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Hacks review – a laugh-packed comedy drama that restores your belief in the justice of the universe
This show about a battle-hardened comic who teams up with a younger writer is full of funnies, unforced emotional truths – and the lead role Jean Smart has deserved for years
There are few things these days that help keep together the tattered remains of a belief in the universe’s moral arc bending towards justice, but the continuing renaissance of Jean Smart is one of them. After substantial supporting parts in the television series Fargo, Watchmen and Mare of Easttown, the actor who started in the business in 1979 is now front and centre in HBO Max’s new comedy drama Hacks (showing in the UK on Amazon Prime Video).
Smart plays Deborah Vance, a battle-hardened veteran of the standup comedy scene who now lives in Las Vegas. Vance is playing 100 shows a year at the Palmetto casino in between flogging tat and her guts out on a shopping channel, doing paid daytime events and never, ever letting down the fans who still adore her, even if they follow in smaller droves than they once did. Then it’s home to a magnificent mansion and her beloved dogs, and time to take the wig and makeup off before having dinner alone.
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