It’s early on a warm January morning in Las Vegas, and the entire “Hacks” team — stars, crew, producers — is milling around Kyu, a sushi restaurant at the Fontainebleau. It’s going to be a busy day of filming, with three locations scattered around the city.
But a wistfulness permeates the production today as cameras prepare to roll. After five seasons on HBO Max, this is the final day of stateside filming for “Hacks,” so for most of the cast and crew, it is also farewell.
“I’m not going to be boisterous or fun today,” star Hannah Einbinder warns me. When Jean Smart walks over and I remind her what a monumental moment this is, she instantly tears up. “We really came to feel like best friends and family and so — yeah, that’s very hard,” she says.
Hours later, as the clock approaches midnight, production has relocated to the Orleans Arena, and it all comes down to this: a quiet, touching scene between Smart’s character, legendary comedian Deborah Vance, and her confidant and creative partner, the younger writer Ava Daniels (played by Einbinder).
The walkway where they’re shooting this two-hander — next to some brightly lit concession stands — is huge, and dozens of crew members are standing there, frozen, as they capture the shot. It’s hushed as Deborah strolls through the empty arena; she’s just faced a tremendous disappointment, and Ava is there to comfort her. The two are alone, and few words are exchanged or even necessary. Having been bonded by the events of the past five seasons, Deborah and Ava have never been closer.
“The entire crew was just standing behind the camera watching us, like every department, in a way that’s not typical,” Einbinder recalls later. “It was almost eerie and sad and beautiful and familial. It’s seared into my brain forever.”
And then it’s over. A producer breaks the tension, announcing, “After six incredible years, that is an American wrap on Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart!”
It’s late, everyone is exhausted — yet the crowd can’t stop cheering. At the center of it all, Smart has her arm around Einbinder, who returns the affection with a peck on her co-star’s cheek. By now, their eyes are bloodshot. They take a moment to soak it all in, and then Einbinder motions for the crew to get closer. It’s a group hug that lasts and lasts, and she doesn’t want to let it go: “I would like to organize some semi-regular park hangs,” Einbinder tells the crowd as they finally pull back. “I’m just putting that on your radar. You’re going to get department texts!”
And that was just the “American wrap” for “Hacks.” No spoilers, but the show traveled to Paris to shoot its final episode, and managed to film in the Louvre (no easy feat given the museum’s recent heist!). With just 12 or so people in the room, that made the series’ final take even more intimate.
“We said, ‘I love you,’ and cried,” Smart says, describing it to me later. “The last shot of us was in this long room with huge, high ceilings, and just us on a bench about the size of a couch. We were lying flat on our backs staring at the ceiling, with these 40-foot-high Dutch masters paintings, and ad-libbing. We were just making up crazy shit. It was fun to end it that way.”
What a poignant send-off for “Hacks,” after a tremendously successful and hard-won (more on that later) journey. Created by showrunners Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs (who also plays Deborah’s beleaguered agent Jimmy), “Hacks” returns for this final season on April 9, with the series finale airing on May 28. This is one of those “end-of-an-era” moments, as “Hacks” was a defining series of the decade — and will be remembered as one of the most influential comedies of all time.
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