Hannah Einbinder on That Timely ‘Hacks’ Storyline and Stephen Colbert

Speaking to an audience of her fellow SAG-AFTRA actors, Hannah Einbinder admitted it was “spooky” to see how Stephen Colbert’s cancellation mirrored a storyline from her hit series “Hacks.” Einbinder made her national television debut with a stand-up set in March 2020 on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and has returned as a guest over the years.

Einbinder, who recently won an Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, discussed how the fourth season was a love letter to late-night television, with Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance finally launching her own show. But the joy is short-lived, as Deborah and her head writer Ava (Einbinder) soon find themselves compromising their integrity in various ways due to the demands of the network. Things come to a head in the May 22 episode “A Slippery Slope,” when Deborah is ordered to fire Ava. Instead of complying, Deborah shocks everyone by telling the audience the truth and loses her show.

Two months later, it was announced that CBS would not renew “The Late Show,” with widespread speculation that the choice was due to the host’s outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump. Two months later, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show was abruptly suspended after he discussed the shooting of Charlie Kirk in his monologue. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had threatened to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates and soon channel groups Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would not air the show. Kimmel returned to the air days later, partly due to a huge public outcry.

The “Hacks” scenes were filmed at least six months before Colbert’s announcement, and Einbinder says it was strange to watch it unfold. “I think it was like, holy shit, this is really crazy and also creepy that it was specifically late at night and specifically that kind of censorship,” she noted. “It’s so bizarre.”
However, she added that in some ways it was not unexpected. “Seeing how things have been going for a while now, what happened to Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t a shock at all to me because of all the censorship we’ve seen. Academics, journalists, students have been fired or expelled or in some cases locked up for speaking out. So it wasn’t a surprise to me in any way, unfortunately, to see that happen.”

Einbinder praised the show’s creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky for the way the story was tackled and incorporated organically into the show. “I’m really proud of Paul, Lucia and Jen for tackling this issue and speaking about it and doing it in a way that is beautiful and also earned within the story,” she revealed. “It’s not like you’re shoving something down someone’s throat. It’s really justified and rooted in reality, as we know.”

Einbinder also hinted that in the upcoming season they will “face certain issues of the day in the same way, and that just makes me very proud.”

Einbinder also discussed how “Hacks” was her first acting job after starting her career as a stand-up. She reiterated her love for the medium, but admitted that there were difficult times. “I felt pain, I did it all,” she said. “I’ve been booed in a damn saloon in rural Washington during a damn pool tournament. I’ve been in a damn Holiday Inn Express in Laramie, Wyo., on Valentine’s Day, looking at the damn cottage cheese ceiling and thinking, ‘I have to go back to my job as a barista. This is a mistake.'”

But when told that stand-up comedy takes courage, she responded, “I don’t know if it’s courageous. I think it’s a desperate act for desperate people, but I love it. I love the art form. It’s so wonderful and so pure and there. There’s nothing like being in a room with people and enjoying sharing that.”

Watch Einbinder’s conversation with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation below.