I felt like the third season of Hacks was sprung upon us without much preamble, but this is a gem I was for sure not going to miss!
And for whatever reason, Max was doling episodes out two at a time this season which means all nine episodes were given to us in barely over a month! That’s wild, but as someone greedy for this excellent comedy, I wasn’t all that mad about it. Especially when by the time the season finale aired it was almost simultaneously picked up for a fourth season. Of course, the creators and writers of the show probably had no sure bet that it was going to happen, given the culling Max has been going through since Discovery acquired Warner Brothers, so we were given a satisfying ending even though it did reignite the fire. I’ll get to more of that soon.
This season we start with Deborah on the hottest hot streak she’s had in quite some time thanks to her comedy special. Meanwhile, Ava is kind of bored stiff at a new writing gig for some political comedy show. Her and Deborah are not on great speaking terms after the end of the second season, but Deborah slowly gets Ava back in, as she asks her for advice on jokes. Pretty soon these two are sending each other more texts than I probably send my whole contact list in a year. When Deborah hears that the Late Night spot is opening up, she wants it, and she knows she needs Ava’s help to get it.
Though Ava has a steady job and girlfriend, she doesn’t really hesitate to throw all her eggs in Deborah’s basket once again. Perhaps Ava is just too young and a little ignorant to think things will finally work out this time around. Or maybe not. Things are actually going quite well with Ava back on board, as they are accomplishing and Deborah insists that Ava actually spends time working on her own material. Just when they think they’ve got the Late Night gig in the bag for Deborah, again, some young, hot shot guy is given it instead. Then we get Jimmy and Kayla pulling some serious ass-kissing to get it to work in their favor. I have to say, seeing them interact with Christopher Lloyd in this episode was incredible.
Now that Deborah’s big dream has come true and she’s even started mending her relationship with her sister, she starts to get shifty again. She lets her fears cloud her judgement and she starts backsliding into the insufferable woman we met when this show first started. With that, she re-alienates her sister, her daughter, and most importantly, Ava. Even her staff like Marcus and Damien are feeling a bit put out. The head writer position should be Ava’s and given that Deborah has official and final say, both I and Ava were a little bit shocked when Deborah shut her down. Though Ava finally decides to stand up for herself in a way that I’m sure has Deborah both fuming and a little low-key proud.
I can’t wait to see what another season of this show brings, and if you want to be watching quality comedy, then get your ass in front of the TV and start watching this show! You have three whole seasons to enjoy!