‘Hacks’ Star Jean Smart Suffers Injury

Hacks star Jean Smart is recovering after suffering a painful injury.

The Golden Globe winning actress, 73, was forced to take a hiatus from her one-woman Broadway play Call Me Izzy last week after she suffered an injury to her knee.

“Jean Smart has injured her knee, and we look forward to having her back on stage as soon as she recovers,” the production shared in a message posted to Instagram Tuesday. Smart reposted the statement to her Instagram, adding, “Thank you so much for all of the well wishes. Looking forward to a speedy recovery!”

Marking her return to Broadway following a 25-year hiatus, Call Me Izzy is described as “a powerful new Broadway play about a writer whose words are her greatest gift, her deepest secret, and her only way out. It’s a moving portrait of one woman’s refusal to be silenced.” The play is written by Jamie Wax and directed by Sarna Lapine, with Smart portraying the titular role in the one-woman show.

Call Me Izzy is set to run at Studio 54 through Sunday, Aug. 17. According to the play’s website, Johanna Day took over Smart’s role for the play’s shows from this past Tuesday through Friday.

As Smart was forced to take a break from the show, fans flooded the star with well wishes. Commenting on the production’s post, one person wrote, “I hope Jean gets well soon and that her treatment goes well. I hope she is in good health. There are still hundreds of thousands of fans who love her sending their support to Jean.” Another person commented, “Sending every ounce of love and good juju for a full recovery.”

Outside of her role in Call Me Izzy, which marked her return to Broadway for the first time since 2000’s The Man Who Came to Dinner, Smart is well-known for her starring role as Deborah Vance in HBO Max’s Hacks. The show centers around the relationship between Smart’s character, a legendary Las Vegas comic, and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels, an up-and-coming writer who works for her. Created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the show premiered in 2021 and was renewed for a fifth season back in May.

Smart’s other credits include Designing Women, Frasier, Fargo, and 24, among numerous others.