In about a dozen different ways, “Hacks” could’ve gone horribly wrong.
For one, Jean Smart’s new HBO Max series is a showbiz story, which — famous examples notwithstanding — can be tricky to pull off without leaning heavily into satire (which “Hacks” avoids entirely). Harder still is making a showbiz series that’s also about the art of comedy, as evidenced by infamous whiffs like “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “I’m Dying Up Here,” and more. Watching comedians develop a joke for a fictional audience is rarely as rewarding as enjoying the joke as the actual audience.
Technically, those two examples were dramas about making comedy, but making a comedy about making comedy is arguably harder. Those conversations about writing the best joke, best sketch, or best stand-up routine have to be more than a heated back-and-forth between collaborators; they have to be funny. Convincing the audience a joke...
For one, Jean Smart’s new HBO Max series is a showbiz story, which — famous examples notwithstanding — can be tricky to pull off without leaning heavily into satire (which “Hacks” avoids entirely). Harder still is making a showbiz series that’s also about the art of comedy, as evidenced by infamous whiffs like “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “I’m Dying Up Here,” and more. Watching comedians develop a joke for a fictional audience is rarely as rewarding as enjoying the joke as the actual audience.
Technically, those two examples were dramas about making comedy, but making a comedy about making comedy is arguably harder. Those conversations about writing the best joke, best sketch, or best stand-up routine have to be more than a heated back-and-forth between collaborators; they have to be funny. Convincing the audience a joke...
- 5/13/2021
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
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