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The Irish Sun
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Arrested Development's disgraced Jeffrey Tambor, 81, resurfaces on grocery run 8 years after sexual misconduct claims
DISGRACED actor Jeffrey Tambor has resurfaced in public nearly eight years after his Hollywood career was marred by allegations of sexual misconduct. A frail Tambor was pictured during a recent shopping trip at a Advertisement 7 Disgraced actor Jeffrey Tambor on the set of the sitcom Arrested Development Credit: Alamy 7 Jeffrey Tambor is pictured shopping at Trader Joe's in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 10 Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 The retired actor has been out of the spotlight since November 2017 when he was at the center of sexual misconduct allegations Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 Tambor co-starred alongside Michael Bluth (right) on the comedy show Arrested Development Credit: Alamy Tambor, who shot to fame in the 1990s while starring on The Larry Sanders Show, was seen exiting a Trader Joe's, pushing a shopping cart with a single grocery bag. The former Arrested Development actor, 81, appeared to have a disgruntled expression on his face as he wore a blue-colored padded shirt, khaki shorts, black sneakers, and a baseball cap. Tambor has been out of the spotlight since November 2017 when he was at the center of sexual misconduct allegations brought forth by a former assistant and a co-star on the At the time, Tambor had been accused of harassing and groping his former assistant and actress, Van Barnes, and made inappropriate sexual advances against his then-co-star Trace Lysette - both transgender actresses. Advertisement Read more in The U.S. Sun The scandal led to Tambor's firing from the Amazon Studios show despite the Emmy-winning actor denying the accusations. "I am profoundly disappointed in Amazon's handling of these false accusations against me," Tambor, who starred as Maura Pfefferman, a transgender character, for four seasons on the series, said in a statement to "I am even more disappointed in Jill Soloway's unfair characterization of me as someone who would ever cause harm to any of my fellow cast mates," he added, referring to the show's creator and co-writer. "In our four-year history of working together on this incredible show, these accusations have NEVER been revealed or discussed directly with me or anyone at Amazon. Advertisement Most read in Celebrity "Therefore, I can only surmise that the investigation against me was deeply flawed and biased toward the toxic politicized atmosphere that afflicted our set." At the time, Soloway praised Barnes and Lysette for their courage in "speaking out about their experience on Transparent." "We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community," Soloway said. "We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family." Advertisement Tambor was never charged with any crimes in regards to the allegations made by Barnes and Lysette. When the accusations first surfaced, Tambor apologized for any inadvertent misbehavior, but denied any intentional harassment or sex abuse. In an interview with "I know I haven't always been the easiest person to work with. I can be volatile and ill-tempered, and too often I express my opinions harshly and without tact," he added. Advertisement "But I have never been a predator - ever." 7 A frail Jeffrey Tambor was seen pushing a shopping cart with a single shopping bag as he exited a Trader Joe's in North Carolina Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 Tambor portrayed Maura Pfefferman, a divorced transgender Jewish parent of three, on Amazon Studios' Transparent Credit: Alamy 7 Tambor has vehemently denied the sexual misconduct allegations against him and has never been charged criminally Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition Advertisement SHOCKING ACCUSATIONS The allegations against Tambor came at the height of the MeToo Movement when sexual harassment and assault accusations were made against powerful bigwigs such as At the time, Lysette, the Transparent actor, accused Tambor of making unsolicited advances that included kisses on her forehead. Lysette also alleged that while shooting a scene for the Amazon show, Tambor told her, "My God, Trace, I want to attack you sexually." The actress claimed that minutes later, Tambor moved over next to her in his pajamas and "put his feet on top of hers," and started "little thrusts on her hip." Advertisement "They were discreet and insidious and creepy. I felt his genitals on me. And I pushed him off," Lysette alleged. Months after Barnes, Tambor's former assistant, and Lysette came forward with their allegations, actress Jessica Walter claimed her former Arrested Development co-star verbally harassed her. However, Walter admitted that Tambor never sexually harassed or assaulted her. "[Tambor] never crossed the line on our show, with any, you know, sexual whatever," the actress told Advertisement "Verbally, yes, he harassed me, but he did apologize." In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tambor acknowledged that he once had a "blowup" with Walter, confessing that he "profusely apologized" to his co-star after. "I drove myself and my castmates crazy," he said. "Lines got blurred. I was difficult. I was mean." Advertisement
Scottish Sun
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Arrested Development's disgraced Jeffrey Tambor, 81, resurfaces on grocery run 8 years after sexual misconduct claims
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DISGRACED actor Jeffrey Tambor has resurfaced in public nearly eight years after his Hollywood career was marred by allegations of sexual misconduct. A frail Tambor was pictured during a recent shopping trip at a Trader Joe's in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 10, exclusive photos obtained by The U.S. Sun showed. 7 Disgraced actor Jeffrey Tambor on the set of the sitcom Arrested Development Credit: Alamy 7 Jeffrey Tambor is pictured shopping at Trader Joe's in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 10 Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 The retired actor has been out of the spotlight since November 2017 when he was at the center of sexual misconduct allegations Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 Tambor co-starred alongside Michael Bluth (right) on the comedy show Arrested Development Credit: Alamy Tambor, who shot to fame in the 1990s while starring on The Larry Sanders Show, was seen exiting a Trader Joe's, pushing a shopping cart with a single grocery bag. The former Arrested Development actor, 81, appeared to have a disgruntled expression on his face as he wore a blue-colored padded shirt, khaki shorts, black sneakers, and a baseball cap. Tambor has been out of the spotlight since November 2017 when he was at the center of sexual misconduct allegations brought forth by a former assistant and a co-star on the Amazon Studio series Transparent. At the time, Tambor had been accused of harassing and groping his former assistant and actress, Van Barnes, and made inappropriate sexual advances against his then-co-star Trace Lysette - both transgender actresses. Read more in The U.S. Sun 'BROKEN HEARTS' Country music star, 24, dies in tragic accident after fall off pickup truck The scandal led to Tambor's firing from the Amazon Studios show despite the Emmy-winning actor denying the accusations. "I am profoundly disappointed in Amazon's handling of these false accusations against me," Tambor, who starred as Maura Pfefferman, a transgender character, for four seasons on the series, said in a statement to NPR at the time. "I am even more disappointed in Jill Soloway's unfair characterization of me as someone who would ever cause harm to any of my fellow cast mates," he added, referring to the show's creator and co-writer. "In our four-year history of working together on this incredible show, these accusations have NEVER been revealed or discussed directly with me or anyone at Amazon. "Therefore, I can only surmise that the investigation against me was deeply flawed and biased toward the toxic politicized atmosphere that afflicted our set." At the time, Soloway praised Barnes and Lysette for their courage in "speaking out about their experience on Transparent." "We are grateful to the many trans people who have supported our vision for Transparent since its inception and remain heartbroken about the pain and mistrust their experience has generated in our community," Soloway said. "We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are taking steps to heal as a family." Tambor was never charged with any crimes in regards to the allegations made by Barnes and Lysette. When the accusations first surfaced, Tambor apologized for any inadvertent misbehavior, but denied any intentional harassment or sex abuse. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May 2018, Tambor admitted that his "ill-temper" did not make him the "easiest person to work with" on set. "I know I haven't always been the easiest person to work with. I can be volatile and ill-tempered, and too often I express my opinions harshly and without tact," he added. "But I have never been a predator - ever." 7 A frail Jeffrey Tambor was seen pushing a shopping cart with a single shopping bag as he exited a Trader Joe's in North Carolina Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition 7 Tambor portrayed Maura Pfefferman, a divorced transgender Jewish parent of three, on Amazon Studios' Transparent Credit: Alamy 7 Tambor has vehemently denied the sexual misconduct allegations against him and has never been charged criminally Credit: Tim Jackson - Commissioned by The U.S. Sun Digital Edition SHOCKING ACCUSATIONS The allegations against Tambor came at the height of the MeToo Movement when sexual harassment and assault accusations were made against powerful bigwigs such as Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Bill Cosby, among others. At the time, Lysette, the Transparent actor, accused Tambor of making unsolicited advances that included kisses on her forehead. Lysette also alleged that while shooting a scene for the Amazon show, Tambor told her, "My God, Trace, I want to attack you sexually." The actress claimed that minutes later, Tambor moved over next to her in his pajamas and "put his feet on top of hers," and started "little thrusts on her hip." "They were discreet and insidious and creepy. I felt his genitals on me. And I pushed him off," Lysette alleged. Months after Barnes, Tambor's former assistant, and Lysette came forward with their allegations, actress Jessica Walter claimed her former Arrested Development co-star verbally harassed her. However, Walter admitted that Tambor never sexually harassed or assaulted her. "[Tambor] never crossed the line on our show, with any, you know, sexual whatever," the actress told The New York Times in May 2018. "Verbally, yes, he harassed me, but he did apologize." In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tambor acknowledged that he once had a "blowup" with Walter, confessing that he "profusely apologized" to his co-star after. "I drove myself and my castmates crazy," he said. "Lines got blurred. I was difficult. I was mean."
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ike Barinholtz Jokes He's 'Lucky to Be Alive' After Driving With ‘The Studio' Costar Seth Rogen
Ike Barinholtz is everywhere. In the past few months, he has captivated audiences by playing Continental Studios executive Sal Saperstein in Apple TV+'s The Studio, but he's also made moves behind the camera as co-creator, exec producer and writer on Netflix's Running Point. The two projects somewhat overlapped, which Barinholtz admits was 'intense. But that's what I signed up for.' Here, the actor delves into his preparation for The Studio, known for its long takes, and how Running Point, based on the life story of Lakers president Jeanie Buss, had its own unique challenges. More from The Hollywood Reporter How 'Survival of the Thickest,' 'Mo' and 'Shrinking' Are Helping Destigmatize Therapy for Men of Color Ted Sarandos' 'Studio' Appearance Is a Wink - And a Flex The Hollywood Reporter Sets Tonys Preshow Your work on andoverlapped a bit, right? What was that experience like? Yes, Running Point started maybe six weeks beforehand, but there was definitely an overlap. I'd never done that to that extent, for an extended period of time. I'm so lucky to have the partners that I have in Dave Stassen and Mindy Kaling and to have to work for guys like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who just make it easy, and they make it so when you roll into one place, you know exactly what's going on. It was intense, but hey, that's what I signed up for. In terms of , Seth Rogen wrote Sal Saperstein for you. What were those early conversations with him like? He called me many years ago, and he was like, 'I love The Larry Sanders Show. Evan Goldberg and I are doing a show about showbiz, and we're writing a part for you. Would you do it?' And it was a very easy yes. The Larry Sanders Show is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I've never really gotten a chance to do anything that really puts an eye on this business. But things happen where someone will say something to you, and then the show never materializes, or they end up making it with someone else, so I just said, 'I'm in.' Every six months or so, he would call me and be like, 'You're in, right?' And I was like, 'It's your show, dude!' But then at some point, Dave [Stassen, showrunner] and I were approached by Mindy [Kaling] to come on Running Point. And then a year later, we were rolling [on Running Point]. How did your career in Hollywood prepare you for the role, given that you've had experience with studio executives? The key to making it in Hollywood is being OK with endless rejection, disappointment, moments of great joy and excitement surrounded by nightmarish anxiety. I have been very lucky to be a writer and a producer, and I have dealt with a lot of executives on the other side of it, and the vast majority are smart and nice people who really just want the movie to be as good as possible while keeping their job. I had a lot to tap into when it came to putting Sal together. I came into this business in the 2000s, which was a crazy time, where you had the excess and bad behavior left over from the '90s, but you also had incredible yield. You had incredible comedy. I had seen a lot of executives come and go, and I tried to find someone who made their bones in that era and is still around, so they got to experience the excess and bad behavior of the 2000s but then have made it through the 'awakenings' of the 2010s and '20s. Sal's just a guy who's partied and done it all and been in multiple threesomes at Sundance over the years, but now in 2025 he understands there are certain things you have to change, otherwise you won't last. What is Sal's day like when he's not working? I think every other weekend he spends with his daughters. I definitely believe that after work, he is a martini guy. I think he could do an espresso martini if he would find himself at a brunch, but he's an old-school, normal, Vesper-ish martini guy. I could see Sal five nights a week going to Dan Tana's or Spago or Sushi Park. I could see him spending a lot of time throwing down the silver Amex. If I had to go out five nights a week, I would just die. He also probably joined some weird private gym where he just sits and reads The New York Times. What would've been Sal's bar mitzvah theme? Sal's bar mitzvah was in 1990 and would have had a theme of a film from that year, so maybe Home Alone? Possible chance his dad got Daniel Stern [who played Marv the burglar] to come. The show has some extraordinary continuous takes — what was that like for you being in front of the camera? Seth driving is just … I'm just lucky to be alive. I'm just praying in multiple different languages and religious tomes to make it through that scene. He's a very good driver, but he's a very fast driver, and we're driving cars that were built in, like, 1959. You think affable, sweet, Jewish Canadian stoner. But no, he wants to go fast. He should be in a Fast & Furious movie. As Seth Rogen. At some point, Vin [Diesel]'s character, Dom Toretto, is like, 'There's only one guy we could call, and it's Seth Rogen. He's mishpocha,' which is Yiddish for family. But no, to prepare to do this was unlike anything I'd done in my life. What was your most challenging scene? One of the first scenes I shot was [with] Chase Sui Wonders, which was a very big, emotional one. I'm going from screaming to crying to being grateful. Also, I didn't know Chase, we had just literally met, and she's such a sweet young lady, and she's like, 'Nice to meet you. I'm a big fan.' And then an hour later, I'm just in her face, like, 'You loser!' I would say the stuff in Vegas toward the end was rough. We shot for basically two weeks, every day, long hours, and we're shooting on a live casino floor late at night and dragging nude Bryan [Cranston] through the lobby of The Venetian. Were people in the casino trying to approach you all? We had a great crew that had a lot of spotters, but I mean, you're going through a packed casino floor with Seth Rogen, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara and Kathryn Hahn. Everyone likes at least one of them, if not all of them. I like to gamble a bit, and when we'd do hair and makeup, you'd have 20 minutes until you have to be on set, and I would just kind of walk past a blackjack table. I was playing, and Cranston walks past, and he's like, 'What are you up? What are you down?' And the dealer froze. He's like, 'Was that Bryan Cranston?' And I was like, 'Yeah,' and he goes, 'Your Honor is the greatest show I've ever seen.' And I was like, 'Yeah, it's amazing. And Breaking Bad!' He goes, 'Never seen it.' There is a guy out there who's like, 'My favorite actor, Bryan Cranston, Your Honor.' The show has amazing guest stars — was there a standout for you? Other than your dad. Obviously, my dad! It's impossible to pick just one. Martin Scorsese is a very important person in my life, and I never thought I would get to work with him, let alone act with him, so that was surreal. … Every day there was a new person where you're like, 'I can't believe I'm sitting in a sprinter van with Ron Howard.' It'll be interesting, for season two, who do you get? How do you top it? You've got to get Tom Hanks or something. After a day of intense filming, what was your way to decompress? When you're acting, especially all day in every scene, it is nice to come home and, at least I try, to watch like a half hour of either a TV show or a basketball game or something. But for this show, I would come home and have to instantly go into my office and work on my lines for the next day, so when I show up, I'm prepared. But it is a bit of a must that if I get home before 10 o'clock, a basketball game is really nice. Vegas was interesting because in L.A., you wrap at 8:30 pm. People are like, 'bye, see you guys tomorrow.' In Vegas, you wrap and you're standing in front of a martini bar and Catherine O'Hara is like, 'does anyone want a martini?' We did get to unwind a little bit after shooting some of those long days in Vegas with a drink or two, or in some cases, seven. In terms of , I know there was a different creative team involved first and you joined later. Initially, Mindy came to Dave and I with the idea, and we, at the time, were knee deep doing History of the World Part II with Mel Brooks. And we were bummed, because we for years were like, we got to figure out a thing to do with Mindy again, just because we love her so much. She's so funny. We just kind of missed each other, which happens. And then by the time we had finished History, she came back, and she was like, 'Hey, we're trying something new.' We sat down and talked about what we thought the show could be and then we pitched it and I think Warners and Netflix saw the path we wanted to go. Before you know, we were back in Mindy's office ordering humongous Italian sub sandwiches just like the old days. How did you collaborate with Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis, given that the show is based on Jeanie's story? I've been lucky enough to know them for a few years, and they really are two of the nicest people I've ever met. They gave us unprecedented access, where they would let us come to the training center in El Segundo. Walking around the locker room, Austin Reaves came out in a towel and was like, 'Oh, shucks y'all, nice to meet you.' … We knew the tone we wanted, and we knew a little bit of how we wanted Isla [played by Kate Hudson] to be, but hanging with Jeanie and seeing how her employees react to her, and how they interact with each other, really informed a lot, because they love her and she loves them. That informed the writing, because we wanted the characters to be flawed. We love Succession, and we love how they just constantly shit on each other, but we really wanted to make sure there was a big undercurrent of love, and seeing that firsthand really helped us. … I'll never forget, the first day we did our camera test, and Kate walks out. She's got the hair with the little bangs, and she's got the skirt with the blouse tucked, and the lanyard. And I was like, 'It's Jeanie.' Kate and Jeanie have known each other since Kate was little. Did their relationship aid the storytelling? I think when I hear both those names, Kate Hudson and Jeanie Buss, I think of Southern California. I think they just kind of emerged from the Pacific Ocean and walked onto the beach, whether it's Manhattan Beach or the Palisades or wherever. I didn't know [they knew each other], I was just like, that makes the binding ties stronger. … It's amazing when you think about the lives both these women have led, and the fact that now one is kind of playing a version inspired by the other is just delicious. What challenges did you face? Shooting basketball is hard and very expensive. We knew this was a comedy about a family that owns a basketball team, and not about players. At first, I was like, 'How are we going to shoot basketball? We're not able to fill an arena, and we don't have the budget that, say, a Winning Time has.' But Dave Stassen brilliantly made the choice to make it feel almost like a Nike commercial from the mid-'90s. … TV budgets are just not what they used to be, so envisioning a show that was supposed to be very big, and still making it look beautiful and cool, but not having all the tools to have it, is something that was challenging at times, but I think we did it. This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Los Angeles Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
In ‘Hacks,' Deborah finally achieves her dream. But like reality, late-night is in trouble
I will never hesitate to declare that the most important show in the modern age of television, and one of the best in its entire history, is 'The Larry Sanders Show,' Garry Shandling's 1990s HBO series about a neurotic talk-show host, his support staff and guests — real-world celebrities playing versions of themselves, a new idea — who came and went out of his life. It brought new depth and possibilities to situation comedy, and paved the way for shows that operated at the intersection of the fictional and the real. 'One thing Garry used to say that had a big impact on me,' Judd Apatow, who wrote, produced and directed on 'Sanders,' once told me, 'was that the show was about people who loved each other but show business got in the way.' According to Shandling, speaking in 2010, the real subject of the show was 'the human qualities that have brought us to where we are now in the world: the addiction to needing more and wanting more and talking more. We were examining the labels put on success — is it successful to be on TV every day, to be famous, to have a paycheck? And you see what's missing is love and heart.' Something of the same is being asked in the current, fourth season of the Max series 'Hacks.' Venerable stand-up comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) has finally landed her dream job, hosting her own late-night network talk show, following a pilot canceled years before amid tabloid rumors that Deborah had burned down her husband's house. Young modern comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), with whom she has been locked in a generational, quasi-familial, mutually beneficial, mutually frustrating, codependent love-hate relationship since the series debuted in 2021, has blackmailed her way into the position of head writer, launching the enterprise on a sea of tension. (The network has assigned Deborah and Ava a full-time HR chaperone.) Within the context of the series, Deborah's hiring as the first female late-night show is historic — Joan Rivers, who chaired Fox's 'The Late Show' from 1986 to 1988, does not exist in this universe; neither does 'The Faye Emerson Show' (CBS, 1949-1951), nor Cynthia Garrett (the first African American woman in late-night), who hosted NBC's 'Later' from 2000 to 2001. 'This network has never hired a woman for 11:30,' Deborah says. 'Or anyone as old as me. Or, let's be honest, a blond. It'd be easier to get elected president.' Notwithstanding the cable shows of Chelsea Handler, Samantha Bee, Sarah Silverman and Busy Phillips or Taylor Tomlinson, working for CBS on 'After Midnight' until her contract runs out in June and she goes back to stand-up — her choice, with the show canceled in its wake — this has been and remains substantially true. It didn't matter that these women were younger than Deborah, or, some of them, as blond. The long-term late-night hosts are now, and have always been, dudes. But even as Deborah's dream comes true, in the real world, late-night is troubled. Ratings are falling. 'I don't know if there will be any late-night television shows on network TV in 10 years,' Jimmy Kimmel said last summer on Gov. Gavin Newsom's 'Politckin'' podcast. 'Maybe there'll be one, but there won't be a lot of them.' (Kimmel made a cameo appearance on 'Hacks'' most recent episode, angrily confronting Deborah after she tried to poach Kristen Bell as a guest: 'Everyone knows that when she has a new project she does my show first — I got full custody when Conan died.') As Helen Hunt's Winnie, the network executive overseeing 'Late Night,' tells Deborah, the choice was not between her and a different host, but between her and canceling the franchise. Her hiring, on the basis of massive success in Season 3, represents a sort of 'Hail Deborah' play. Like most everything in our confusing century, post-prime-time television has been reshaped and undercut by the internet. Late night TV, which once had to be watched, well, late at night — it had a sort of circadian component — has been atomized into clips to watch when you like. And the competition has become fierce: Never in human history have there been so many people talking to so many other people for public consumption, entertainment or education, on podcasts and panels and personal appearances. Not every big or baby star who'd appear opposite Jimmy Fallon or Kimmel or Stephen Colbert or even at 12:30 a.m. with Seth Meyers, whose 'Late Night' is the last talk show standing in that time slot — 'After Midnight' is a game show in which comedians riff off pop culture and social media — is going to show up on YouTube. But many will, in situations where they're allowed to stretch out, go deep, get silly, or eat hot wings while trying to answer questions. Into this space in time streams 'Everybody's Live with John Mulaney,' a sort of sequel to 'John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.,' which ran for six weeks last year as part of the Netflix Is a Joke Festival, and is now two-thirds of the way through its 12-week run. Episodes premiere Wednesdays, airing live at 10 p.m. on the East Coast and 7 p.m. on the West (Mulaney announces the time and temperature in L.A. at the start of each), so it's not technically a late-night show. Neither is it any kind of competition with network late-night series, living, as it does, on Netflix time. But it's built like one, more or less, featuring a monologue, banter with sidekick Richard Kind — in full Richard Kind effect — brief filmed sketches, interviews and a musical guest. Each episode features a theme in the form of a question — 'Should I Lend People Money?'; 'What's the Best Way to Fire Someone?'; 'Can Major Surgery Be Fun?' — discussed by a motley panel of celebrities and a relevant expert. (Guests have included David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Tina Fey, Quinta Brunson, Bill Hader, Joan Baez, Fred Armisen, John Waters and Ayo Edebiri, none of them promoting a project.) There are also phone-in callers, possibly to reinforce the show's liveness; but these segments have not been particularly successful — or rather, they have been particularly unsuccessful. The callers often seem confused; there is dead air, and Mulaney, who does not hold the tightest rein over the show, will summarily end a conversation by asking what kind of car they drive. Mulaney is one of the funniest comics working, and a great talk-show guest. The best parts of the show, where he seems most present, in control and at ease, are when his monologues eschew jokes for stories; he's hilarious talking about a botched booking for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, or a trip to the doctor, or teaching his son about urination. 'Everybody's Live' can come off a little unfocused; the weekly themes rarely develop into anything significant, conversations can be lopsided and, professional production values notwithstanding, there is something sort of … public access cable about it all. This is not exactly in the show's disfavor. Its looseness is appealing, if you don't expect more than a pleasant time. In any case, its departure is already scheduled. The fate of Deborah Vance's late-night show — which, in the snippets shown, is getting good — is known only to its showrunners, depending, of course, ironically, on whether Max renews 'Hacks.' (It seems a safe bet.) That series' arguments about art versus 'selling soap' aren't raised in order for the show to express an opinion — 'Hacks' itself is a popular entertainment, serious about its characters, or most of them, but out for laughs — but because they're banners for the war that Ava and Deborah have been waging from the beginning. It's only in their periods of truce, when their differing ambitions conjoin, that things move forward. Both need their show to thrive; they're insecure, if opinionated people, who crave approval and ultimately make each other better, though they'll only occasionally admit it. We want their show to live because we're invested in their relationship, though the real possibility of a fifth season of 'Hacks' — reportedly designed with a five-season arc — means that, for their near future, it will be a bumpy late-night.
Chicago Tribune
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘Hacks' review: In Season 4, even dream jobs can be a (very funny) nightmare
Push-pull. Love-hate. That tension is the backbone of 'Hacks,' which has only grown more potent over time as the central duo — a veteran standup in the mold of Joan Rivers and the much younger writer who has helped reinvigorate her career — self-sabotage their way to success. In Season 4 of the Max comedy, Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels have manipulated their way into their respective dream jobs as host and head writer of a late-night talk show on network TV. Every nasty word between them over the years, along with every heartfelt exchange, has led to this moment. And they can't enjoy any of it because they're at each other's throats once again. Starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, rarely has a pairing been this combustibly funny, but also able to get you in the gut each time they find common ground amid the smoking wreckage of their lives. But until they make their way back to one another, their underappreciated manager Jimmy proposes he act as intermediary, 'even though I said I'd never do that again after my parents' divorce because it almost destroyed me' — he gives a wonderfully hollow laugh at the memory — 'but I'm going to do it for you.' Jimmy is played by Paul W. Downs, who is also one of the show's creators, along with Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky. This is their strongest season yet. It's pointedly a Hollywood satire, as opposed to the broader showbiz satire it's been up until now. Leaving its Las Vegas setting for Los Angeles, it has far more to say about the industry than other recent attempts, and it is a sharp exploration of Hollywood as a place where colleagues who hate one another in private give an entirely different impression when in public. I wish there was more poking and jabbing specifically aimed at the smiling phoniness inherent to the talk show format ('The Larry Sanders Show' was really the last to do it with gusto) but the season is sharply observed about newer headaches, including the perils of platforming an unvetted online star (played by an exuberantly go-for-broke Julianne Nicholson), or the current realities of the job, which include a TV network's social media manager forever coaxing Deborah into doing dumb gags for sponsored posts. Meanwhile, Jimmy has launched his own company with his assistant-turned-partner (the wonderfully over-the-top Megan Stalter) and their first big move is to hire a straight-talking receptionist (Robby Hoffman) who may be a Hollywood novice, but she has a way of cutting through the crap that passes for normal. 'What I've learned about this business is everybody is soft,' she says in her matter-of-fact New York accent. 'Apparently everybody takes off mid-October, comes back end of January, and you want to know why the entire industry is in the toilet? Nobody wants to work!' She brings a amusingly unexpected energy to their team, and then is more or less forgotten for the rest of the season. That's a missed opportunity because Hoffman is very funny. Helen Hunt returns as the network programming head and she gets one of the better jokes of the season as she breezes in and apologizes for being late: 'I was trying to bond with my kid,' adding in a half-whisper: 'Doctor's orders.' But the show's core is the prickly neediness that fuels Deborah and Ava's every interaction. Betrayal is their lingua franca. It drives their ambitions but also their personal interactions with anyone in their orbit. Better to lash out first, or at least build up a protective armor. They only let their guard down with one another. Trust will be carefully built, and then inevitably shattered. They'll get over it. They always do. And then they'll stumble once again. Around and around they go, trapped in this dysfunctional cycle. But despite the 40-year age difference, this remains the most meaningful relationship either has ever had. Season 4 reaches its climax when they are faced with a cascading series of ethical dilemmas. A career in Hollywood probably isn't viable if you stand on principle. That's the conventional wisdom, anyway. I like that 'Hacks' wants to challenge some of those assumptions, even as it mocks them. Taking a stand costs money and opportunities. It can also just make your life difficult going forward. Integrity is expensive. But having no integrity at all is expensive, as well. And it's often everyone else who pays the price. 'Hacks' Season 4 — 3.5 stars (out of 4) Where to watch: Max Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.
