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This is Jane Pauley. Hax is back. The hit television show is entering its final season. Sunday morning's Tracy Smith caught up with its stars.
So Big picture question. Looking back on these five seasons, what are you most proud of? Oh my gosh. I think I think I'm most proud and I I shouldn't feel. Pride myself necessarily because I just cannot tell you how.
How much I admire our writers, our showrunners, and our writers' room. Because the thing that I worried about from the beginning was that. maintaining that. um relationship with with Ava. You know, which started out, of course, totally butting heads, you know, generational and just lifestyle, everything.
And I thought, you know, towards the end of the season, they kind of start to become more friendly. And I thought, is that going to go away? But they somehow managed to maintain. The head-butting kind of humor, and still have them grow closer and closer and closer and closer and closer with huge ups and huge downs.
So that I think is an astonishing accomplishment. To you, is it a love story? Oh, I think so. Yes, absolutely. I mean, I don't, I can't really think of.
Another movie or T V show that has a relationship quite like that. Because it's really a mixture of what becomes kind of grudging respect and then becomes true friendship and just really they are she's my only friend and I'm her only friend. And on top of that, there's a mother-daughter kind of level to it. because she has this crazy mom. And I have a crazy daughter that I have a dysfunctional relationship with.
So we fill that gap also in each other's lives. And Yeah, I mean it's I think it's very unusual. For you personally, if you could complete this sentence, Hacks has given me. A gift on a silver platter. Mm.
Just the gift that keeps on giving. But truly, and I felt that way from day one. I thought this is just a gift. You know, it's just been a joy. The whole thing has just been a joy.
What do you think you'll miss the most? I will definitely miss the people. And I'll tell you another thing that I'm I'm most proud of, just to get back to that really quickly, is that On a couple of occasions, more than a couple of occasions, people who were just. Like a day player, or even just doing background. On a couple of occasions they said this is the most welcoming set.
I've ever been on. Ever work on? And I'm really proud of that because it should be that way. It should always be that way. There's no reason it shouldn't always be that way.
And another friend of mine who who actually did a a guest spot on the show recently. He said, you know, because he's been working on another show off and on for a long time. And he said, which was a great set. It it it doesn't compare to this. He said, Everywhere I look, people are just You know, the crew, the cast, everybody's just laughing and relaxed and hugging and joking, and everybody's working hard.
He said it's really Incredible. You know. It's not like that everywhere. No, no. Although I've been lucky, I must say, I have never worked With a nightmare actor, or been on just a horrible set where you kind of dreaded coming to work every day, I cannot even imagine.
what that must be like. My late husband was in a series like that. It was before I met him, but he said it was just... It was just no fun going to work every day, and I thought, oh my god, I can't imagine feeling that way, you know.
So knockwood, I haven't really experienced that too badly. You and the show have been through incredible challenges over these past five seasons. What was the biggest challenge for you? I suppose, uh on a personal level when when I lost my husband, which was very unexpected. And we had five days left to shoot in Suzanne Month.
And And then, of course, after that, I wanted to make sure that I was available to my kids as much as possible and still be working. Full time. But of course, I had a break after that first season, but until we started season two, but they were. Everybody was so loving and supportive and Hannah was incredible and I didn't even know her. that well at that point.
Ah, she's an old soul, that girl. And they gave me a choice. They were great. They gave me a choice. You know, I was just in shock.
And they said, look, wait, wait. And we have to finish it. Obviously, I knew that we had to finish. And they said. whatever you want.
We can we can you know do Shoot a day, you can take a couple days off, shoot another day, or we can, you know, wait a couple weeks and then shoot them, or we can just shoot them all right now. And I said, let's just shoot them all right now. Let's just shoot them all right now. And I think because I was still sort of in shock, I was able to do that. One day I I got It was like this I think the second or third day.
Of those five days. And I suddenly remembered that the last scene of the day was a funeral scene. You know. Um Ava's father has has died and Deborah shows up at the funeral. And I just thought, I can't do it, I can't do it.
But we did it, and it actually turned out to be just a fabulous scene and very funny. You know, it was just a brilliantly written scene. And do you think that did something for you? Personally, to go to the past.
Well, I did take an ad of hand. Which Which um Because I I really didn't think I was gonna I thought, no, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't. Um But um I think Yeah, I think because I think it did. I think because the scene, because I had dreaded it. And it worked out so well.
that helped somehow. And because it was So funny, but it was so true. I mean, people, we've all been to funerals where people go, Does anyone want to get up and say anything about, you know, Carl or Dorothy or whatever? And people, especially people who aren't actors, who aren't used to getting up and public speaking, everybody kind of goes, and then there's this horrible silence, and then it sounds like no one has anything nice to say, and the family feels bad. And every one of us have been through that, and they took that.
And had Deborah just say, just turned it into a a joyous funny thing. I mean it was in it was it was brilliant. You mentioned leaning on Hanny, even though you didn't even know her that well. Can you describe your relationship with her, not Deborah and Ava, but Hannah and Jean? She is She's an extraordinary person.
She is incredibly Deep. feels things very deeply. Uh I really felt I could go to her like a like a peer. Um She just you just can tell she's a person you can lean on. I was answer your questions honestly.
Um And always make you laugh, you know. I know we have to be a little vague about the final episode, but if you could say one or two words about it that might sum it up, what would you say? You'll laugh, you'll cry. And you'll really, really laugh, and you'll really, really cry. At first, when I found out the ending, because I did not know the ending, I've never asked.
If I had asked in the last six years, they'd have told me. But I said, no, no, no, I don't care, I'm going to be surprised. And but when I found out, I was a little taken aback. And I was briefly not happy. But they explain to me their thinking.
And I said Okay. Not at all what I expected, but Okay. I trust you guys and I do. Absolutely.
So trust you guys. It'll end I totally get it now and I love it. I think it's perfect.
Well, that's a really good tease that you were taken aback, unhappy, then thought, okay, and now love it. That's a good tease. Yeah. Um This final season is about Debra's legacy. Does it make you think at all about Gene Smart's legacy?
I don't think I really Thought About that. I guess because it's sort of a funny way to think of yourself. You know, you don't think of it as a person who's going to have a legacy, except maybe your children. You know, like the other day, I told my kids, I said, Because I've been cleaning out the garage. It's been very cathartic.
And uh I said, not you guys. Don't throw anything after I croak. Don't throw anything out that has anything to do with my career because who knows, someday somebody might give you a few bucks for it, you know? I said, even if it's a Christmas card from Delta Burke or something like that, I said, you've just saved that thing. Yeah.
I just spoke to Dante the other day, by the way. Which sort of made me laugh.
So I guess I do think of that in practical terms. You know, because I think, do I really want to keep a script from every show I've ever done? But you think, well, I don't know, somebody might want it someday, you know.
Somebody might find it very valuable. Two storage units. Full of stuff And Christmas ornaments. You said you spoke to Delta. I don't know whether this came up or this was in your thinking at all, but you said goodbye to that show with her.
Now you're saying goodbye to this show. Was there any sort of...
Solace in talking to her, or any way to wrap your mind around leaving this show behind?
Well, it was very nice to talk to her. We just FaceTimed because she lives in Florida. And I haven't seen her face to face for a while. We were going to try to get together over the summer with Annie, because I was doing a play in New York, and they were both going to come and see it. Annie came, but Delta wasn't able to come.
And Annie lives nearby me and It was actually a wonderful Mm. We got together with our makeup artist from Designing Women. And he's he's I don't know how old he is now, but he's He's getting up there. He's probably 10 to 15 years older than us, I'm not sure. Um And he and his wife are just terrific people.
And he just wanted to see us, and we hadn't seen him in a long time.
So Annie and I brought a bunch of food over. Had a great, great visit with him. And so I said, let's FaceTime Delta. that was a really nice that was a really nice thing. Very Because I You know, I still miss Dixie.
Oh my gosh, and Meshach and Alice and It's like half the cast is gone. It's That's sad. Although, when I left the show, I didn't feel the way I feel about leaving Hacks. I think partly, or mostly. Uh because I had recently married, I had recently had a baby, so that was really where all my.
My energy was Ah. And also too, when you do uh a multi-camera show like like designing women. Um You're only with the crew like a half a day a week. when you're actually shooting the episode in front of an audience.
So You kind of get to know them, but you don't become a family truly like we did on Hacksworth. You're together 12 to 15 hours every single day. and you travel together and So it was really a very, very different feeling, very different feeling. How are you feeling leaving Hacks? Very mixed.
I mean, there's there's a part of a sense of a relief. Just from the It is a bit of a grind, you know. Um And also Satisfaction, a great feeling of satisfaction that the show. was so popular. But Really, a little bit of grieving, you know.
But we're lucky because with the crew, They just kind of had to rip off a band-aid. But for us, we're going to be Living with the show for another year, you know, with first of all all the publicity that we're doing right now, and also, too, we've got a whole other year of awards shows. Things like that from the Emmys to the next SAG Awards or actor awards.
So for us, it gets to be a more gradual kind of goodbye, you know. You think I'll ever fully say goodbye to Deborah Vance?
Well, that's the thing. I was just saying, is that it's besides the thought of not doing the show again and missing everybody so much, it's like, wow, I'm not going to. Noticed. Not gonna get to. play with Deborah anymore.
You know, that's a weird thought. Yeah. 'Cause it's it's been such a such a Fun ride. I'm Jane Pauley. Thank you for listening.
And for more of our extended interviews, follow and listen to Sunday morning on the free Odyssey app. or wherever you get your podcasts. It is my great honor to welcome you all to Starfleet Academy. There's never been a better time to enroll in Star Trek. It's our job to prepare you for the unimaginable.
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