Jen Statsky interview: ‘Hacks’ co-creator

“We’re very aware in writing it that we should know this better than anyone, we should know how these characters speak and act, because it is our lives as well,” says “Hacks” co-creator and writer Jen Statsky about the pressure of being a comedy writer who’s writing a show about comedy writing. We talked to Statsky as part of our “Meet the Experts” Writers Guild Award nominees pale. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“Hacks” follows the professional partnership and unlikely friendship between veteran comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and young writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). Season two of the HBO series sent them out on the road as Deborah sought to refine her new act. Writing for characters in the business is unique, because “it’s nice to know that they can kind of speak in jokes more naturally than other types of people would on screen because that is their language, that is their profession and how they kind of move through the world,” Statsky explains.

This year the WGA nominated “Hacks” for Best Comedy Series and Best Episodic Comedy for the season two finale episode “The One, the Only.” But this isn’t the first time Statsky and her team have been recognized by the guild. Last year they won Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. “Honestly, as someone who grew up wanting to be a comedy writer and TV writer, that was kind of a life highlight for sure,” Statsky remembers. “Writers are the most critical for good reason. We know how hard it is … and we know when things are false and don’t necessarily work. And so yeah, it was incredibly meaningful to get those awards.”