My optimism about the direction of season 4 of Hacks was up with episode 4, but it immediately dropped again while watching episode 5, Clickable Face. I have a little bit of sunk cost going on here, but goodness, this season is feeling like a slog, and that’s a serious disappointment for a show that won the Emmy last year for Outstanding Comedy Series.
This episode starts with Deborah watching a focus group talk about her new show. What do audiences like or dislike about the show’s format, the guests, and Deborah herself. In a meeting, following the focus group, Deborah is informed that while she is having some success, she is failing rather spectacularly with moms. As such, she determines that she needs to make some changes to the writing to focus on that demographic. Ava finds it challenging to write for this for a few reasons.
First, Ava is interested in writing a more politically motivated show. She sees other writer friends doing work that she believes is more important and wants to incorporate more of that into Deborah’s show. Also, she recognizes that motherhood has never been Deborah’s strong suit, so segments focusing on parenting will ring less authentic. They butt heads over the bits being performed, but Deborah insists on doing things her way, even if the jokes fall flat compared to what Ava has written.
In what little downtime she has, Ava has been seeing a couple in an open relationship. She sees it as perfect because she can flit in and out depending on her schedule, while the two of them are able to have a relationship with each other. She can have the fun of the relationship without actually investing in the relationship due to her schedule.
As the show struggles to find its voice, Jimmy and Kayla search for talent that might appeal to moms. Kayla discovers the TikTok sensation Dance Mom (Julianne Nicholson), and they book her for an audition. They spend a fun day with her in LA, but during the audition, Ava and Deborah assert that she is inappropriate for the show. They offer her tickets, but tell Jimmy and Kayla that it’s a no on Dance Mom.
After the audition, Deborah ends up at the same restaurant that Ava is at with the couple she’s dating. Deborah goes over to them and has an uncomfortable conversation, implying that Ava is unimportant to the group as a mere extra. Deborah gets a few digs in, and when she’s about to leave, she tells them to make sure to watch the show, which is when Ava is able to get her own barb in, explaining to Deborah that she told them not to watch until the show got good.
The discomfort bleeds into the next show. Ava wants to make a joke about paid leave, and Deborah wants to make a wine o’clock joke. Because the script is already written, Ava leaves in the paid leave joke, and Deborah changes it anyway, fumbling the punch line. They argue in front of the audience, and when Stacey trips coming over to break it up, Deborah decides to put on Dance Mom. The show ends with Ava shaking her head as she looks on in disbelief.
Seriously, the animosity between Ava and Deborah in season 4 of Hacks is just making me crazy. While the frustration that exists between them is rooted in something legitimate, we have seen them work through difficult situations in the past. I truly don’t understand why they are continuing to put us through the same beats that we’ve seen, especially in the first two seasons. The complete reversion to this feels not only like a step backward for the show, but also a step backward for the feminist story they seemed to be telling in season 3.
One of the things that has largely worked throughout Hacks is that the bulk of the conflict between Ava and Deborah has been related to their age and wealth gap. There are occasional personal insults, but most of the time, the two butt heads because their experiences are so disparate that it makes it hard for them to see where the other is coming from. This season is wildly personal in its insults, which just feels gross to watch.
This return to the early dynamics is hampering the performances of the two leading women. After the wine o’clock joke falls flat, Deborah blames Ava for not changing the cue cards, and Ava retorts that she should have been able to remember the punchline because it is the same hacky material that has been done a million times. This season of Hacks feels an awful lot like a commentary on itself as it recycles some of the worst parts of television that we’ve seen over the years.
Hacks Season 4 is now streaming weekly on MAX.
Learn more about the show, including how to watch, at the site for the title.
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