‘Hacks’ Star Jean Smart Teases What Is Ahead: ‘You Will Be Shocked’

Jean Smart might not be a newcomer in Hollywood, but that is not stopping her from rising to the top right now, both on and off-screen. The longtime actor currently stars in the third season of the Max original series Hacks, where she plays Deborah Vance, a staple in the Vegas stand-up comedy scene, who with the help of young writer Ava Daniels (played by Hannah Einbinder), realizes that there are even greater heights possible in her career, regardless of gender or age.

I sat down with Smart, 72, to discuss her layered character, as well as to uncover her own mindset as a seasoned actor in Hollywood today. For starters, what is Smart enjoying most about the evolution of Deborah Vance’s story on Hacks?

“Well, I’m continually amazed by our writers. They keep setting the bar higher and jumping over it. This season, you sort of see a side of Deborah that is not that nice - not that she’s been such an angel before - but before, I felt like her bad traits were amusing but they’re always not that amusing this season. I think the writers were so smart, the way they have structured her, because it took three seasons for the audience to be able to say, ‘Oh, that’s okay, we love her, anyway!’ The audience now is invested in all of the characters, not just Deborah and Ava. All the characters have a lot more freedom to kind of go in different places. That’s one of the fun things about doing a series is that after a while, the audience is a step ahead of you and they’ll see the banana peel in the stairway before you slip on it, and they enjoy that.”

For anyone who is (shamefully) unknowing of Smart’s acting career before Hacks, allow me to get you caught up to speed. From her sassy performance as Charlene on Designing Women (1986-1993) to her more gritty performance as Martha, the First Lady of the United States, on the action series 24 (2001-2010), Smart has proven time and time again that she has great versatility within her acting chops. So even with her notable past performances, I wondered what it is about Deborah and this Hacks series that perhaps feels like a game-changer to Smart, not only in what television can be today but within her own career.

Smart said, “Well, I think that she’s such a complicated person but also makes us laugh - those are two, I think, attractive qualities for a character. I think I was funny before, but maybe they [the audience] didn’t think I was as funny as Deborah. My biggest concern going into the [Hacks] show from day one was Will comedians buy me as a stand-up comic? - that was my only worry. Everything I’m told is that they do and that just thrills me to no end.”

Remaining such a powerhouse actor in the entertainment industry over the past few decades and being able to see firsthand how show business has changed and progressed, what is Smart liking about Hollywood today, as well as maybe missing about the ways of Hollywood from yesteryear?

“I think there was something slightly nostalgic when there were only three big networks and everybody basically was watching the same shows. But now, there are shows that - I mean, you can’t watch all the shows. There’s just so many - there are literally shows that are on, not that I’m a big TV watcher - I’m not, so I’m a bad person to go by - but there are shows out there that are considered huge hits that I have never heard of, let alone seen. But that’s a good thing - it’s a wonderful thing - there’s a lot more work now, although since the [WGA and SAG-AFTRA] strike, things are a little bit wonky but they’ll right themselves, eventually. I would not want to be a young person starting out as an actor right now. It’s probably the only time I’ve been grateful that I’m as old as I am in Hollywood. I would not want to be just trying to get a foothold right now.”

This season on Hacks, Deborah contemplates pursuing the possibility of becoming a late night host, an opportunity that she missed out on years ago, while her stardom today in this second act of her life and career continues to take off. In reality, Smart is having her own resurgence, recently winning back-to-back Emmys for her leading performance in the first two seasons of Hacks. So, I was curious if Smart has noticed the parallels between her character Deborah’s rise and her own rise again in Hollywood.

“Well, sure! It’s kind of crazy. No, absolutely and I think that’s one of the reasons a lot of women like the show. I’m thrilled that so many men like the show. I wasn’t sure how men would react to the show, and as far as can tell, they love it as much as the women do. I think women do enjoy seeing these characters be as outrageous as they are and as ambitious as they are because we don’t see that normally with women - or if we did, they were unlikable women - they were hardened career gals in suits. We haven’t seen it done in such a three-dimensional way.”

With the first four episodes of Hacks season three now streaming on Max and five episodes left this season, what can Smart tease that fans should expect ahead from Deborah, Ava and more?

Smart said, “I’m really excited to see - I think it’s episode seven is [Deborah’s] Christmas party and there’s stuff in there that’s just outrageous and funny, and there’s some stuff that’s very, very moving. Also, Deborah gets roasted!”

She added: “Then episode nine, the finale, the very last scene - you will be shocked.”

When I asked Smart if she could see this Hacks story going on for seasons upon seasons to come, she said that four or five seasons are expected, and that the writers & producers have told her that has been the plan since very early on.

As I concluded my conversation with Smart, I wondered what she would say to her Hacks character Deborah Vance, after embodying her on-screen over these three seasons so far, and understanding who she is and what she cares about, Smart said with a laugh, “I would say make up with Marty, for god’s sake. Stop being so pig-headed.”