‘Hacks’ Season 3 Is Going Nuclear on Worst Parts of the Comedy World

There are fleeting pop culture references throughout the new season of Hacks that seem tailored specifically to make me scream “Ahh!” in delight. They’re sprinkled across the new episodes like a comedic weather event, to the point that watching the series feels like dancing in a rain shower of jokes written just for me. Someone cue up Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.”

Hacks is releasing two episodes each Thursday, and the first of this week’s installment opens with perhaps the greatest image I’ve ever seen pop up on my television screen: a photo of Jean Smart in-character as Deborah Vance posing with late ’80s-era Oprah Winfrey. I’ve long struggled with the fact that I’m not a person who has “passions” or “hobbies,” per se, unless it’s acceptable to put things like “really love Jean Smart” and “always thought Oprah was neat” in that section of a dating app profile.

“The Roast of Deborah Vance” and “Join the Club,” this week’s genius installments, were love-at-first-Winfrey-sight for me, but also crystallized how much of a level-up this new season has been—and why I’d make the argument that the series deserves to interrupt The Bear’s juggernaut awards run and win Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys this year. No other series approaches this level of emotional heft and ballsy Hollywood ridicule without sacrificing its mission to make viewers laugh. And that’s all while accomplishing any piece of pop culture’s most crucial task: catering to my sensibilities specifically.

Read more at The Daily Beast.