What To Know
- Hacks showrunners Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky break down how that Deborah Vance and Joy Behar moment came together in Episode 9.
- Plus, the open up about bringing back Laurie Metcalf’s memorable character, Weed.
Hacks‘ ending is growing closer, and while Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) faced her Madison Square Garden spotlight moment in the penultimate episode, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Warning: Spoilers for Hacks Season 5 Episode 9 ahead!
After prepping for the major sold-out event, when it came time for the curtain call, Deborah’s audience was nonexistent, save for one individual, Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn). It turned out that he’d bought out her whole show as a revenge move, offering to leave her alone if she signed an NDA to not speak about him or late-night ever again.
In true Deborah fashion, she refused and sought out an alternative. This led Deborah to Central Park, where a stage was being deconstructed, and she and her team begged to keep it up, running into a familiar face along the way. Weed (Laurie Metcalf), who drove Deborah’s tour bus in Season 2, was heading up the crew and agreed to keep the staging up.
As for her return, series cocreator Lucia Aniello says, “Laurie is somebody who we’ve been talking about wanting to figure out a way for Weed to come back into the show this whole time, since the day we wrapped her out.”
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“Yes, she was so incredible, and Weed is one of our favorite characters on the show,” cocreator Jen Statsky adds. “It was always a conversation of how can we get her back, and we briefly toyed with the idea of Season 4 that she would be Deborah’s stage manager on the late-night show, but we didn’t do that, partially just because Laurie Metcalfe is so absolutely incredible that she has so many jobs that she probably couldn’t have stayed with us that long.” Ultimately, it worked out that she was able to return for this final season moment.
But fans got the shock of a lifetime as Deborah Vance did her best to promote her free show in the park last-minute, going so far as to put her long-teased feud with The View‘s Joy Behar aside to do so. On air, Deborah had to publicly apologize to Joy, saying, “You would know the difference between a Margaux and a Merlot if I smashed it over your head. And I think toasting with a glass of iced tea is just pure class.”
In turn, Joy says, “Thank you very much. And I’m sorry I got you put on the terrorist watch list.”
As for making that scene come together, Aniello reveals, “I think that Deborah knows, maybe right now in her life, that it’s time to make amends with people, and Joy Behar is one of those people. I think it’s a long time coming, and Joy is really funny because she has not seen the show,” Aniello shares.
“She needed to be explained the context of the situation, but then she got on board and was so funny and great, and we were so happy to have her finally come on,” Aniello concludes.
Ultimately, the episode ended with Deborah delivering a record-breaking performance in Central Park, but what’s next as we await the series finale? Tune in next week, and let us know what you thought of the latest episode in the comments section.
Hacks, Series Finale, Thursday, May 28, 9/8c, HBO Max