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Episode 61: Jen Statsky, "Hacks"
OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East
English - November 05, 2021 14:00 - 44 minutes - 50.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 57 ratingsTV & Film comedy interview business culture health news interviews science funny politics Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Host Geri Cole is joined by Jen Statsky—co-creator and showrunner of the HBO Max series HACKS—to talk about the show's journey from an idea on a road trip to a hit series, why writing about people's flaws can bring out the best in a character, and the challenges of writing a comedy series about writing comedy.
Jen Statsky is a TV writer and comedian who cut her comedy-writing teeth on Twitter. Her posts were popular, and she eventually found herself with enough of a following that, in 2011, the account helped her land her first TV writing job at LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Since then, she has written for a number of hit comedies, including BROAD CITY, THE GOOD PLACE, and PARKS & RECREATION (all while maintaining her Twitter account, of course).
She currently serves as the showrunner of the comedy-drama series HACKS. The series, which Statsky co-created with Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, follows legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) as she works to maintain relevancy through a reluctant partnership with struggling millennial comedy writer Ava.
The show premiered in May 2021, and was recently renewed for a second season. It's available to stream on HBO Max.
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