‘Hacks’: What to Watch While You Wait for Season 2
The HBO show Hacks premiered in the spring of 2021 to critical acclaim. The series follows two comedians, a Las Vegas legend who needs to freshen up her act and a young TV writer on the edge of a career meltdown. The two form a reluctant partnership. After consistently high ratings, HBO renewed the comedy series for a second season. The release date is still uncertain, so here are five shows to hold fans over in the meantime.
‘GLOW’
Though a departure from the glitzy world of Las Vegas stand-up, GLOW also takes viewers to Vegas. The comedy series, whose title is an acronym for Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, follows an unlikely group of women who form a wrestling team. While their show is first televised, they eventually move their act to a Las Vegas casino.
Like Hacks, this Netflix series focuses on the relationship dynamics between women in the entertainment industry. With GLOW, however, the often complicated relationships come to a head in the ring.
‘The Other Two’
Like Hacks, The Other Two grounds itself in the entertainment industry. This comedy series, however, focuses on two characters just outside of the limelight. Drew Tarver and Heléne Yorke star as Cary and Brooke Dubek. Their younger brother has risen to stunning musical success after posting a viral video.
With their own floundering entertainment careers to worry about, Cary and Brooke must grapple with feelings of pride and resentment toward their brother. The series follows the way that being fame-adjacent changes their lives for better or worse.
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel focuses on Midge Maisel, a New York City housewife in the late 1950s. After her husband leaves her, Midge realizes that she has a knack for stand-up comedy. The series follows her career as it unfurls, and she finds success with her stage name, Mrs. Maisel.
The comedy series has received high praise and a number of awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. It will return for its fourth season in late 2021 or early 2022.
‘Veep’
The vicious humor showcased in Hacks comes by the fistful in Veep, the political comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The HBO show is a biting satire of the U.S. government that follows Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, the United States Vice President. Selina spends the series fumbling attempts to get into the Oval Office.
Selina is constantly surrounded by her eager yet backstabbing staff members, who all fire off scorching jokes at a made-to-bruise pace. Smart also makes a guest appearance as Imogene Walsh, the mother of Selina’s body man, Gary (Tony Hale).
‘The Comeback’
The criminally underrated mockumentary series, The Comeback stars Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish, a washed-up sitcom star. In an attempt to breathe life into her career, she agrees to be the focus of a reality series. In the fictional HBO show, the cameras follow her as she tries to find a role in a new sitcom.
The show is cringe-comedy at its best — Vulture once declared it an “indisputable classic.” It first premiered in 2005 and came back with an even stronger second season in 2014. While the comedy series is often hard to watch, it has surprisingly tender moments where Kudrow proves her acting prowess.
