The Funniest Show On Max Has An Important Lesson For The Other Streamers
Hi. Yes. Sorry to bother you. Hello. Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Deborah Vance? The Emmy award-winning series "Hacks" has just finished its phenomenal third season, one that many fans (myself included) were terrified wouldn't be able to match the triumphant heights of season 2. The second season ended in a way that felt complete if Max were to have pulled the plug on the show, but after the absolutely dynamite season 3 finale, "Hacks" has proven itself as a series that can and should continue as long as stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder want to keep playing Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels, respectively.
It's exciting as a "Hacks" fan from the very start to see so many people finally catching onto what is arguably the best comedy show on TV that isn't "Abbott Elementary" or the not-really-a-comedy brilliance that is "The Bear," especially considering how many fantastic shows are unceremoniously canceled before they're able to find their audience. And yet, three seasons in, "Hacks" remains the funniest show on Max (especially since "The Other Two" is no more), and is only growing in popularity.
If you ask me, it's because "Hacks" has found the balance between the binge-model release schedule of the streaming era and the weekly appointment viewing of traditional HBO-produced series. All three seasons of "Hacks" have wisely decided to release two episodes each week, giving audiences anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half of new material. The dedicated time chunk makes it still feel like appointment viewing, but having the ability to spark the serotonin production caused by hitting "play next episode" gives us all a taste of the binge model.
But more importantly, it's the perfect way to get people talking about the show in a way that will entice new viewers.
They did WHAT on Hacks?!
Don't get me wrong, some shows benefit from the binge-watch model, like Prime Video's "Reacher," or the fact Gen Z has been devouring "The Walking Dead" on streaming platforms, which plays much better when fans don't have to wait an exorbitant amount of time between seasons. It's a miracle that "The Bear" has been able to follow the footsteps of "Stranger Things" and generate a fandom that cannot stop talking about the show even when the full season is dumped all at once, because, as we've tragically seen time and again, a lot of shows need the weekly release format to stay alive. Part of why "Yellowjackets" on Showtime was such a hit was because the mystery show forced audiences to wait a week between episodes, giving fans plenty of time to speculate around the virtual water cooler, and therefore inspiring FOMO in those who wanted to be a part of the conversation.
"Hacks" is doing the same thing, but by releasing two episodes, it allows for double the conversation. Mild spoilers for season 3 (that won't hurt your viewing of the show), but if you're scrolling social media on a Thursday morning and seeing half of your feed talking about Jean Smart getting lost in the woods and the other half melting down over a Christina Hendricks guest spot as a Republican dommy mommy lesbian who has a kink for literally pissing on the working-class ... you're going to want to know how the hell the show got from point A to point Pee-fetish.
"Hacks" is also filled with laugh-out-loud lines that make for excellent meme fodder, another proven way for a show to find a new audience.
Hacks is a show of sharable zingers and must-see guest spots
I'll fully admit that I picked up "Hacks" a week after its season 1 premiere because the second episode has a hilarious exchange where Deborah asks Ava if she's a lesbian, and after throwing herself into a messy monologue about why she identifies as a bisexual, Deborah quips back, "Jesus Christ, I was just wondering why you were dressed like Rachel Maddow's mechanic." It's the type of quick, subtitle-based meme that immediately drew me in, and I know I'm not alone. I've seen Deborah Vance's jab at Christopher McDonald's casino CEO Marty Ghilain of, "Lucky Marty. He keeps finding old souls in 26-year-old bodies" used as a reaction meme whenever there's a new age-gap celebrity relationship announced, and Meg Stalter Kayla telling her dad "Gays rock" has been getting a hell of a lot of mileage before Pride Month kicks off.
Don't get me wrong, I understand why so many streamers have made it next to impossible to screenshot shows and movies for concerns of pirating, but few things are more effective than teasing something with gifs, memes, and screenshots to convince a new person to check out a show. The Christina Hendricks guest spot on season 3 alone was enough to convince at least five people I personally know to finally watch the show, and that's not including the countless other fantastic turns from folks like Jane Adams as Ava's Mom, Helen Hunt as the head of a TV network, Laurie Metcalf as a butch tour manager and bus driver, and Devon Sawa as a sexy guy Deborah meets at a bar.
And the supporting cast is also to die for, including "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Kaitlin Olson as Deborah's daughter DJ, Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Marcus, Rose Abdoo as Deborah's estate manager Josefina, and show co-creator Paul W. Downs as Jimmy LuSaque Jr., Deborah and Ava's manager. Whenever they appear on the timeline, there are countless replies of "WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ___ IS ON THIS SHOW?!"
Hacks is a show that grows
The cherry on top is that "Hacks" is a wildly queer show despite not being marketed as one, with Ava providing the ultimate look in chaotic bisexuality and Deborah existing as a living gay icon, and that's not including the innumerable canonically queer side characters or the openly queer actors lending their talents in supporting roles. Having an unapologetically queer show will always earn extra points in my book, but the fact it's a queer show that isn't about being queer is such a breath of fresh air as studios and streamers continually pat themselves on the back for doing the absolute bare minimum. And sure, we could talk about the release and marketing strategies all day as to why "Hacks" has finally been deemed a show worth watching after all this time, but none of these plans would work if the show wasn't also great.
In an age where decisions are being made by algorithms and data-assessment charts instead of human beings trusting their instincts, a show like "Hacks" feels like a miracle. It's a show about what makes good comedy and how to make it in the brutally harsh world of the entertainment industry, yes, but it's also a show about why evolution is a good thing for us all to embrace, and how relationships of all kinds must also evolve in order to survive. And more importantly, it's a show about how women are in a completely different playing field than men and are held to impossible standards, but rather than placate the audience with some #GirlBoss feminism, provides the room for us all to scream out, "This is so f***ed, so how do we deal?"
There's a reason the show was renewed for a fourth season while many others succumb to the season 3 curse. Like its main characters, it's a show that is constantly reinventing itself while also managing to stay true to its original mission statement, and other streamers should be doing everything in their power to match the power of "Hacks."