Hacks

­­Simply perfect, probably the best series currently. Good comedy and good drama!

season 4 has been a series of fart jokes and desperate scripting -- JeanSmart deserves much, much better. The plotting is wildly unfocused, and the screaming by most characters is shrill and rarely funny. Please transfer the Kayla character to any other programme, so boring and predictable is she - and while she's transitioning, speech classes would be very useful. I know my response is a minority opinion, but maybe season 5 will find firmer footing and get past the pointless, predictable feuding between the two principals.

An amusing enough show though its drama is painfully contrived. Comedy isn't laugh out loud though it feels like the writers tried too hard in ill-advised ways (eg: assistant to the manager of the 2 main characters is a ridiculous culmination of cringy, inappropriate, unbelievable personality traits and useless b-stories fabricated purely for "comedic" effect). The rest of the show is fine to pass some time in front of the TV. The 2 main characters are enjoyable protagonists, though not particularly likeable, fairly relatable. The writing for Smart's character as a professional comedian requires some suspension of disbelief, but Smart portrays her character expertly enough for one to ignore the failings of the writing staff when it comes to some of the basic professionals traits of long-time professional comedians. Occasionally, it appears as though the character of Vance is a novice at the art of the joke and stand-up performance despite being a comedy legend and Vegas headliner for decades. Jean Smart absolutely carries the show with Einbinder supporting admirably at times. Secondary characters are barely memorable.

Hollywood needs to stop thinking that their farts smell like roses, and this show is a prime example of that. Completely overrated. Jean Smart is no standup comedian. I'm sorry but she's not and giving her all the trophies in the world is never going to convince me that she is anything but what the title of the shoe states - a true hack. Joan Rivers is rolling over in her grave because they stole her legacy for this mediocre at best series. And that little girl costar is nepotism at it's worst. Her mom was a terrible comic and now so is her daughter. A few laughs here and there, but mostly this show is only good for playing in the background while you are busy doing other things.

I'm 40 minutes in and I'm yet to find anything I like. For a show about comedians and comedy writers, it's not very funny. The fat receptionist comic relief character who is stupid beyond believability is a typical Hollywood clown shouting, "look at me, I'm funny!" I get the impression I'm supposed to be impressed by the old woman? She's super rich. She's a **** She lives a vacuous, shallow, lonely existence. She takes what she has (which is nothing without someone to share it with) for granted. I don't like the young woman either. Both of them are products of a corrupt, disgustingly wealthy, morally bankrupt, egotistical world called Hollywood. Film-makers used to try and tell the greatest stories in the world. Now they just turn the camera around and point it back into their soulless lives. This show is about a writer and a comedian, but the writing **** and it isn't funny. I'm sure it gets better, but 40 minutes is too long to wait for a reason to stick around. I don't want to watch 5 hours for 15 minutes of gold. This gets "universal acclaim"? It's really not that good.