Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1539634
3 0 P E R S P E C T I V E S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 At its core, Hacks gives viewers a look behind the curtain: the meticulously crafted image of the performer and the brutal grind of the machine built to get them there. Since season 1, viewers have watched Deborah reinvent herself and realize her dreams. This season, the production was tasked with creating "Late Night with Deborah Vance." Beyond a show within a show, we would be peeking behind the blush-velvet curtain into the apparatus, with all its workings on display. It needed to be real, but also needed to be Hacks. First, there's the institution itself. Late-night talk shows date back to the 1950s with Steve Allen and The Tonight Show, and are a quintessential arm of American culture. They give audiences a pause to reflect on current events through a comedic lens, distill the complexities and anxieties of our world into a punchline, give us insight into our favorite personalities, and provide us a chance to relax. Within the world of Hacks, hosting late night had been THE dream of Deborah Vance. Season 4 starts hot on the heels of Deb surreptitiously ousting Ava as head writer after achieving that goal, and Ava blackmailing her to get it back. Casting a pall over the "win" of getting late night, it would usher in the most acrimonious version of Deborah and Ava's relationship viewers have seen—a partnership that is the heart of our show. M i n i n g L a t e N i g h t H A C K S S E A S O N 4 B Y R O B T O K A R Z , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A. "LATE NIGHT WITH DEBORAH VANCE." SET PHOTO. A