Airdate: Hacks

US comedy Hacks is finally getting an Australian premiere, this week on Stan.

Hacks explores a dark mentorship between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled 25-year-old (Hannah Einbinder), and the unlikely bond that forms between them.

The 10 part series has 100% approval at Rotten Tomatoes and has been nominated for 15 Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

It debuted in the US in May and has been renewed for a second season.

The 10-part series stars Jean Smart (Mare of Eastown) as Deborah Vance, with Hannah Einbinder (Just For Laugh’s 2019 New Face of Comedy) as Ava, the young writer Deborah is forced to hire. Joining Smart and Einbinder as a series regular is Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hamilton) as Marcus, Deborah’s trusted longtime COO.

Recurring guest stars include Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), Paul W. Downs (Broad City), Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty), Poppy Liu (Better Call Saul), Johnny Sibilly (Pose), Meg Stalter (Tooning Out the News) and Rose Abdoo (Gilmore Girls).

Season one of the series received rave reviews in the U.S., with the New Yorker hailing the series as “bracingly fresh and wholly original”, while Variety noted it was “destined to be a zeitgeist hit”. Chicago Sun-Times praised it as “instantly addictive, bitingly hilarious”, New York Times called it “a career best for Smart” and The Hollywood Reporter celebrated Smart, whose “starring role here allows her to finally showcase her wild versatility”. Entertainment Weekly wrote, “Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder kill as comedians at odds”.

Hacks is a HBO Max series, created, written and showrun by by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky. It is executive produced by Downs and Aniello via their Paulilu banner, Statsky via First Thought Productions, as well as Emmy® winners Michael Schur via Fremulon, David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, and Morgan Sackett. The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and distributed internationally by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

Friday August 6 on Stan.

Language.