[jilter]

Loved EPs 1 & 2.
Jean Smart is splendid.
From the promo:
“A dark mentorship forms between Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comic, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old comedy writer.”
Right up my alley.
I miss Joan Rivers every single day.
I think I was the only person on the earth that watched Joan’s reality show.
As such, I consider Hacks homage.
Probably not for everyone, but I am looking forward to EP 3.

 

[Tony_T]

 

[cmontyburns]

The first two were OK, maybe somewhat less than the sum of their parts. It feels like a show that knows there is a better show inside of it, and it just needs to keep looking. With Jen Statsky as a co-creator, I bet it will get there. I’ll stay with it.

 

[jilter]

Yeah, maybe my enthusiasm about a show like this was covering up it was not a home run. Still hopeful and will stay with it. I do not like the writer. But as always, maybe it is the character I am reacting to, not the portrayal.

 

[cmontyburns]

I think your optimism is warranted. Jean Smart is going to make a meal of this role and that will be fun to watch. And I think they've got all kinds of notes to play between her and the writer, which will be fun. It's really the rest of it/them where the show feels like it doesn't have a good idea yet.

 

[Regina]

The young woman is Larraine Newman's daughter. She is a great foil for Jean Smart. I am loving this show and can't wait for more!

 

[mlsnyc]

First time I’ve seen the person playing Ava and don’t know anything about her background. I thought she held her own and had good chemistry with Jean Smart. The first 2 episodes were really good and I can see this getting better.

 

[Ereth]

I really enjoyed the first two episodes. I'm a big fan of Jean Smart, she's so very versatile. And of course, she had the greatest line in all of TV while on Designing Women.

Spoiler

Jeans character at a posh dinner with people she doesn't know: "So, where y'all from?"
Uptight social society type : "We're from a place where you don't end a sentence with a preposition."
Jean: "Oh".
<awkward pause)
Jean: "So... where y'all from...*****?"

 

[tim1724]

Jean Smart is absolutely perfect in this role. She just nails this character. Of course that's no surprise, she's been great in so many shows over the years (including Watchmen, also on HBO). It's obvious that she's having a whole lot of fun playing Deborah Vance.

I don't think Hannah Einbinder quite matches Jean Smart just yet, but that may be do entirely to the way the character is written; Ava is not supposed to be on Vance's level and presumably a big part of the show will be the growth of her character. So I'll reserve judgement of Einbinder's acting chops until we see how she handles portraying the character's development. She's funny as hell though, whenever she gets the chance.

The show is off to a strong start and I'm interested to see what the additional characters (e.g., Vance's daughter) contribute to the story in future episodes.

 

[Tony_T]

Vance’s daughter is Kaitlin Olsen, aka “Sweet Dee”

 

[cmontyburns]

Vance's daughter is Kaitlin Olsen, aka "Sweet Dee"

In Sepinwall's review of Hacks, he called Olson "a clever bit of genetic casting". I've not understood what he meant.

 

[VegasVic]

I enjoyed the first two, looking forward to the rest.

 

[cmontyburns]

*** Spoilers for S01E03 "A Gig's a Gig" & SO1E04 "D'Jewelry" start here ***

In his review of the series, Alan Sepinwall wrote:

"Deobrah Vance, comedy superstar" is in many ways a facade the real Deborah has built, and you have to pay close attention to spot the moments when she drops it and lets her own personality come out.
​

There is one such moment lasting all of maybe three seconds in "A Gig's a Gig". Ava has just told Deborah that the burned pizza gag Deborah had agreed to pose for was demeaning. Deborah brushes this off with supreme confidence, but as she poses in her soot makeup with her hair astray, ever so briefly we see the real Deborah in there, knowing that Ava was right. A really spectacular small moment of acting by Jean Smart, who then quickly covers it up again.

We get another one near the end of "D'Jewelry". It's not quite as vivid, but just as impactful in its own way. Earlier in the episode, after DJ accuses Deborah of never helping her, Deborah says, "you have no idea what I do for you." And then near the end, after Ava has told her she learned that DJ is selling unflattering photos of Deborah to the tabloids, Deborah the facade shrugs it off. But when Ava realizes that Deborah already knew, Deborah the person, the mom, says simply, "It helps her feel empowered." And then Deborah the facade heads out on stage.

After four episodes, I still find the "comedy" part of this dramedy more miss than hit. But the "drama" part is finding its groove.

 

[Steveknj]

I watched the first episode over the weekend and enjoyed it. Though the character Smart is playing reminds me of the has been comedian on Mrs. Maisel quite a bit.

 

[gchance]

I've been really enjoying it, I just wish I didn't know Lorraine Newman was her mom. She looks SO much like her that it's creepy, her facial expressions are uncanny.

 

[jamesbobo]

I decided to give this show a try based on what I read here. Watched 3 episodes and I'm enjoying it so far.

 

[logic88]

It's gotten good buzz so I started on it this week. On episode 3 right now. So far I'm loving Jean Smart but Einbinder's character is kinda grating on me. I guess it's sendup of entitled Gen-Zs?

 

[Steveknj]

Watched E2 last night. It's good, not great, but I can see it getting better once we get to know more about the characters. As there's no spoilers tag for this thread:

Spoiler: From E2

Love the scene where Deborah made her go back into the convenience store to get her 27 cents change. Shows kind of an old fashioned cheapness to her, that's well, appealing to an old geezer like me. The cool kids would just throw it in the tip jar, but I always take my change, and I have a large jug where I save it and it becomes our vacation spending money.

 

[Howie]

Spoiler

Is it really possible for a phone to recognize someone's face from a wax museum likeness?[spoiler/]

 

[cmontyburns]

@jilter as you are the OP, do you mind if we convert this thread to an untagged spoiler thread, officially?