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EXCLUSIVE (Updated with Jen Statsky’s comments): Filming on Season 3 of HBO Max/Universal TV hit comedy series Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, has been halted due of the writers strike, Deadline has learned. According to sources, production will be on pause for the duration of the work…

My guest this week is the SAG-nominated ‘Hacks’ co-creator, showrunner, director and star, Paul W. Downs. In the HBO Max comedy series, Downs plays Jimmy, a put-upon agent representing comedienne Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her reluctant protégé Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). At the end of last…

Season 3 of HBO comedy series Hacks will have a surprising pause in the action, the shows’ creators revealed on the Emmys red carpet Monday. Downs, who also stars as agent Jimmy LuSaque in the show, told Deadline, “We’re in the middle of Season 3 right now, writing it, so we’re still really figuring it out. We do…

Hacks was first born on a road trip to a Monster Jam rally back in 2015. It was during the drive that couple Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello and their close friend Jen Statsky discussed the relative invisibility of female comedians compared to their male counterparts. Having bonded as co-writers, producers, and in the…

After a stellar first season that led to three Emmys wins, Hacks — starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder — had big expectations to meet in its second batch of episodes. It was a challenge not lost on its executive producers Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs. Contenders TV: The Nominees — Deadline’s Comple…

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky scored their second Emmy nomination on Tuesday in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category for their work on Hacks. The series netted 17 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and an Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series nomination for…

HBO Max’s Hacks earned 15 Emmy nominations and three wins in its debut season including Outstanding Lead Actress for Jean Smart and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for its creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky. In Season 2, the comedy starring Smart and Hannah Einbinder took the show on the…

A total of 15 Emmy nominations including for Outstanding Comedy Series would be an impressive achievement for any first-season series, but in the case of HBO Max’s Hacks it is particularly noteworthy as the show didn’t even premiere until the end of the season and was still unveiling new episodes even after the Emmys…

The Emmy comedy categories were looking like a walk in the park for Ted Lasso until HBO Max and Universal Television swept in late in the season with its acclaimed new series Hacks, sweeping up 15 nominations and now giving ol’ Ted a run for his money after just 10 episodes. The series focuses on a veteran Vegas…

Jen Statsky, co-creator of HBO Max's Hacks, is staying in business with Universal Television. Statsky, who created the breakout comedy with Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, has extended her deal with the NBCUniversal studio after first signing in 2019. It comes after the Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder-led comedy was…

Netting 15 Emmy nominations including for Outstanding Comedy Series, HBO Max's Hacks has been a hit since its premiere in May. The show centers on the relationship between legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and struggling and entitled young comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). Both Smart…

It all began in a Honda Pilot en route to Portland, ME. Amici Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs were headed to tape a segment for the latter’s Netflix comedy special, and a discussion broke out about legendary female comedians, who never got their due, and for one reason or another, might have tripped in…