Let me just state this first and foremost — I absolutely adore Hacks. Jean Smart is a treasure and has deserved every trophy she has picked up for playing Deborah Vance. The show’s odd couple relationships (both Deborah & Ava and Jimmy & Kayla) are some of the best on TV. The writing is brilliant and after where things left off last season, I can’t wait for Hacks season 4 to premiere on Max on April 10, as revealed in the first official trailer for the new season.
With that said, there is one thing I can’t help but think would make Hacks even better: imagine if it aired on HBO.
I’m not saying that anything about the show that we’ve enjoyed for three seasons, which has won nine Emmys (including Outstanding Comedy Series for season 3) and is one of Max’s most prestigious and popular titles, would (or should) change with the switch in networks. This is purely a nostalgia factor for me as what playing on HBO meant, and still means for many shows.
One of the most coveted spots on the TV weekly calendar this century has been Sunday nights on HBO. That is where shows like The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, Sex and the City, The Wire, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm (all of which are on WTW’s best 100 TV shows of all time list) aired. Currently, Sunday on HBO is dedicated to the latest seasons of beloved shows The White Lotus season 3 and The Righteous Gemstones season 4, reaffirming that the night is still a prime booking.
Over the last 25-plus years, Sunday night on HBO has been an institution. Now to say those shows wouldn’t have succeeded if they didn’t air Sundays on HBO is probably a stretch, but once the Sunday night brand was established, that became where HBO debuted the shows it thought could become cultural touchstones. And obviously, many of them did.
Now, let’s imagine a fun alternate universe where Hacks does air as an HBO Sunday show. The Hacks season 4 premiere would be pushed a few days to Sunday, April 13, where it would be paired with the premiere of The Last of Us season 2 (and The Righteous Gemstones season 4). That would be appointment TV.
Hacks is acclaimed critically and beloved by many as it is. There are also plenty of streaming exclusive shows that have reached a similar kind of cultural clout as HBO’s best shows, like Stranger Things on Netflix, Ted Lasso on Apple TV Plus, The Bear and Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
And yet, I can’t help but imagine how all of that may be elevated for Hacks if it was known as an HBO show that was streaming on Max, versus a Max exclusive.
Oh well, be it Sunday or Thursday (or whenever I have the time since that is the plus of streaming), I’ll be watching Hacks season 4 and probably enjoying every minute of it.
Watch the Hacks season 4 trailer directly below.
To watch Hacks season 4 when it premieres April 10, you must have a Max subscription.
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