The Roush Review

From small clubs to state fairs, it's a hard-knock life for this comedy duo

- MATT ROUSH

Hacks

Thursdays (through June 2), HBO Max

WHEREVER JEAN SMART goes in her Emmy-winning role as defiant stand-up comedy legend Deborah Vance, I will eagerly follow. In the second season of the glorious showbiz fable Hacks, that entails a rollicking cross-country tour as she hones a risky and revealing new act, having been dumped from her longtime Las Vegas residency.

Along for the very bumpy ride: millennial writer and sidekick Ava (Hannah Einbinder), who has her own soul-baring to do. Their relationship may never be the same once Deborah learns about the drunken email Ava sent following a bitter spat, exposing her boss' worst behaviors to TV producers.

In her act, Deborah jokes, "Betrayal is the worst feeling in the world. [A beat.] And I've woken up during a colonoscopy." But her skin has been thickened by experience, and as she observes to Ava, "You're good at writing for me...because you're just like me. You're as selfish and cruel as I am." Which maybe isn't fair or even accurate.

Still, this is a show about survival, and as Deborah strives to be more honest in her comedy and a humbled (thus more endearing) Ava vows to be a better person, Hacks avoids any sophomore slump by deepening the character development and the laughs.