‘Hacks’ stars and creators feel they’re a family ‘forged in fire’ after Covid, Hollywood strikes and LA fires

Themes like job loss, death, aging, family dysfunction and generational divide may not sound like comedy material, but the Emmy-winning series “Hacks” manages to find the laughs around life’s roadblocks.

Themes like job loss, death, aging, family dysfunction and generational divide may not sound like comedy material, but the Emmy-winning series “Hacks” manages to find the laughs around life’s roadblocks. Ahead of the Season 4 premiere next week, star Jean Smart – who plays feisty comedienne-turned-late night host Deborah Vance on the series – talked about how that dichotomy is drawn from real life at a recent press conference. “We’ve all had that in our own lives. You know, tragedy and comedy. I mean, that’s just what life is,” she shared, emphasizing the value of being able “to do that and to still have the tone of the show be essentially kind of fun and joyous.” “But then the reality of, there’s always the flip side of the coin,” she added. The cast and crew of “Hacks” were in production on Season 1 during the Covid pandemic, they navigated the dual strikes that hobbled Hollywood in 2023, and faced the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year. “I think we have been through a lot together,” the show’s co-creator and costar Paul W. Downs said, pointing out that “Hacks” is “a show that was made pre-vaccine.”