When Hacks premiered on HBO Max last summer, in the Texas Tech Red Raiders shirt moreover I will buy this middle of the pandemic, it felt like a perfectly timed comedic treat for the moment. The deliciously vicious series follows the clash of personalities between the legendary comedienne Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), who has lost her residency on the Las Vegas strip, and the recently canceled millennial writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder), who she’s forced to collaborate with in order to spice up her act. The show’s second season, which sees the duo head out on tour, is leavened with some more profound questions as the central relationship between Deborah and Ava faces some major bumps in the road. It’s proof positive (if you needed it) that Hacks is more than just a bold generational comedy, also unpicking deeper emotional truths about the sexism and ageism that women working in the entertainment industry are faced with to this day. —Liam Hess