The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with the team behind
Hacks
at SXSW 2024.
Stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky tease what to expect in Season 3 of the acclaimed series.

Hacks
Season 3 premieres May 2nd on Max.

Hacks debuted in a big way back in 2021. The Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky-created Max series immediately amassed an adoring fanbase and then went on to score loads of glowing reviews and accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards. Team Hacks enjoyed similar success with the show’s second season in 2022, and now they’re gearing up for yet another epic run with Season 3 because the first two episodes just premiered at SXSW, and they’re fantastic.

Hacks explores the complex working relationship between comedy legend Deborah Vance, played by Jean Smart, and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels, a struggling young comedy writer who takes a gig writing for Deborah. The two butt heads quite a bit, but manage to put their differences aside and find great success. But, at the end of Season 2, Deborah insists they part ways so Ava’s able to pursue her own work and passions. Season 3 kicks off with just that, with the former duo doing their own things — until they unexpectedly cross paths again.

In celebration of Hacks Season 3’s big debut in Austin at SXSW, Smart, Einbinder, Downs, Aniello and Statsky all visited the Collider interview studio to tease what’s coming our way when new episodes start dropping on Max beginning on May 2nd.

Will ‘Hacks’ Fans Get On Board with How Far They Push Deborah & Ava in Season 3?

The team steered well clear of spoilers while discussing what’s on the horizon for Deborah and Ava, but Aniello offered up an especially exciting tease of how their relationship will evolve in a way the show has yet to explore. Here’s what she said when asked for something in Season 3 that was more creatively fulfilling to write than she ever could have imagined at the start:

“I actually think that this season, we kind of force Deborah and Ava to confront each other and themselves in a way that we didn’t quite do in Season 1 or 2. I think that
towards the end of Season 3, we really push them to ask themselves, what is important in life, and it puts them in really difficult positions, and choices are made and it goes really hard and it goes really deep
. But I think and I hope that people are on board for that at this point because I feel so — I love them both so much, but I also can see how that love can be so twisted, and so I think that it goes there and I hope that people can get on board. I know they will. I can’t wait for them to, I guess, is really what I mean.”

Christopher Lloyd Will Go Full Christopher Lloyd in ‘Hacks’ Season 3
Image via Universal Pictures

Answering the same question, Downs steered the conversation toward the show’s stellar roster of guest stars.

“Christopher Lloyd was pretty amazing to write for. And we wrote the part with him in mind and he said yes, which was pretty amazing. Lucia has said this before, but she wrote her thesis on Back to the Future, and Addams Family is one of my favorite movies, so getting to work with Christopher Lloyd, it was pretty iconic. And
he gave Christopher Lloyd, you know? He is so singular.
There’s no one who does the dynamic that he does, and he’s still got it.”

In addition to Downs and Aniello having the opportunity to work with a beloved icon, Einbinder also got the chance to work with a personal favorite, Christina Hendricks.

When asked for the new character who challenges Ava the most this season, Einbinder mentioned Hendricks but wondered, “Do you think there’s a challenge happening?” Aniello immediately jumped in with, “[It’s] more a challenge of, Ava versus her ideals versus her horniness.” Einbinder continued:

“Say it sister! Yeah, so then I would say Christina Hendricks who is one of my favorite actors. Mad Men’s my favorite show and I’ve seen it literally seven times. In college I had Mad Men posters, multiple ones in my room and then I kept them up after I graduated college. I had them for longer. I just think she’s one of the most incredible actresses and that was so cool to work with her.”

‘Hacks’ Season 3 Will Add Jimmy’s Mom & Kayla’s High School Bully
Image via Max

In addition to adding more acting aces to their guest star line-up, Season 3 will also put a heavier focus on two standout supporting characters. Downs, who plays Deborah and Ava’s manager Jimmy, and Megan Stalter, who plays Jimmy’s assistant Kayla, were both promoted to series regulars.

Here’s what Downs teased when asked what the future holds for the unlikely duo:

“Jimmy and Kayla have gone out on their own, they’re starting this new thing, they really are enmeshed with the goals of Deborah and Ava this season more so than ever before.
You get to see them be vulnerable and emotional.
And actually, I think you see a side of the characters that you haven’t seen before. And I think for Jimmy, he recognizes this season that Kayla, while she is really, really bad at being an assistant, she does have some really great vision because she thinks outside the box, and I’m talking way outside the box. I’m talking the box be burned, you know? But she has something to teach him.
It’s interesting how that duo mirrors the dynamic of Deborah and Ava.
”

The Jimmy and Kayla teases didn’t stop there. Aniello confirmed, “We meet Kayla’s high school bully.” And on top of that, Downs revealed, “We meet Jimmy’s mom.” Two very interesting wrinkles right there that will likely offer the audience a clearer sense of how Jimmy and Kayla became the people we meet at the start of the show while also possibly sparking character growth via addressing key relationships from their pasts.

Why the Creators Are Most Proud of the ‘Hacks’ Season 3 Finale
Image via Max

Before winding down our conversation, I opted to squeeze in a personal favorite question. While awards season is wonderful, I find that folks in Hollywood rarely celebrate their own accomplishments, so I asked the group for something they did making Hacks that they can look back on and say, “Damn, I’m proud of what I did there.” Almost everyone veered toward the Season 3 finale.

Einbinder began, “I feel like that about the finale of this season.” Downs continued, “I do too. I feel that way about the finale from a writing standpoint and from an acting standpoint, too.”

Aniello then further elaborated:

“I would say the finale as well only because — there’s, I think, one scene in particular where I think I’m just proud that we were able to create characters that then could have the scene. And even though it’s, to me, Jean and Hannah are the scene, still being able to have been like, we created characters that then allowed these actors to do this scene, I think feels like I’m very proud of that.”

Looking for even more from Smart, Einbinder, Downs, Statsky and Aniello on Hacks Season 3? Be sure to check out our full SXSW 2024 interview in the video at the top of this article!

Hacks Creator Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky Cast Jean Smart , Hannah Einbinder , Carl Clemons-Hopkins , Mark Indelicato Main Genre Comedy Seasons 3

Seasons 1 and 2 of Hacks are available to stream on Max. Season 3 premieres on May 2nd.

Watch on Max