‘Hacks’ Season 2 Review: HBO Max Comedy Defies the Sophomore Slump
thewrap.com“Hacks,” the divine comedy from creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. After weeks of safe stand-up and repeated dust-ups, legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and recently “canceled” writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) had a real breakthrough. “I Think She Will” saw Deborah debut the new, confessional act they’d crafted together before traveling to Boston to comfort Ava after the death of her father.Just as quickly as she made up with her boss, though, Ava was reminded of her latest lapse in judgment: the tell-all email she sent to a pair of TV producers looking to make a show about an overbearing, to put it mildly, woman prime minister (the working title? “Bitch PM”).
Season 2, which premieres May 12 on HBO Max, picks up in the immediate aftermath of Ava’s realization, and stretches out her apprehension until it becomes an exquisite torture.But whether Ava is found out isn’t the focus of the first six episodes of the new season — it just adds another layer to her incredibly complex relationship with Deborah, who is at turns her boss, mentor, friend, and opponent.
There’s also the small matter of Deborah having slapped Ava for calling out her sudden cowardice over the new material. As Season 2 begins, they’re trying to reach a new equilibrium.
Deborah is now an underdog in Las Vegas, her longtime ad on the side of the Palmetto replaced with the visage of a douchebag magician named McLudwig.
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