comeback was brilliant. Lisa Kudrow deserved every award for this one scene alone.

r155 " I didn’t understand the casting of Emmy-winner and indie darling Julianne Nicholson as…”Dance Mom”? "

and she is terrible, as is the character / story line. ugh.

It doesn't feel grounded around anything central. I know "all hands on deck to make the talk show a success" should be a viable central theme, but it all feels so haphazard. And again, I don't think the season started terribly. But I think it's pretty terrible now. Kayla was improved in season 3 but now it's like they wanted her to do a more obnoxious and needlessly wacky version of her first season character whenever she gets screen time - which she really doesn't need at all.

Jimmy could just say that Kayla died of kidney failure and no one would care.

For a show that too frequently seems set in a past time, I thought the inclusion of social media Dance Mom was spot on as something today's wine drinking fraus would be more into. As opposed to a veteran standup like Debra who their mothers enjoyed at their age.

Hopefully we'll get more a Dance Mom story arc and see how today's type of fame changes her. Maybe an All About Eve talk show takeover is in the works?

I didn't realize Polly Draper was playing the psychic! She was hilarious.

OMG. Dance Mom is in 5 more episodes. She’s obviously going to take over Deborah’s show.

Why else would they cast an actress of Nicholson’s calibre?

Or, they’re going to kill of Dance Mom so Hannah can do some virtue-signalling moralism.

Ugh you’re right. Dance Mom taking over the show totally makes sense why Julianne Nicholson was cast and why she’s in so many episodes. It’ll also lead to Deborah and Ava reconciling because Ava was against having Dance Mom on the show in the first place.

It's clear the producers hate Kayla. That sausage skin casing jumpsuit she wore did her no favors.

It’s obvious Deborah will be “cancelled” but I don’t think it will be because her one night stand with the executive will be exposed. I think it will be something stupid like her (and Ava) buying Mike’s Hard Lemonade for those underage boys at the end of the “stranded in the wilderness” episode.

This show should have taken a cue from 30 Rock and have never actually let us see her late night show. It should have just been the behind the scenes shit.

Deborah was already on the verge of being cancelled when she went to Berkeley. I don't think they'll go there again. Dance Mom is terrible and I really don't need a whole arc with her, but I guess it really drives home the taste of Deborah's audience who love her.

“ Jimmy could just say that Kayla died of kidney failure and no one would care.”

Jimmy could just say that Kayla died of gang rape by pit bulls and no one would care.

What does Ava's puss taste like?

Well, I think Kayla is funny, and I need Jimmy to do various shockingly enjoyable, borderline immoral things to me.

I like Kayla. She plays the quintessential younger millennial to the hilt.

Kayla isn't very contemporary---she's the kooky next door neighbor/friend. Sometimes they're done well (Rose on Golden Girls, Jack on Will and Grace), but mostly they're not.

I loved the comment above about not showing the actual TV late night show. It was a great idea. What I do not get....the show is so bad that nobody would want to watch that. It looks like an afternoon show for Moms....It is horrible. And can someone explain the Sweden joke? Yikes

It seemed like the dance went on for five minutes and they showed the entire thing. What was the point of giving her more continuous screen time than anything else in this episode?

This show has gotten too far away from its roots. It feels like there's no real character exploration anymore but just fights and power struggles.

It’s paling in comparison to The Studio which has been streaming at the same time. Even though The Studio has a somewhat retro sensibility Hacks’ LA looks like the 1990s.

I hope J Smith Cameron puts in another appearance as Deborah’s sister.

"Hopefully we'll get more a Dance Mom story arc:"

Jesus, god no please

R179 unfortunately the producers have said she becomes a main character this season and is in the rest of the season.

You don’t cast an Emmy winning character actress in a part like that unless you plan to use her more.

“ I hope J Smith Cameron puts in another appearance as Deborah’s sister.”

I am still hoping for a Jeri spinoff from SUCCESSION

So I'm gonna be an outlier. I thought episode five was one of the better ones. Not great, but better consistently on all fronts. I do think the writing is weakening generally across this season though. Agree they might have done better to avoid the broadcast of the late night show, or at least the monologues. I'm assuming based on the above that Dance Mom somehow becomes a sensation and the evil showrunners and network executives can Deborah in favour of Dance Mom, as a parable of the shallowness of entertainment. I'm not quite sure how Ava winds up blacklisted enough she and Deborah have to stick together, because in real life Ava would generally just move on to her next thing, unless she did something really, really, really, really bad. I'll be interested to see how they set that up, though I'm not saying I'll be entertained by it. (Maybe they give Deborah a sitcom. Often people fail upward.)

Sigh. This is just like when they moved Laverne and Shirley to LA. One of the greatest television comedies of all time went straight to hell. Not even Edna could save it.

I wonder, will Dance Mom turn out to be Ellen, though?

[quote]What does Ava's puss taste like?

Fire, brimstone, rotten clams, an overinflated sense of self worth, and death, R172

And I thought fusion was over.

Julianne Nicholson’s secret, sometimes ‘raunchy’ prep to play Dance Mom on ‘Hacks’

I’ve always rooted for Hacks because it was a real comedy while The Bear simply wasn’t. Too much bitching and too many arguments. Hacks made me laugh. Now I’m tired of the bitching and arguments on Hacks. There’s still some laughs but I have no idea where this show is headed. They kill each other? Get married?

I think I have PTSD from seeing Ava naked and getting her box munched. There was just no need for that.

Ave nude and getting clam-rimmed took me by total surprise, nothing I’d expect to see on this show. It was crude and seemed forced. It was just a little, MUCH I guess. We watched until they called Dance Mom onto stage to save the episode and the husband was like, “you ready to go up and got to bed?”… so we clicked off the tv. I think I’m just kind of over the show now but will check back here to see how the season ends. Hacks was the only reason we were keeping Max so I can at least take that off my monthly to-pay list.

R182;: The episode was absolute garbage.