Emmy spotlight: Carl Clemons-Hopkins is heartbreakingly good on ‘Hacks’
HBO Max’s acclaimed comedy series “Hacks” returned with aplomb with an outstanding third season. This third outing was delayed due to the writers and actors strikes last year. Thankfully, the wait was worth it as season three takes this show to a whole new level.
The series follows Smart as Deborah, a legendary standup comedian moving through the next phase of her career while she navigates a complex relationship with her protege, young comedy writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder). While the relationship between these two women is the heart of the series, they aren’t the only stars. The supporting cast is full of standout performances and Carl Clemons-Hopkins, in particular, shines in his role as Marcus – the under-appreciated COO of Deborah’s management company.
A slew of critics have name-checked Clemons-Hopkins as a standout in this season.
Melanie McFarland (Salon) observed: “That said, a late-season development spotlights Clemons-Hopkins’ confidence and the calm in their performance, reminding us how central they are to the Vance team’s winning formula.”
Brian Tallerico (Roger Ebert) stated: “The regular supporting players largely remain the same, including solid turns from show-grounding Carl Clemons-Hopkins and goofy laugh-generating Megan Stalter.”
Kimberly Ricci (Uproxx) declared: “Emmy nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins (as Marcus) quietly steals every scene he’s in. While the show’s runtime is just right, seeing more Marcus is the only reason I’d ever ask for longer episodes.”
As a result, we are predicting that Clemons-Hopkins will be nominated for Best Comedy Supporting Actor alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”), Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”), Oliver Platt (“The Bear”), Paul Rudd (“Only Murders in the Building”), Lionel Boyce (“The Bear”), and Matty Matheson (“The Bear”).
Clemons-Hopkins seems like a safe bet here for multiple reasons. Firstly, we already know that Emmy voters like him in this category and in this role. He was nominated in this category for season one of “Hacks” in 2021. He may have missed out on a bid for season two in 2022 but lots of critics felt that that sophomore season took a dip in form. Many critics are touting season three as not just a return to form but the best season of the show so far. That will entice voters to single out Clemons-Hopkins once more.
We are also expecting Emmy voters to fall in love with season three of “Hacks” in general. Season one earned 15 nominations in total while season two received 17 citations. They were both nominated for Best Comedy Series. If voters love season three just as much, Clemons-Hopkins could easily be taken along for the ride. This has happened to plenty of actors in this category before, including Phil Dunster (“Ted Lasso”), Toheeb Jimoh (“Ted Lasso”), Jeremy Swift (“Ted Lasso”), Stephen Root (“Barry”), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”).
And don’t worry about the fact that Clemons-Hopkins will potentially be competing against his own co-star (Paul W. Downs) for a nomination in this category. Voters have shown time and time again that they are more than open to nominating multiple stars from the same show in the same category. Recent examples include Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler (“Barry”); Dunster and Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”); Goldstein, Jimoh, and Nick Mohammed (“Ted Lasso”); Mohammed, Swift, and Brendan Hunt (“Ted Lasso”); Sterling K. Brown and Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”); and Kenan Thompson and Alec Baldwin (“Saturday Night Live”).
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