Fan-Favorite HBO Max Series Halted Due to Writers Strike

Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Hannah Einbinder, has halted filming for Season 3 due to the writers’ strike. Sources told Deadline that production of the HBO Max/Universal TV comedy series would be put on hold until the union strike is resolved. Hacks centers around the writing process and the interaction between an aging comedian Deborah Vance (Smart), and an up-and-coming writer Ava Daniels (Einbinder). The showrunners of Hacks are Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. The Writers Guild of America prohibits members from providing writing services during strikes, including script revisions during filming.

In response to the Deadline story, Statsky retweeted a note explaining the decision to pause production. She, Downs, and Aniello won Emmys for writing Hacks’ pilot episode. “We are devastated to not be with our incredible crew and cast right now, but there was no other option here,” Statsky said. “Writing happens at every stage of the process – production and post included. It’s what makes shows and movies good. It’s what makes them possible.”

Hacks’ Season 3 production, which began shortly after Thanksgiving and resumed after the holiday break in January, was previously paused in February after Smart underwent a successful heart procedure. Production continued in mid-March. Smart has won two Emmys for her work on Hacks, which has amassed 32 Emmy nominations and six wins in its first two seasons.

Meanwhile, David Zaslav, the CEO of HBO‘s parent company Warner Bros Discovery, recently addressed the WGA strike on CNBC’s Squawk Box. Zaslav discussed his view on what will resolve the impasse during the appearance. “A love for the business and a love for working. We all came into this business because we love storytelling…That’s what’s going to bring us together,” he said, per Deadline.

In response to co-hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin’s and Joe Keenan’s suggestion that studios will be pleased with the guild strike because they can cut costs, Zaslav quickly replied, “We’re not glad.” In a statement, the executive said he is eager for a resolution to the strike, which threatens to hinder Hollywood’s progress just as it was just beginning to recover from the issues of COVID-19. 

“In order to create great storytelling, we need great writers,” Zaslav said. “We need the whole industry to work together. Everybody deserves to be paid fairly.” In his view, a proper settlement would be achieved “in a way that makes the writers feel they are valued, which they are, and compensated fairly. And then off we go.”