It may be a trend, but older actors in leading roles on television series are having a moment: 鈥淥nly Murders in the Building,鈥 鈥淢atlock鈥 and 鈥淭he Man on the Inside鈥 all feature well-known actors over the age of 70.
But the show that, arguably, has made the most impact is 鈥淗acks,鈥 a look at an older female comedian who鈥檚 fighting to stay relevant.
Jean Smart stars in "Hacks."
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be able to play a character where you show that people have the same kinds of hopes and dreams and desires and everything that they do when they鈥檙e 30,鈥 says Jean Smart, the show鈥檚 73-year-old star. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something we used to see in film and television, but why not?鈥
In the latest season, Smart鈥檚 character, Deborah Vance, gets a late-night talk show. She struggles with what that means and, in the process, tells a story that Executive Producer Paul W. Downs says has been overlooked.
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鈥淲e want to center stories that haven鈥檛 been told,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 central to what the show is about and, hopefully, why it resonates with people.鈥
What the Emmy-winning Smart likes is that her character no longer hangs on to anger, bitterness and resentment. 鈥淭o see her being able to maybe let go 鈥 or at least recognize that 鈥 is important,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou think, 鈥極h, god, why didn鈥檛 I figure that out 30 years ago?鈥欌
To prove the revolution isn鈥檛 just in entertainment, Smart says she has a friend who decided to write romance novels later in life. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just like, 鈥榃hoa!,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 all of a sudden making all this money鈥nd she and her husband鈥檚 sex life has gone through the roof.鈥
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) begins her career as a late-night talk show host on the latest season of "Hacks."聽
That transformation, producers say, is key to the plot of 鈥淗acks.鈥
Deborah鈥檚 career has the ability to skyrocket, but first she has to get a team in place for the talk show.
Ava, her assistant 鈥 and one-time frenemy 鈥 is named head writer but the two are at each other鈥檚 throats. Their disagreements are so intense a human resources official has been assigned to their case.
鈥淎 lot of people ask me, 鈥楬as Ava turned bad?鈥欌 Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava, offers. 鈥(And I say) no, I think she has to speak Deborah鈥檚 language. Her hand has been kind of forced. She retains that spirit but just has to play ball. It鈥檚 been really cool to get to play the adversarial thing.鈥
Hannah Einbinder, left, and Jean Smart battle for control of a late-night talk show in the latest season of "Hacks."
When Smart and Einbinder have one of those confrontational scenes, they often find themselves hugging after the director calls cut. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun to traverse this windy road with the two of them,鈥 Einbinder says.
For Deborah, the career opportunity brings out all her fears. Although she has had a successful career in standup, she never got a chance to move into something as high-stakes as late-night television. Those fears, Smart says, are represented in the series by a coyote who keeps popping up at her home. 鈥淎ll of her fears have been turned into this creature.鈥
For the creators of 鈥淗acks,鈥 getting the show was part of the plan. 鈥淲e always knew we wanted Deborah to get her white whale,鈥 says Downs. 鈥淭here is a lot of behind-the-scenes drama and comedy that happens at a late-night show.鈥
That office setting, Executive Producer Lucia Aniello says, was ripe for new comedy because 鈥渋t鈥檚 a scenario the rest of the world knows more than potentially some comedians. It鈥檚 a ton to play with 鈥 and why we did end up making 10 episodes this season.鈥
Workplace battles force the company of a late-night talk show to go through sensitivity training on "Hacks."聽
While Deborah and Ava bicker about who鈥檚 running the show, 鈥淗acks鈥 assembles a new group to help launch it. In addition to that ever-present HR director, the cast includes a host of writers trying to find jokes that Deborah will like.
To bond, she takes them to her home in Las Vegas and shows them a bit of the world she inhabited. Even though 鈥淗acks鈥 was set there for its first years, Smart and company only shot there one or two days a year.
For the third episode of the fourth season, the cast and crew spent a week in Vegas. It鈥檚 a way to underscore Deborah鈥檚 desire to 鈥渞etreat a little bit back to her castle, where she feels comfortable,鈥 Executive Producer Jen Statsky says.
Once the late-night show is launched, it鈥檚 tasked with beating the competition, which fuels more tension between Ava and Deborah.
For the Emmy-winning 鈥淗acks,鈥 that鈥檚 enough to move the series to a fifth 鈥 and possibly final 鈥 season.
鈥淭o be able to make five would be the dream,鈥 says Aniello. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 how we would love to go out, but, you know, one day at a time.鈥
For Smart, the success is particularly gratifying. When she got her first big break on 鈥淒esigning Women,鈥 outsiders always wanted to know if the women were getting along. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楧o you guys ask the 鈥淏arney Miller鈥 cast that question?鈥 I find that really bizarre.鈥
Now as she and Einbinder get to spar without fear of backstage gossip, she realizes just how far television has come.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be the poster child for older actresses,鈥 Smart says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 great for people to see that and get used to that鈥nd why not? That鈥檚 part of real life. And if our show has helped with that a little bit, then bravo.鈥
