In the fifth and final season of Hacks, Deborah (Jean Smart) tries to support her daughter DJ (Kaitlin Olson) and drum up some free publicity for the show she can’t technically promote at the same time by agreeing to partner with her as contestants on The Amazing Race, a high-stress setup which doesn’t really bring out the best in either mother or daughter.
Awards Buzz spoke with Olson about what she loves most about this very memorable character who has earned her two Emmy nominations:
“I love everything about her. I love that she throws a fit like a toddler. I love how passionate she is about her businesses, all of them, even when you don’t see them, just the fact that she had – was it a reggae album – something, it’s something insane. Anytime I’m yelling and screaming at Jean is fun, the d’jewelry, the d’tachables, all the d’apostrophes. Yeah, I think just the fact that I got to play a character who was so big and so ridiculous but also truly a broken human who just wanted to be loved and appreciated and acknowledged by her mom, it’s hard to be able to blend all those things and if the writing doesn’t lend itself to that, I’m not really able to do it, so I’m so grateful to them for writing such a wonderful character. I think she’s just spectacular.”
Watch the video above to hear what it was like filming as if she really was on The Amazing Race and whether the experience made her want to actually be on a reality show. She also shared what it’s been like making It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia for such a long time and exploring new territory with something very tonally different, High Potential.
Hacks is streaming on HBO Max.
