Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
How are you feeling this morning?
Paul W. Downs: Overwhelmed.
Lucia Aniello: Yeah. Overwhelmed and lucky.
Jen Statsky: Very, very grateful for this experience.
Aniello: And also grateful for an opportunity to FaceTime people that we love.
Who have you had a chance to call or connect with so far?
Downs: We called a lot of people. I told Meg [Stalter] about her nomination because she hadn’t realized. We’ve spoken to Cherry Jones and Leslie Bibb and Hannah [Einbinder], Kaitlyn Olson and Lauren Weedman and so many people. Christopher McDonald. Some people haven’t picked up, some people are on flights, but we’re going through the list and talking to everybody we can — our editors, composer, cinematographer.
Aniello: Our executives, who we love and made this show possible.
Downs: Jen, because we’re not together!
What was it like to hear that “Hacks” is the most-nominated season of a comedy in Emmys history?
Aniello: Gotta cancel therapy this week, I guess! I’m just kidding, I need to go.
Downs: It’s so overwhelming and we feel so grateful that the show has connected with people the way that it has. But because this is our final season and it’s our last time in this Emmys conversation, the thing that’s most exciting about all those nominations is the people that have made it possible. Many of them are being recognized for the very first time, and it’s so gratifying to us that there are so many talented people that are being acknowledged for the work that they have done that’s made the show what it is. We would not have been able to do this show for five seasons, or tell the final chapter the way we did, if we didn’t have the people that poured themselves into it and put so much love into the show. That record, to us, also represents all these amazing people that have been so hard to say goodbye to. This makes it a little bit easier. It’s a very nice way to say goodbye.
Aniello: It is an acknowledgement of that community that made the show, is the truth. That’s what it means to us.
It’s remarkable that so many of your supporting contenders landed nominations, like Laurie Metcalf, who appeared in one scene but made such an impression.
Statsky: It’s such a gift to get to write and direct and create for these incredible actors. Acting is a career that can be so hard, so to see people recognized when they do amazing work is so special because it was just such an honor to write for them. It was an honor to write them parts. That would have been enough, but this is such a cherry on top. It feels so lovely.
Aniello: It’s a true Cherry Jones on top!
Season 5 of “Hacks” highlights Los Angeles in a major way. What does it mean to you to film locally? How are you taking that with you as you move on to other projects?
Downs: It’s sad to say that we feel lucky. We were able to shoot almost the entire series in Los Angeles with largely the same Los Angeles crew. We do obviously shoot exteriors in Las Vegas, but for the most part, we were able to shoot in our city — the place where film and television gets made. As we move forward, we want to be dedicated to continuing to do that, but it’s also not lost on us how difficult that can be for people. We feel really lucky that we were allowed to do it. We were supported in our want to do it. It’s a city we love very much and that we love telling stories about.
Have you seen Meg Stalter — now a first-time Emmy nominee — in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway yet?
Statsky: I did. I went to opening night Monday and she’s unbelievable. It is a role that is so perfect for Meg and she makes it so much her own. It was just phenomenal. Jean [Smart] and I went and it was so wonderful to get to support her.
Downs: I’m going Aug. 4!
Paul, how did Meg react to her nomination? Did you have your usual Jimmy-Kayla banter?
Downs: It was very Jimmy and Kayla. I FaceTimed her; she didn’t pick up. When she FaceTimed me back she said, “Are you pranking me? Babe, I’m shaking right now!” It was so funny because she said, “No wonder my phone’s been blowing up!” She was watching some reality show! I was like, “Kayla, you’ve been nominated for an Emmy, pick up the phone!” She seemed overwhelmed. Really touched and shocked. She was not expecting it. She didn’t know that it was happening today — she’s on Broadway!
You’ve said that you’ve always had the ending of “Hacks” mapped out. But with COVID, the strikes and other instability in the entertainment industry, you never actually know if you’ll get to finish your show until it’s over. As you reflect on the final season, how does it feel to know you were able to accomplish what you set out to do?
Downs: Thank you for saying that!
Aniello: It genuinely feels like a miracle.
Downs: So scary!
Aniello: There’s so many crazy things that we’ve talked about, and also a lot of things we haven’t really talked about — which I’m not going to right now necessarily. But it’s been so touch-and-go on that show in a million different ways, a million different times. So to actually get to finish the way that we originally envisioned and pitched in 2019 — we’re sitting here seven years later, getting to be like, “Oh yeah, that pitch document, we went around town, we actually got to go and do it the way we wanted!”
Downs: It’s not lost on us how special it is.
Aniello: To have these nominations today, the most we’ve ever had, it’s not about us. It’s about the show and the people who make it who’ve helped us make our dreams come true. That’s what today has been about for us. It’s about our community that came together to make this comedy. We are writers by trade, yet I don’t think we could ever quite put into words how special and meaningful it has been for us.
Do you have any update on the show you’ve all been working on after “Hacks”?
Statsky: We can’t say too much, but the three of us are working on a show that we are writing. We are very excited to make it and continue our partnership with HBO and all the wonderful people who work there.
Downs: They’ll shut the Zoom right down, you know what I mean, if we’re too [revealing].
Statsky: And Warner Bros., who have been amazing partners to us.
Downs: We’re still working together!
Statsky: We’re not getting divorced, marital or professional!
Aniello: Much like “Hacks,” the show has made our work — and each other — better because of it.
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