Any time TV icon Jean Smart graces our screens, you can count that we’re not only watching, but are beyond transfixed. As such, one can imagine our sheer joy when HBO Max announced the renewal of Hacks in June.
While we anxiously await the biting comedy’s return (premiere date TBD), we’ve got some storylines and plot developments living rent-free in our brains that we simply must see more of come Season 2.
When we last left the ladies in the Season 1 finale (refresh yourself with a full recap here), tensions between Deborah (played by Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) simmered to a boil after Deborah discovered Ava lied to her about a job interview. In the midst of a fiery argument, Ava called her boss a “hack,” only to get swiftly slapped across the face mere minutes before the comedian was set to debut her new material at her final Vegas show.
The women ultimately buried the hatchet by season’s end, but drunken Ava’s biiiig screw-up-turned-cliffhanger remains a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and the shrapnel from that eventual fallout is bound to devastate. (More on that snafu below.)
So what will happen once Deborah inevitably learns about Ava’s transgression? As we anticipate what’s to come, here are seven things we want to see happen in Hacks’ sophomore run and beyond. Read our list below, then chime in with your own Season 2 must-list by lighting up the Comments section.
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THE TOUR MUST GO ON
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max In the Season 1 finale, Deborah announced plans to take her new show on the road in order to work out all of the kinks and polish up the fresh set. However, that cringe-inducing cliffhanger — Ava spilled dirt on Deborah to a pair of British writers looking to exploit her story — not only threatens the women’s personal relationship, but it could derail evvvvverything once Deb finds out about Ava’s drunken betrayal.
But the show must go on! Not only will taking a reprieve from its Vegas setting help give Season 2 a refreshing start, but we want to see what kind of shenanigans the ladies will get into on the road. Will they continue getting along after their hellacious argument? Will more marijuana-induced secrets be revealed? Will the duo torture Perla again after another round of plastic surgery? Whatever the case may be, the tour’s gotta happen and we want to ride shotgun.
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MARCUS AND WILSON REUNITED
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max It was a real bummer to see Wilson walk out on Marcus, but we can’t blame him. The water maintenance worker felt — and rightly so — that Marcus was already in a relationship… with his boss, Deborah. While we’re stoked that Deb finally copped to taking him for granted, giving him a well-deserved promotion, a raise and her apology, seeing how deflated Marcus became once Wilson fled the scene was a sad sight to see. Does the couple have any chance in hell at reuniting? We sure hope so. Juggling a new love along with the demands of a famous comedian will surely be a difficult balancing act, but we hope Marcus can get it together and win back Wilson’s heart.
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MORE MARTY AND DEB
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max We’re not sure what the appropriate ‘ship name would be for Marty and Deb, but we’re here to see more of their hookups and chemistry. Yes, their business relationship imploded after Deborah was booted from the casino to make room for new talent, but we think (?) and hope (!) that Marty’s feelings for her are genuine. (“I know you’re mad at me, but I’ll always be your biggest fan, Deb,” he told her in the finale.) He’s also just the kind of guy that can keep up with her wild antics and heavy-handed sarcasm. (Plus, more Christopher McDonald is never a bad thing.) Could an actual relationship soften Deborah’s edges, or would it lead to some vicious break-up drama? Either way, we’re game.
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DJ'S CRAZY ANTICS
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max If Deborah’s tour does indeed take off, we wouldn’t want DJ to fall by the wayside. Kaitlin Olson is a riot as Deborah’s unhinged, unfiltered daughter, who clearly has issues from growing up in the shadows of her mother’s career. Maybe DJ hits the road with Ma and Ava, selling merch at Deb’s shows, along with her line of “D’Jewelery” that she calls (ahem) “wearable art.” Plus, DJ and Deborah seemed to finally be connecting on a deeper level than ever before, and we want to see more of that development.
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DEBORAH'S NEW MATERIAL
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max We want to hear her new set! Yes, we were flies on the wall as Ava and Deborah initially spitballed ideas, but we want to see the comedy pro in action. Despite bombing at her final show at the Palmetto casino, the comedian seemed gung-ho about working the material out on the road. Whether Ava is a part of that or not remains to be seen, but it’s hard not to root for Deborah, especially considering the sexism she faced, and how much she’s had to fight and claw to get to where she is. We’d love to see her achieve a career resurgence, so bring it on (and list us for front row seats, please and thank you).
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MORE FIELD TRIPS FOR KAYLA AND JIMMY
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Megan Stalter’s Kayla is truly the best at being the worst. Jimmy’s assistant not only lacks self-awareness, but manners and any sort of business acumen whatsoever aren’t in her wheelhouse either. If we actually knew her in real life, she’d be loathsome, but as the thorn in Jimmy’s side, we can’t get enough of her grating personality. Kayla truly knows no boundaries, as seen when she more or less forced Jimmy to share a room with her in Vegas (“I’m in the middle of a Me Too situation with Kayla, and I’m the ‘Me,’ Ava!”). When Season 2 returns, we want, nay need more of Kayla and Jimmy’s Odd Couple routine. More cringey field trips for these two, please!
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AVA AND DEBORAH, POWER DUO
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Come Season 2, we want to see our two leads reach their full potential as a power couple: fierce, feminist and ready to take on the world together. Yes, Ava’s email hiccup will certainly deliver a speed bump in their partnership and (hopefully) some delicious drama, but we don’t want to see a retread of Deb and Ava at each other’s throats. “If Deborah finds out that Ava sent that email, my ultimate hope is that they work together to stop those people from using it,” Hanna Einbinder told TVLine in June. “I hope it becomes about the two of them teaming up against a common enemy as opposed to causing a huge fight.” We couldn’t possibly agree more.
What are your wishes and wants for Hacks Season 2 on HBO Max? Share them with us in Comments!
