'Hacks' Co-Creator Paul W. Downs Talks Season 4—And a Special Gift From Jean Smart

"Making people laugh is the ultimate high," says Paul W. Downs, the 42-year-old showrunner, cocreator, and star of Hacks. "As a kid, I would ask to sit at the adults’ table at Sunday family dinners, just to entertain them."

Downs began writing his own sketches as a teen in New Jersey; he joined the improv team at Duke University and, after graduation, began performing at the comedy institution Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. That’s where he met his creative partner—and now wife—Lucia Aniello. "We started making digital shorts," he says. "That’s when it felt like this was my calling."

The duo’s first TV job was executive producing Comedy Central’s Broad City (Downs also starred). "That it broke through, culturally, felt like a dream," he says. Fast-forward, and you could say the same for Hacks. Cocreated by Downs, Aniello, and Jen Statsky, the Max Original series bridges the Boomer and Gen Z divide, pairing Jean Smart’s 70-something standup comic, Deborah Vance, with Hannah Einbinder’s young comedy writer, Ava Daniels. It was, surprisingly, a runaway hit.

"We couldn’t predict the result, but we hoped people would see themselves in these women," Downs remembers. "They have two very different points of view, and we write the show to honor both. Neither one is ever 100 percent right or wrong."

The fact that Hacks continues to resonate—Season 3 took home Best Comedy Series at both the Emmys and Golden Globes—means its audience can "hold two opposing ideas at once," says Downs, whose talent manager character, Jimmy LuSaque Jr., first introduces Deborah and Ava. In Season 4, which aired through May, Jimmy becomes a producer on Deborah’s late-night show and launches a management firm with his ex-assistant, Kayla (Megan Stalter). "He’s juggling so many things," says Downs. "We share a passion for work, but we’re not the same person. There’s definitely overlap, but I think—or hope—I’m less tightly wound."

Being involved in every aspect of the series adds "immense pressure," says Downs. "As people who also love to watch the show, we want it to be better every season." The team is tight-knit; Smart, Einbinder, and Statsky cohosted Aniello’s baby shower in 2022. On another occasion, Smart surprised Aniello and Downs with a treasured item for their archive. "Jean’s love language is gift-giving, and she asked Jen if she knew of a piece of art Lucia and I might like," says Downs. Coincidentally, they’d already told Statsky about a pietra dura box that they were "lusting over" on 1stdibs.

Featuring mosaics inlaid with polished precious and semi-precious stones, the box "isn’t signed, but it’s attributed to the artist Richard Blow," says Downs. "The thing I love most about it is the capriccio, or the architectural ruins in the design. I gravitate toward that more than the florals or snakes typically shown in this type of work."

Prominently displayed in the dining room, the piece serves as a reminder of Smart’s thoughtfulness. "Jean did her homework and gave us something we really wanted, which speaks volumes," says Downs, adding that it’s not the only time Smart’s generosity has impressed. "She gave us an antique Italian kaleidoscope for Christmas and said, I’m giving this to you because I think you both have such vision. I mean, what a good line."