‘Hacks’ Production Paused For Duration Of Writers Strike; “There Was No Other Option,” EP Says – Update
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE (Updated with Jen Statsky’s comments): Filming on Season 3 of HBO Max/Universal TV hit comedy series Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, has been halted due of the writers strike, Deadline has learned.
According to sources, production will be on pause for the duration of the work stoppage. It is hard for any scripted series to shoot without writing showrunners on set.
This is especially true for Hacks as writing is at the heart of the show — it centers on an aging comedian Deborah Vance (Smart) and an up-and-coming writer Ava Daniels (Einbinder) who are writing together.
Hacks was created by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, who serve as showrunners. According to WGA rules, members cannot provide any writing services, including script revisions during filming, while a strike is going on. UPDATE: Statsky, who won an Emmy alongside Downs and Aniello for writing the Hacks pilot episode, retweeted Deadline story with a note explaining the decision to pause production. “We are devastated to not be with our incredible crew and cast right now, but there was no other option here,” she said. “Writing happens at every stage of the process – production and post included.
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