Comics Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball inspired Jean Smart's character: 'Hacks' co-creator

There were a bunch of female comic veterans like Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, and Elaine May who inspired the lead character of Deborah Vance in the popular comedy drama series "Hacks", says co-creator Jen Statsky. Hollywood star Jean Smart plays Deborah in the acclaimed American show which follows an old-school comic and a woke, down-on-her-luck, 20-something comedy writer Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder, hired to update her material.

Smart has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for the role.

"There were a bunch of women (who inspired Deborah). The character is an amalgamation of a lot of female comedians, Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, Elaine May. These are all women whose careers and lives we talked about as we were crafting the character," Statsky told PTI in an interview.

The co-creator and co-showrunner said "Hacks 3" is the "best season yet".

"In season three, the exciting thing is that Deborah is going after her biggest goal yet... To watch her go after that and her entire team, Ava and everyone else, kind of rally around her to make it happen.

"While they are going for that, Ava and Deborah's relationship deepens and goes to places we haven't seen it go before. It's really rich and rewarding to watch that happen," she added.

The believable love-hate relationship between Deborah and Ava stems from the crackling chemistry between lead characters Smart and Einbinder, something Statsky said was palpable and not engineered.

"We always knew the show really lived and died by a chemistry between Deborah and Ava, so we knew it had to be really palpable and really strong. For us, honestly, we just felt incredibly lucky that Jean and Hannah, as actors, people, and friends in real life, have an incredible rapport.

"There are so many things you plan for or you can try to plan for when making a show. But you can't (create) chemistry, you just have to find it. It's either there or it's not and we got so lucky that there is this strong chemistry between Jean and Hannah," she added.

The 38-year-old, who started out as a writer on popular TV comedies "Parks and Recreation", "Broad City", and "The Good Place", said all her work has been about depicting a unique relationship between characters, just like Deborah and Ava's.

She credited Mike Schur, known for "Parks and Recreation", "The Good Place" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", for inspiring her to write the show's central relationship between the two women.

"I found that I really enjoy writing about relationships that you haven't necessarily seen on TV before... When you are writing these characters, something that I learned from Mike Schur and I take to heart, is that even when you write people who behave questionably at times, you always have to come from a place of loving your characters.

"We really love Deborah and Ava even with all their flaws and I approached all my shows that way. So, that's something I've tried to carry through all the shows I've written," Statsky said.

Much like her "Hacks" lead Deborah, the co-creator said she knows the nature of showbiz as a space that "moves really fast".

"One minute you're on top and the next, you are kind of starting all over again. I have been really lucky in my career to work my way up the ladder from a staff writer to the creator of the show but I certainly look around and I see other people's careers. If you have a long career, it's sort of inevitable that you will have these highs but you will also have these dips and lows."

Statsky, who has won a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe for "Hacks", said during her highs she makes it a point to remember that good times don't last forever.

"If it turns out that you are not at that high point anymore, it's just part of the game. (Just) how Hollywood goes," she added.

Is there a line in comedy she would not cross?

While there are no strict rules about what you can and can't say, the writer said she hopes to never make a joke at the expense of someone who is "already marginalised or disempowered".

"I believe comedy should always be punching up and speaking truth to power. The butt of the joke should never be someone who isn't in power. I never want to punch down."

The third season of "Hacks" is streaming in India on JioCinema.