Are we supposed to like the Ava character?
I've never been a huge fan of her, my image of Jean Smart had been based on her stint on Designing Women (Yes. I'm THAT old...) so I sort of rolled my eyes when she first showed up. Yeah, I didn't have much respect for her as an actor. But she floored me in this series. I think she probably had some of the sharpest, wittiest lines in the series, (And Watchmen isn't exactly billed as "comedy"..) and she certainly gave Jeremy Irons a run for his money, in terms of absurd, comedic takes.
Her Instagram: @realjeansmart
Seems like she is posting herself and it is as great as you’d imagine
Just finished season 2 and I do not see enough praise for her performance as Floyd Gerhardt. Really incredible, layered work IMO.
Look, I know she was a great actress in general but boy her comedy timing is impeccable. Currently watching ‘Mare of Eastown’ on HBO and she’s by far my favorite part of the show. She steals every scene she’s in. I’ve seen her in other shows but never in that kind of role. Anyway that is all
Had to be said.
Salon.com
Watching and enjoying it is enough, but Smart and Einbinder make us want to sit with these two, Smart especially, as Deborah and Ava enrich each other's existence.
Los Angeles Times
[`Einbinder] has only a few small acting credits... But she's confident and at ease and does a remarkable job of embodying a seemingly awful person who doesn't think she's awful and who, not all that deep down, isn't that awful at all.
TIME Magazine
Throughout the six episodes I screened, the core of the show is Smart's performance, which brings the perfect balance of steeliness and vulnerability.
NPR
Hacks creates a world of characters and dialogue and situations you want to spend as much time with as possible.
Chicago Sun-Times
This is a big, brilliant, wholly original performance, with Smart constantly shifting emotional gears and deftly stealing every scene she's in while somehow also managing to make room for the other actors in the room to have their moments.
indieWire
"Hacks" always knows who's in the right, especially when it's both of them. Through six episodes, there's a comforting ease to the two lead's repartee that makes for similarly easy viewing.
New York Magazine/Vulture
Every time Smart is onscreen, she makes you curious to hear what's going to come out of her mouth but even more curious to hear how she's going to say it.
Hollywood Reporter
Smart has enjoyed a welcome career revival in the past few years... but her starring role here allows her to finally showcase her wild versatility.
Rolling Stone
Would it help if the jokes the two work on were stronger? Sure, but Hacks also talks a lot about how hard good joke-writing is. It gets everything else right, so it deserves the extra time to figure that last part out.
San Francisco Chronicle
A barbed comedy that also benefits from a potent core of vulnerability. It remains deeply human even at its most wonderfully absurd.
Variety
In Deborah, Smart has a lead role worthy of her prodigious intellect and ferocious delivery.
Entertainment Weekly
The show excels in these small moments of discovery. And Smart, the reigning Meryl Streep of tough broad types, excels at absolutely everything.
"sorry I'm not maimed enough for you"
