‘Hacks’ Season 2 Adds Susie Essman and Devon Sawa
variety.comKatcy Stephan Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance may be hitting the road in the sophomore season of the hit HBO Max series “Hacks,” but don’t expect her to ride around the country in your average tour bus.“She’s taking a little bit of Vegas with her,” co-creator Jen Statsky tells Variety on the red carpet for the show’s PaleyFest panel. “She’s roughing it, but she still has her creature comforts,” she adds, revealing that Vance’s signature fountain soda machine will indeed come with her on tour.“It’s a mansion on wheels,” co-creator Paul W.
Downs says.Smart, who has snagged an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award (among others) for her portrayal of the bawdy comedian, says the new environment is a welcome change. “In a way, it’s kind of enervating to her because it takes her back to her early career, where she was working in dives and awful bars and comedy clubs.
Good memories and bad memories. But there’s something about it that seems to kind of get her going. And her bus is quite fabulous.” After an exclusive screening of the Season 2 premiere at the Dolby Theatre, the show’s cast and creatives joined Variety’s Michael Schneider for a panel discussion reflecting on the series’ success and looking ahead to the highly-anticipated new season.When asked about filming the show during the COVID-19 pandemic, Smart requested to “embarrass” co-creator Lucia Aniello for overcoming an even greater hurdle: directing an episode while in labor.“Lucia went into labor a week early when we were still filming,” Smart said. “She was directing the episode.
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