Sometimes life imitates art, in that order, and Jean Smart’s character on “Hacks” this past season is providing a strange, retroactive parallel to what’s been going on in the real-life world of late-night television of late.
Not long after ABC announced the indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” over comments about the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk, Smart expressed her support for the late-night host.
“What Jimmy said was FREE speech, not hate speech,” Smart wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday. “People seem to only want to protect free speech when it suits THEIR agenda. Though I didn’t agree at ALL with Charlie Kirk; his shooting death sickened me; and should have sickened any decent human being. What is happening to our country?”
It’s a question many artists and entertainers have been asking this week.
Jean Smart in ‘Hacks.’ – Jake Giles Netter/Max
Days before her post, Smart had won another Emmy for her performance as comedian Deborah Vance in “Hacks.” Season 4 of the HBO Max comedy saw Smart’s character finally landing her dream job as the host of a network late-night show. As the first female host in the late-night sphere, she brings the show to No. 1 in the ratings, despite some moral and creative compromises along the way. (HBO Max is owned by celebrity.land’s parent company.)
But there’s one compromise Vance isn’t willing to make. When her studio head boss asks her to fire her head writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) to appease a toxic male movie star, Vance decides to walk away, and does it in on air. That episode released in May, just two months before CBS announced the No. 1 rated “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would be coming to an end, citing financial reasons. And then came Kimmel’s suspension this week.
While “Hacks” is fictitious, its exploration of the financial, cultural and political headwinds facing linear networks, and late-night comedians in particular, is rooted in truth.
In the wake of the Kimmel news, Vance’s seemingly prescient resignation monologue has been recirculating on social media platforms this week. It follows in full below:
There is of course one person who really made it happen, and that’s my head writer, Ava Daniels. And I’ve been asked to fire her by the head of this company. But I won’t do that. I refuse to fire her. And not just because she’s my creative partner, but because it’s a slippery slope. A few days ago, I agreed to cut a joke I made to protect Ethan Summers and the studio’s interests. And now I’m being asked to fire someone I love who did nothing wrong. So what will they ask of me next? Where’s the line? Well, for me, it’s here, right now. Which is why tonight will be my last show.
I’m not naïve. In this industry, you always have to make certain sacrifices, because this is a business and I get that. And there’s good people on the business side who are trying to navigate the difficult intersection of art and commerce. But thanks to Wall Street and big tech disrupting our industry, it’s gone too far. It’s not enough to be number one anymore, or to make a profit, or to even make you laugh. I might be a capitalist pig myself, but first and foremost, I’m a comedian, and I care more about making this show the right way than I do about making shareholders happy.
So, yes, this is goodbye. I loved going to bed with you every night. Sorry I’m finishing too quickly. This was my dream and I’m so happy I got it. But the dream changed and so did I.
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