Summary
- Season 3 of Hacks features a star-studded lineup of guest stars, including real-life comedians and A-list actors in fictional roles.
- Cameo appearances by famous personalities like George Wallace and Carrot Top add humor and authenticity to the showbiz setting of Hacks.
- Helen Hunt’s hilarious role as Winnie Landell and Carrot Top’s neighborly prank mishap bring big laughs to the new season of Hacks.
Hacks is back for season 3, and as usual, the hit Max comedy series has a great roster of guest stars – including some of Deborah Vance’s comedian colleagues playing themselves. Like Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm before it, Hacks uses its showbiz setting to allow cameoing celebrities to make fun of themselves. Previous seasons have featured self-parodying guest appearances by Margaret Cho and Wayne Newton. The series has also brought in A-listers to play fictional characters, like Laurie Metcalf playing Deborah’s tour manager or Ming-Na Wen playing Jimmy’s rival talent agent.
Season 3 brings more guest stars into the Hacks universe than ever before. The two-episode premiere alone sees George Wallace and Carrot Top playing themselves as Deborah’s peers, and Helen Hunt as Ava’s new TV boss. There’s even been a hint at a Tom Cruise cameo with the revelation that Deborah’s name has joined his Christmas coconut cake list (but it’s extremely unlikely that Cruise himself will appear on the show). Hacks season 3 has a ton of great guest stars, either playing one-off bit parts or recurring roles.
14 Christopher McDonald As Marty Ghilain
Hacks season 3, episode 1, “Just for Laughs,” opens with what seems to be Deborah Vance walking through a Vegas casino and being ushered onto a stage in the middle of the casino floor, which seems to be a step backward for her career. But, as it turns out, it’s not Deborah – it’s a drag queen dressed as Deborah, and they’re joined on stage by a bunch of other Deborah Vance impersonators. And that’s when Christopher McDonald reprises his role as Marty Ghilain, the CEO of the Palmetto Casino.
McDonald is best known for playing villainous golfer Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. He has appeared in a handful of previous episodes, and in the season 3 premiere, he unveils a Deborah Vance-themed slot machine at his casino. The tease that Deborah’s career had taken a nosedive is upended by the revelation of slot-machine-level fame.
13 Rachel Lindsay As Herself
Rachel Lindsay has a brief cameo appearance as herself in the Hacks season 3 premiere. Lindsay first rose to prominence as a contestant on The Bachelor season 21, and later became the central focus of the 13th season of the show’s spin-off, The Bachelorette, which made her the first Black lead in The Bachelor franchise. From 2020 to 2023, Lindsay was a correspondent for Extra, and she co-hosts the podcast Higher Learning with Van Lathan on The Ringer platform.
Bringing in real-life media personalities always makes the world of a showbiz-based series feel more believable and authentic, because it’s recognizable as real-world media. Lindsay’s presence in the Hacks world helps it feel less like make-believe. Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 used a similar trick by bringing in Willie Geist to profile Larry David and comment on his trial.
12 George Wallace As Himself
Legendary comedian George Wallace makes a brief appearance as himself in Hacks’ season 3 premiere. Wallace is shown to be an old friend of Deborah’s who gives her a spot at his self-named comedy club. Wallace himself is a former Vegas headliner, much like Deborah, so they probably met on that scene.
This standup set serves an important function in Deborah’s character development. It shows that, after the success of her special, she’s become so famous and beloved that it’s not as much fun to do comedy anymore. The audience will laugh at her jokes just because they love her. They won’t even let her get to the punchlines – they just laugh at whatever she says – so the laughs feel unearned. This lack of challenge becomes the key driving force for Deborah’s character in the season 3 premiere.
11 Helen Hunt As Winnie Landell
While Ava and Jimmy are mingling at a party full of industry suits at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Jimmy spots Winnie Landell across the room. Winnie is the head of the network that airs Ava’s highly acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning comedy series, On the Contrary. She’s played by Helen Hunt, the beloved star of Twister, What Women Want, and As Good As It Gets.
Hunt instantly proves herself to be a hilarious addition to the Hacks season 3 cast. She bluntly tells Jimmy that she once had sex with his dad, although he can’t remember if it was while he was still with Jimmy’s mom (which freaks Jimmy out, because he’s not sure if his dad had an affair or not). Hunt is surely being set up for a larger role later in the season.
Hunt reprised her role as Winnie in episode 4, “Join the Club.” Jimmy and Kayla join her on the pickleball court in an attempt to pitch Deborah for the Late Show hosting gig. They’re surprised to find that Winnie is fiercely competitive, but against all odds, they end up making a good impression.
10 Carrot Top As Himself
In Hacks season 3, episode 2, “Better Late,” Scott Thompson – better known by his stage name Carrot Top – has a hilarious cameo appearance as himself. In the Hacks universe, Carrot Top is Deborah’s neighbor. When Deborah is offered a guest spot on a late-night show, she realizes she has no anecdotes to tell, so she decides to fabricate one by pulling a prank on her neighbor. She sends a couple of contractors to Carrot Top’s house to threaten to remove a bush from his front lawn.
Much to Carrot Top’s dismay, a digger comes bursting onto his property, ready to rip up his shrubbery, and he freaks out. Then, he sees that the digger is being driven by Deborah, who’s laughing hysterically. The best part of this storyline is that Deborah ends up guest-hosting the late-night show, so she doesn’t even need the anecdote.
9 Mario Cantone As Himself
Deborah gets roasted by an all-star panel of comedians in Hacks season 3, episode 3, “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” The roastmaster of the evening is Mario Cantone, appearing as himself. Deborah and Ava spend the early scenes of the episode trying to come up with jokes making fun of Cantone for Deborah to use in the roast.
Cantone is renowned for his fast-paced, high-energy style of comedy, as well as his impressions, ranging from well-known celebrities to his own family members. Cantone is best known for his TV roles as Anthony Marentino in Sex and the City (and its sequel series, And Just Like That…) and Terri in Men in Trees. In “The Roast of Deborah Vance,” Cantone is just one of many famous faces that arrive to poke fun at Deborah on stage.
8 Patton Oswalt As Himself
Patton Oswalt also plays himself as one of the roasters in Hacks season 3, episode 3, “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” In his roast, which is only shown briefly in a montage of all the roasters taking their shots at Deborah, Oswalt focuses on making fun of Deborah’s huge gay following. Oswalt is one of the world’s most famous standup comics, having released such acclaimed specials as Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time, Talking for Clapping, Annihilation, and We All Scream.
Oswalt is known for his recurring TV roles as Spence Olchin in The King of Queens, as Principal Ralph Durbin in A.P. Bio, and as the narrator of The Goldbergs in the guise of grown-up Adam Goldberg. He voiced Remy in the Pixar animated movie Ratatouille. Oswalt also wrote the books Zombie Spaceship Wasteland and Silver Screen Fiend.
7 Natasha Leggero As Herself
Natasha Leggero is another one of the roasters to appear at Deborah’s roast in Hacks season 3, episode 3. Leggero has appeared in a couple of Comedy Central Roasts, so it makes sense to bring her in as one of the roasters at Deborah’s roast. Leggero first rose to prominence as the host of the MTV reality series The 70s House and a regular roundtable panelist on Chelsea Handler’s late-night talk show Chelsea Lately.
Known for her observational comedic style, Leggero co-created and starred in the sitcom Another Period with Riki Lindhome. She’s also played a few voice roles, like Callie Maggotbone in Ugly Americans, Ethel in Brickleberry, and Shannon in Hoops. At Deborah’s roast in Hacks, as usual, Leggero doesn’t pull her punches and goes straight for the jugular in making fun of the roastee.
6 Andy Kindler As Himself
Andy Kindler also plays himself as one of Deborah’s roasters in “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” Kindler first rose to prominence as a regular guest on Late Show with David Letterman, and with his recurring role as Andy, Ray Barone’s friend and fellow sports writer, in the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He also voices Mort the mortician in Bob’s Burgers and played himself alongside Marc Maron in the IFC comedy series Maron.
Kindler’s roast of Deborah, seen briefly during the montage, exhibits his usual dry, deadpan delivery style. He takes some incisive but lighthearted jabs at Deborah. Kindler has released the standup albums I Wish I Was Bitter in 2010 (although it was recorded in 2003) and Hence the Humor in 2020. In 2022, he became the first comedian to do a live set via hologram.
5 Steph Tolev As Herself
Steph Tolev is another comedian who plays herself as one of the roasters in “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” A snippet of her roast can be seen during the montage. Tolev is more of an up-and-coming talent than her more seasoned co-stars like Leggero and Oswalt, but she’s still an accomplished comedian in her own right.
Tolev first rose to fame as a member of the sketch comedy duo Ladystache alongside fellow comic Allison Hogg. Ladystache won the award for Most Innovative Comedy Troupe in 2010 and the Just for Laughs Award at Montreal Sketchfest in 2014. As a solo performer, Tolev won the award for Best Female Stand Up at the 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards. Her comedy album I’m Not Well, released in 2019, was nominated for the 2020 Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year.
4 Naomi Ekperigin As Herself
Naomi Ekperigin also plays herself as one of the roasters at Deborah’s roast in Hacks season 3, episode 4. She roasts Deborah during the roast montage. Ekperigin previously worked with Hacks co-creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky when she was a writer on Broad City. Along with the rest of the Broad City writing staff, Ekperigin was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series.
Ekperigin plays Carol, the downtrodden HR rep of a video game studio, in Mythic Quest, and she was a regular guest on the podcast 2 Dope Queens. She also worked as a writer on the sitcoms Great News, Difficult People, and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, on which she also appeared. Like Tolev, Ekperigin is a rising star who holds her own opposite seasoned pros like Kindler and Cantone.
3 Stephen Tobolowsky As Henry Winks
Stephen Tobolowsky guest-stars in Hacks season 3, episode 4, “Join the Club,” as an old comedian friend of Deborah’s called Henry Winks. Back in the day, the standup scene was a real boys’ club and Deborah struggled to be accepted by her male colleagues. In “Join the Club,” Henry finally invites Deborah into the boys’ club (which is more of a colonoscopy club now). However, she finds that she can’t enjoy their company, because they’re all curmudgeonly, politically incorrect, and out of touch.
Tobolowsky is an iconic character actor known for such roles as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and Sammy Jankis in Memento. Hacks isn’t his first HBO role; he previously played Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood and “Action” Jack Barker in Silicon Valley. He shares great chemistry with Smart in this episode as their characters engage in snappy comedic interplay.
2 Mario Lopez As Himself
In episode 4, Deborah flies out to New York City to co-host the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her co-host is none other than Mario Lopez, cameoing as himself. While she’s hosting the parade, Deborah takes the opportunity to announce that she wants the Late Show hosting gig. This kickstarts a relentless campaign for the job. Mario looks surprised when Deborah uses the Thanksgiving Day parade as an opportunity to start lobbying for a different TV hosting job.
Lopez is best known for his role as A.C. Slater in the Saved by the Bell franchise, but he’s worked more as a TV host in recent years. He worked as a host on entertainment news shows like Extra and Access Hollywood. He’s also hosted reality competition shows like America’s Best Dance Crew and the U.S. version of The X Factor.
1 The Cast Of The View As Themselves
After Deborah announces her candidacy for the Late Show hosting job, Hacks season 3, episode 4 cuts through a montage of Deborah continuing her campaign in other media outlets. This montage also includes clips from other media personalities commenting on Deborah’s campaign for the job. The first such media personalities to discuss Deborah’s bid for the hosting job is the cast of The View.
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin all play themselves discussing whether or not Deborah’s campaign will be successful (and whether she’d be a good host for the Late Show). There are a few different opinions flying around the table, but Deborah’s strongest defender is Goldberg. Goldberg admires Deborah’s tenacity and believes that if she keeps it up, it will eventually win her the coveted gig.
