Top comedy nominees’ subtle depths
This was going to be a column about the world of difference between the two front-runners for best comedy series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards: HBO Max’s “Hacks” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.” The other nominees — “Emily in Paris,” “Cobra Kai,” “Black-ish,” “The Flight Attendant,” “Pen15” and “The Kominsky Method” — are just happy to be there.
“Hacks” is a jaundiced look at the degradations that women in show business have to deal with just to stay alive and relevant. Caustic, dark and timely. “Lasso,” meanwhile, is a relentlessly upbeat sports fable about an overly optimistic American football coach imported to London to coach
soccer and dispense folksy, popculture-laden wisdom. Glimmering, playful and feel-good.
Then I settled in to do some research, which in this case meant rewatching a whole bunch of TV. But funny things happen when you immerse yourself in your materials, hoping to make a point. Yes, “Hacks” has a profane sting to it, probably enough of one to keep it from besting “Lasso.” But it also boasts some emotional highs every bit as soaring as anything generated by the “Lasso” optimism machine. Speaking of which, “Ted Lasso,” for all its cheeky, heart-in-thethroat inspiration, deals in hidden
depths and unflinching treatment of adult themes, even tragedy.
In other words, let’s not be so quick to put the two best comedies of the year into their own little silos. Even if that might make for a good column.
I got on the “Hacks” train early, reviewing it before the first episode aired. I didn’t just hop on the bandwagon; I helped saw the wood to build it. Jean Smart (the far-and-away favorite for best actress in a comedy this year) is more ribald than ever as Deborah Vance, a veteran Las Vegas comedian facing down age and showbiz trends that suggest her best days are past. Into her life waltzes Ava (supporting actress nominee Hannah Einbinder), an aimless Gen-Z comedy writer hired to punch up Deborah’s material. They verbally joust in decidedly R-rated terms, each giving as good as she gets, puncturing holes in entertainment world hypocrisies, wielding no small amount of bitterness. It’s good, cynical fun.
It might also make you cry. “Hacks,” which earned 15 nominations, finds another gear in its eighth episode (out of 10), “1.69 Million.” Deborah, barnstorming new material in anticipation of the final show in her Las Vegas residency, brings Ava to a gig at a comedy club in Sacramento. Ava is appalled to hear about the exploits of Ira, the recently deceased club owner known for his predatory habits (Deborah jokes that Ira and Bill Cosby shared a pharmacist). Ava wants to know: Why didn’t Deborah do anything? Deborah scoffs. There’s nothing she could have done.
Except now there is. The Ira 2.0 now running the club is a sexist wannabe comic of mediocre talent. As Deborah takes the stage for her set, she decides she’s had enough. She guts the guy, picking him apart as the crowd howls, and eventually offers him, from the stage, $1.69 million if he never sets foot in a comedy club again. He accepts. And we’ve witnessed one of those rare soaring moments of television that feels completely unpredictable and redemptive.
Watching this episode, you realize that “Hacks” is not above the heartswelling moment, and it even makes you remember other such moments in the first season. It’s a show of stealth warmth — unlike “Ted Lasso,” which comes in hot and more or less stays there.
From the start, viewers are put in much the same position as the Londoners who orbit the title character (played by best actor nominee Jason Sudeikis). That means wondering: Why is this guy so chipper all the time? Has he ever met a homily he doesn’t like? Certainly there’s more to it all than this.
Sure enough, there is. Beneath its sunny exterior, “Ted Lasso,” which picked up 20 nominations, deepens as it goes, particularly during its current second season. Ted is in London for the job, but also because his marriage is falling apart. He’s also suffering debilitating panic attacks. Elsewhere, the largely insufferable star Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) has a horribly abusive dad, veteran Roy Kent (supporting actor nominee Brett Goldstein) faces the end of his career as his body breaks down, and newly minted assistant coach Nate Shelley (supporting actor nominee Nick Mohammed) goes from humble underdog to cruel egomaniac before our eyes.
The series understands that its ample dose of redemption needs a little darkness in order to work. It’s no one-trick pony. Nor is “Hacks.” That’s why they both work so well. Ultimately “Hacks” speaks to me louder, but “Lasso” seems to have tapped a cultural vein with its optimism, mixed in with just enough gravity. Look for Ted to take home the prize.