Hey y’all!
I spend the 4th of July bingeing the new season of Hacks, and let me tell you, that is the best way to spend a holiday meant to celebrate the dumpster fire that is America. And while there are many things I could write about the show, like how it deals with the reality of being a female comedian, or how a comedian should react when old problematic jokes resurface, or the importance of listening to those you care about.
But this is The Queer Factor, so I’m gonna talk about how gay this show is. Not only is Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) original fan base primarily gay men, and she surrounds herself with them, but the other main character, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), is bisexual (as is Einbinder herself).
The thing that struck me throughout the season is the sheer number of queer, queer-adjacent, and ally stars and guest stars that kept popping up throughout the season. So, let’s talk about it!
SERIES REGULARS
Carl Clemons-Hopkins has been on the show since Season 1. They are openly queer, and their character, Marcus, is unapologetic about his queerness. He manages all of Deborah’s business dealings outside of her stand-up career. He brings a lot of much needed gravitas to the show, while also being very funny in his own right.
Mark Indelicato has also been on the show since Season 1 and his role has gotten bigger over time. Mark came to fame in his youth on Ugly Betty, and came back to acting after a big hiatus, starring on this as well as With Love on Amazon Prime. He came out as queer during Ugly Betty. On the show, he plays Damien, Deborah’s assistant, who is forced to do some outrageous things (like running down a tarmac to catch a taxiing plane to bring Deborah a pair of sunglasses). He does it all with skill and hilarity.
Megan Stalter went viral a few years back for her hilarious satire video about corporations during Pride Month, commonly known as “Hi Gay!”. Since then, she’s been in a variety of projects, but this is one of the most high profile ones. In this show, she plays Kayla, a nepo baby assistant at her father’s agency, who latches onto Deborah and Ava’s manager, Jimmy (show co-creater Paul W. Downs). She starts out as being a wacky one-liner kind of character, but grows into her own as the show continues. Stalter is openly bisexual.
GUEST STARS
Lorenza Izzo plays Ava’s girlfriend, Ruby. She’s only in a few episodes, but has a pretty steamy sex scene with Ava, and is a rare voice of reason for her. Lorenza is pansexual and is married to a woman.
Jordan Gavaris is new to Season 3 as one of Deborah’s new writers. He is most well known for playing a lead role on Orphan Black, and recently had a show on Amazon Prime called The Lake.
Pat Regan is a gay stand up comedian I’ve see live a few times, and he’s very funny. I haven’t seen him in much film and TV, so it was nice to see him here as a specifically gay bellhop brought in to talk shit about a dress.
Luke Macfarlane has been around and openly queer for a long time. He was a series regular on Brothers & Sisters, and has been a Hallmark movie staple for a decade. He was recently in Billy Eichner’s film Bros, and is known for playing roles that focus on his attractive and muscular body, and here is no different. He plays an actor who makes an appearance on a late night show that Deborah guest hosts.
Guy Branum was also in Bros, and has been a fixture in the comedy world for a long time, being outspoken about being a queer person in a bigger body. He is also a writer on the show. Here he plays a fan who started making unofficial Deborah Vance merch when he couldn’t find any in his size.
Poppy Liu only appears in one episode this season after being a recurring guest star for two seasons. They are openly queer. They have had some fun major roles recently, including spots on Dead Ringers, The Afterparty, and American Born Chinese.
Luke Cook does not identify as queer, but I have to include him in this list. He played a very queer Satan on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and often cross dresses on social media with different characters he has created for comedic effect. He is the definition of an ally, and at least for me, can be considered honorary. Here, he plays a comedian at Deborah’s roast, and a rival for the late night host spot she wants.
Naomi Ekperigin is also an ally, and plays another of the roasters, as herself. A lot of her fan base is queer, and I’ve seen her stand up in person. Huge fan. Could not let this list not include her.
Mario Cantone plays the host of the roast as himself. Best known for Sex and the City, he has been out, proud, and loud in a million projects for the last 30 years. I hope we’ll see him again next season.
Johnny Sibilly has been an out and proud actor in a variety of queer projects for a long time, including Pose and the short-lived reboot of Queer as Folk. He’s been recurring for all three seasons, mainly as a love/lust interest for Marcus.
Dan Bucatinsky has been in a number of high profile projects, including Scandal and Web Therapy. He has been openly gay as long as I’ve seen him on TV. Here he plays a studio executive at the late night show that Deborah is trying to get.
Tim Bagley was a recurring guest star on Will & Grace the entire run of that show. Since then, he’s been in a variety of projects, usually playing his big ole gay self. He recently was a recurring guest star on Grace & Frankie. Here he plays a Deborah Vance fan with a realistic perspective on her relationship to her gay audience.
Elliot Knight is having a big year, having appeared on this show as an obsessed Deborah fan, and showing up as a recurring guest star on this season of The Boys. He is openly gay.
In addition to all of these, there were a number of non-queer guest stars this season, and I’d be remiss not to point them out:
Rose Abdoo, Helen Hunt, Christopher McDonald, Rachael Taylor, Natasha Leggero, Luenell, Stephen Tobolowsky, Patton Oswalt, Mario Lopez, Tony Goldwyn, Christina Hendricks, Carrot Top, Christopher Lloyd, Dierdre Hall, and Kathryn Newton.
I’m sure there are plenty of actors on the show who I’m not familiar with that also identify as queer in some way, but it’s safe to say that this might be one of the queerest shows on tv that doesn’t focus specifically on gay storylines, and was created by straight people.
Hacks Season 3 is streaming on MAX, and I highly recommend it.