Sympathy for the Devil: Hacks and the Struggle for Intergenerational Approval
Hacks, HBO’s recent Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning television show, has an average rating of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. With a fourth season coming May 2nd, Hacks has struck a chord with “critics and audiences alike”—despite having a lead actress over 70 years old.
In the third season of Hacks, there’s a scene where the two main characters are lost and injured in the woods. Normally, they are mean to each other, but in this circumstance, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), the younger woman, tries to encourage her boss: “Come on, you’re in good shape.” Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) replies, “Say it…for a woman your age.”
The plot of Hacks is straightforward. Everything is set in motion in season 1 when a selfish television writer named Ava, out of work, is set up by her agent to write for a legendary but somewhat stale stand-up comedienne, Deborah Vance. Ava moves to Las Vegas, endures some hazing and public shaming from Vance, and gradually proves her worth. Along the way, Ava makes many missteps, and we learn more about Deborah’s complicated life. As the seasons progress, we see Deborah Vance reinvigorate her career (with help from Ava), while Ava works her way toward adulthood and her own professional success.
The dynamic between Deborah and Ava is the show. Deborah and Ava share many strengths and weaknesses. They are better with punchlines than they are with people; they are fundamentally selfish and not good at connecting with each other. They quarrel easily and cannot appreciate what they have. They care too much about the approval of others while simultaneously struggling to achieve it.
Hacks effectively portrays the perennial desire for approval and assistance from older generations. Ava begins the job thinking that Deborah Vance isn’t very cool, but it’s clear from the start that she is dying for Deborah to deem her funny. She not only wants professional affirmation, she wants to share life stories, to have “moments.” She would love Deborah to be an encouraging mentor. Instead, Deborah often mocks her and refuses to give her the hand up that no one gave her when she was a young, female comic. She cuts her no slack. Deborah has earned her Rolls Royce cars, stocked fishing pond, and daily hair and makeup. Ava is lucky to drink the soda from the in-home fountain.
Ava is adrift in the world, even compared to her peers, but her longing for guidance is not uncommon. Many young people crave mentorship and acceptance from older figures. This is evident in Hannah Einbinder’s performance, where she excels at portraying Ava’s reaction to Deborah’s rare moments of kindness, such as laughing at one of Ava’s jokes or offering unexpected support. Ava needs the money that comes with the job, but she also stays because she is finding meaning in feeling valued by Deborah. This is true even when Ava kind of wants to cancel Deborah.
In Hacks, Deborah Vance does many things that give Ava good cause for quitting and would make her worthy of canceling. She is often mean, sometimes spiteful, and almost always selfish. Deborah does no better—maybe worse—with her own daughter, DJ (Kaitlin Olson). Either Ava or DJ would be justified in separating themselves from Deborah (whose income they rely upon). This surely resonates with adult children who are angry with their parents or disappointed in them. No one can blame Ava for often being mad at Deborah.
The Boating Party by Mary Cassatt (1893–1894)
The popularity of Hacks speaks to our moment, in which adult child estrangement is fairly common. Many adult children do choose to estrange themselves from their parents, sometimes cutting off all communication. Psychologists and counselors have seen an increase in the phenomenon, which Psychology Today says “is not a fad.” Politics may play a part, but much of it seems to stem from parental treatment. Hacks suggests that some estrangement may well be justified.
Yet the estrangement never quite happens in Hacks. There are moments when Deborah or Ava initiate estrangement, but ultimately it always gets walked back. Some of that is related to Ava’s financial and professional dependence on Deborah. But we also see Deborah’s redeeming qualities, and we are thoroughly familiar with Ava’s bad qualities. Ava may often be disappointed in Deborah, but she is not doing much better at being a good person. This realism about Ava’s flaws and the eventual reunion of the two main characters despite temporary breaks is what makes the show watchable and enjoyable. Deborah both is and isn’t “that bad.” Ava certainly isn’t “good.” We can sympathize with Ava’s suffering under Deborah without wanting them to split up. They aren’t always good to each other, but they are ultimately good for each other.
We also see how much Deborah wants acceptance from Ava. Even if someone is defiant, no one likes being “canceled” by an entire generation. In season 3, Deborah is briefly canceled for some old jokes and an approach to humor that seems unappreciated on college campuses. But she is on campus because she is trying, desperately, to connect with the younger generation.
Deborah Vance’s character speaks to generational conflict, but not only that. She is a successful person who, like Faust, can never cease from striving. She hates downtime. She won’t retire. She is much like Miriam Maisel in the final episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or Conan O’Brien in the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. This is the story we tell about Tom Brady coming back for one more season and Michael Jordan yelling at his teammates. This model of ceaseless striving is considered the formula for success. It is the story of Citizen Kane. Like Kane, Vance has all the material goods and support staff she could want. Will she end up thinking about Rosebud or will she improve her ability to make and maintain relationships? That is part of what we are watching for. We get the sense that she is slouching toward a happier ending than she initially seemed to be reaching. At the very least, she is getting some wins while she still can.
Deborah Vance also presents to us a compelling character facing the challenges of aging. Yes, Deborah is rich and famous. She has more money, power, and status than Ava. Early career professionals like Ava find it hard to advance without the Deborahs of the world—the older generation is not letting go. If we look at our political scene, a septuagenarian seems to make total sense in power. But, as Deborah Vance explains to Ava, “anything I want to do, I have to do now.” Deborah does not have the luxury of “one day” in the future. Whatever “it” is, it happens now or it doesn’t happen. Young people are not the only ones finding their way in the world, the older people are still figuring it out themselves and fighting for one more achievement.
None of the characters in Hacks excel at sympathy. Very often they are undeserving of it. The bad things that happen to them are almost always their own fault. But what makes Hacks such good viewing is partially sympathy. Many people may see their own familial and generational conflicts in the tense relationship and identify with one of the main characters, but the show’s writing makes it possible to sympathize with the other main character, too, without fully excusing them. And even just watching can help to exorcise some demons, as the main characters say every awful thing to each other while we know they do care about each other and they keep ending up together.
Elizabeth Stice is a professor of history at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She has a book about World War I, Empire Between the Lines: Imperial Culture in British and French Trench Newspapers of the Great War, and she has written for various publications, including Front Porch Republic, Comment, and Inside Higher Ed. She is editor in chief of Orange Blossom Ordinary.