‘Hacks’ Season 4: Jean Smart & Hannah Einbinder Want Elton John To Guest Star; Showrunner Jen Statsky On What’s Coming Next
On Wednesday morning the hit Max comedy show Hacks celebrated a total of 17 Emmy nominations — among them, Best Comedy Series, Lead Comedy Actress for Jean Smart, Comedy Supporting Actress for Hannah Einbinder and Comedy Supporting Actor for showrunner and star Paul W. Downs.
Speaking to Deadline following the announcement, Smart, who stars as comedy icon Deborah Vance on the show, said she was “so excited” for the entire team, making special mention of her “absolutely brilliant” nominated makeup artist Keith Sayer and guest star Kaitlin Olsen, who plays Deborah’s daughter.
More from Deadline
Speaking of guest stars, Hacks has a history of booking some juicy picks, like Emmy-nominated Christopher Lloyd, Helen Hunt and Christina Hendricks, to name a few from Season 3. And lately, Smart and Einbinder have been chatting about a dream guest star they’d love to see in Season 4: Elton John.
DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO:
“I would think I’d died and gone to heaven if he came on the show,” Smart said. “I mean, we’ve gotten to use two of his songs on the show. Season 2, “The Bitch is Back” was perfect, and then this [season] was, “I’m Still Standing”, which was perfect. And so I think that he likes the show, so maybe we could write an incredible part for him that would be awesome. I have this funny feeling about him, I don’t know why. Every once in a while I’ll see somebody, or I’ll be a fan of someone, and I just think that if I met that person, we’d be friends. And that’s how I’ve always felt about him. Always. I don’t know why. I have nothing to base that on.”
RELATED: 76th Emmy Nominations: Deadline’s Full Coverage
Smart, who says she is also working on a “very exciting” one-woman show, threw out another name as a dream Hacks guest star: Carol Burnett. “I worked with her once very briefly, and I just adore her, and I just think she’s incredible,” she said.
Einbinder, who added that having Elton John on the show “would be sick”, said she couldn’t yet reveal any official details of the new Season 4, but she has a “sense of where we will pick back up.”
RELATED: ‘Shōgun’: FX Remake Eclipses NBC Miniseries With 25 Emmy Nominations
In the show, Deborah (Smart) and her comedy writing protege Ava (Einbinder) left off Season 3 with a head-to-head conflict over who would be Deborah’s head writer on her new show. “It was really great to get to see Ava break some of those patterns she’s fallen into with Jean,” Einbinder said, following her nomination announcement. And we can expect that powerful turn to continue, as showrunner Jen Satsky added, “Certainly, you will see all of what Hannah has shown before and even more going forward.”
RELATED: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Finally Earned A Best Comedy Nomination, After FX Ended It Last Year
Smart also said she is “really curious to see how she and Ava negotiate this new relationship they have,” and she would love to see more of the relationship between Deborah and her estranged sister Kathy (J. Smith-Cameron). “I loved working with J. so, so much.”
RELATED: Lily Gladstone & Kali Reis Become First Indigenous Women To Receive Emmy Acting Nominations
“We’re full steam ahead on Season 4,” Statsky said, “and just trying to focus on that and write that. So we are taking a moment to celebrate today, but also getting back from the writers’ room in an hour.”
RELATED: ‘Fallout’ Creators Tease More Ideas Beyond Season 2 & Weigh In On Blurring Lines Of Emmy Categories
For now, until Season 4 production kicks off in September, Einbinder said she is deep into her gymnastics practice, since she was reminded of her previous stint as a competitive cheerleader and inspired by the docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. However, she laughingly admits the “humbling” activity is probably peformed best “by someone who doesn’t wake up with joint pain every day”.
RELATED: Emmy Winners For Best Drama Since 1960: A Photo Gallery
RELATED: Here Are The Actors Who Have Won The Most Emmys: Photo Gallery
RELATED: Emmy Winners For Best Comedy Since 1952
Best of Deadline
'UnPrisoned' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Doja Cat to Billie Holiday
All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Played On The Eras Tour So Far
Where To Watch 'Twister': Is the Original Tornado Movie Streaming?
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
