Hacks is back for season three, and as usual, the hit Max comedy series has a wonderful roster of guest stars – which includes some of Deborah Vance’s comedian colleagues playing themselves. Like Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm ahead of it, Hacks utilizes its showbiz setting to enable cameoing celebrities to make enjoyable of themselves. Earlier seasons have featured self-parodying guest appearances by Margaret Cho and Wayne Newton. The series has also brought in A-listers to play fictional characters, like Laurie Metcalf playing Deborah’s tour manager or Ming-Na Wen playing Jimmy’s rival talent agent.

Season three brings much more guest stars into the Hacks universe than ever ahead of. The two-episode premiere alone sees George Wallace and Carrot Top rated playing themselves as Deborah’s peers, and Helen Hunt as Ava’s new Television boss. There’s even been a hint at a Tom Cruise cameo with the revelation that Deborah’s name has joined his Christmas coconut cake list (but it is particularly unlikely that Cruise himself will seem on the show). Hacks season three has a ton of wonderful guest stars, either playing a single-off bit components or recurring roles.

14 Christopher McDonald As Marty Ghilain

Hacks season three, episode 1, “Just for Laughs,” opens with what appears to be Deborah Vance walking by means of a Vegas casino and getting ushered onto a stage in the middle of the casino floor, which appears to be a step backward for her profession. But, as it turns out, it is not Deborah – it is a drag queen dressed as Deborah, and they’re joined on stage by a bunch of other Deborah Vance impersonators. And that is when Christopher McDonald reprises his function as Marty Ghilain, the CEO of the Palmetto Casino.

McDonald is very best identified for playing villainous golfer Shooter McGavin in Pleased Gilmore. He has appeared in a handful of prior episodes, and in the season three premiere, he unveils a Deborah Vance-themed slot machine at his casino. The tease that Deborah’s profession had taken a nosedive is upended by the revelation of slot-machine-level fame.

13 Rachel Lindsay As Herself

Rachel Lindsay has a short cameo look as herself in the Hacks season three premiere. Lindsay 1st rose to prominence as a contestant on The Bachelor season 21, and later became the central concentrate of the 13th season of the show’s spin-off, The Bachelorette, which produced her the 1st Black lead in The Bachelor franchise. From 2020 to 2023, Lindsay was a correspondent for Further, and she co-hosts the podcast Greater Finding out with Van Lathan on The Ringer platform.

Bringing in true-life media personalities generally tends to make the planet of a showbiz-primarily based series really feel much more believable and genuine, due to the fact it is recognizable as true-planet media. Lindsay’s presence in the Hacks planet assists it really feel much less like make-think. Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 utilized a equivalent trick by bringing in Willie Geist to profile Larry David and comment on his trial.

12 George Wallace As Himself

Legendary comedian George Wallace tends to make a short look as himself in Hacks’ season three premiere. Wallace is shown to be an old pal of Deborah’s who provides her a spot at his self-named comedy club. Wallace himself is a former Vegas headliner, considerably like Deborah, so they almost certainly met on that scene.

This standup set serves an critical function in Deborah’s character improvement. It shows that, immediately after the good results of her unique, she’s grow to be so popular and beloved that it is not as considerably enjoyable to do comedy any longer. The audience will laugh at her jokes just due to the fact they adore her. They will not even let her get to the punchlines – they just laugh at what ever she says – so the laughs really feel unearned. This lack of challenge becomes the crucial driving force for Deborah’s character in the season three premiere.

11 Helen Hunt As Winnie Landell

Though Ava and Jimmy are mingling at a celebration complete of market suits at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Jimmy spots Winnie Landell across the area. Winnie is the head of the network that airs Ava’s hugely acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning comedy series, On the Contrary. She’s played by Helen Hunt, the beloved star of Twister, What Females Want, and As Excellent As It Gets.

Hunt immediately proves herself to be a hilarious addition to the Hacks season three cast. She bluntly tells Jimmy that she when had sex with his dad, though he cannot try to remember if it was when he was nevertheless with Jimmy’s mom (which freaks Jimmy out, due to the fact he’s not certain if his dad had an affair or not). Hunt is certainly getting set up for a bigger function later in the season.

Hunt reprised her function as Winnie in episode four, “Join the Club.” Jimmy and Kayla join her on the pickleball court in an try to pitch Deborah for the Late Show hosting gig. They’re shocked to discover that Winnie is fiercely competitive, but against all odds, they finish up producing a great impression.

ten Carrot Top rated As Himself

In Hacks season three, episode two, “Better Late,” Scott Thompson – greater identified by his stage name Carrot Top rated – has a hilarious cameo look as himself. In the Hacks universe, Carrot Top rated is Deborah’s neighbor. When Deborah is provided a guest spot on a late-evening show, she realizes she has no anecdotes to inform, so she decides to fabricate a single by pulling a prank on her neighbor. She sends a couple of contractors to Carrot Top’s residence to threaten to get rid of a bush from his front lawn.

A lot to Carrot Top’s dismay, a digger comes bursting onto his house, prepared to rip up his shrubbery, and he freaks out. Then, he sees that the digger is getting driven by Deborah, who’s laughing hysterically. The very best component of this storyline is that Deborah ends up guest-hosting the late-evening show, so she does not even need to have the anecdote.

9 Mario Cantone As Himself

Deborah gets roasted by an all-star panel of comedians in Hacks season three, episode three, “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” The roastmaster of the evening is Mario Cantone, appearing as himself. Deborah and Ava invest the early scenes of the episode attempting to come up with jokes producing enjoyable of Cantone for Deborah to use in the roast.

Cantone is renowned for his quickly-paced, higher-power style of comedy, as nicely as his impressions, ranging from nicely-identified celebrities to his personal family members members. Cantone is very best identified for his Television roles as Anthony Marentino in Sex and the City (and its sequel series, And Just Like That…) and Terri in Males in Trees. In “The Roast of Deborah Vance,” Cantone is just a single of quite a few popular faces that arrive to poke enjoyable at Deborah on stage.

eight Patton Oswalt As Himself

Patton Oswalt also plays himself as a single of the roasters in Hacks season three, episode three, “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” In his roast, which is only shown briefly in a montage of all the roasters taking their shots at Deborah, Oswalt focuses on producing enjoyable of Deborah’s massive gay following. Oswalt is a single of the world’s most popular standup comics, possessing released such acclaimed specials as Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time, Speaking for Clapping, Annihilation, and We All Scream.

Oswalt is identified for his recurring Television roles as Spence Olchin in The King of Queens, as Principal Ralph Durbin in A.P. Bio, and as the narrator of The Goldbergs in the guise of grown-up Adam Goldberg. He voiced Remy in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille. Oswalt also wrote the books Zombie Spaceship Wasteland and Silver Screen Fiend.

7 Natasha Leggero As Herself

Natasha Leggero is yet another a single of the roasters to seem at Deborah’s roast in Hacks season three, episode three. Leggero has appeared in a couple of Comedy Central Roasts, so it tends to make sense to bring her in as a single of the roasters at Deborah’s roast. Leggero 1st rose to prominence as the host of the MTV reality series The 70s Property and a standard roundtable panelist on Chelsea Handler’s late-evening speak show Chelsea Lately.

Recognized for her observational comedic style, Leggero co-developed and starred in the sitcom A further Period with Riki Lindhome. She’s also played a couple of voice roles, like Callie Maggotbone in Ugly Americans, Ethel in Brickleberry, and Shannon in Hoops. At Deborah’s roast in Hacks, as usual, Leggero does not pull her punches and goes straight for the jugular in producing enjoyable of the roastee.

six Andy Kindler As Himself

Andy Kindler also plays himself as a single of Deborah’s roasters in “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” Kindler 1st rose to prominence as a standard guest on Late Show with David Letterman, and with his recurring function as Andy, Ray Barone’s pal and fellow sports writer, in the hit sitcom Everyone Loves Raymond. He also voices Mort the mortician in Bob’s Burgers and played himself alongside Marc Maron in the IFC comedy series Maron.

Kindler’s roast of Deborah, noticed briefly in the course of the montage, exhibits his usual dry, deadpan delivery style. He requires some incisive but lighthearted jabs at Deborah. Kindler has released the standup albums I Want I Was Bitter in 2010 (though it was recorded in 2003) and Therefore the Humor in 2020. In 2022, he became the 1st comedian to do a reside set by means of hologram.

five Steph Tolev As Herself

Steph Tolev is yet another comedian who plays herself as a single of the roasters in “The Roast of Deborah Vance.” A snippet of her roast can be noticed in the course of the montage. Tolev is much more of an up-and-coming talent than her much more seasoned co-stars like Leggero and Oswalt, but she’s nevertheless an achieved comedian in her personal appropriate.

Tolev 1st rose to fame as a member of the sketch comedy duo Ladystache alongside fellow comic Allison Hogg. Ladystache won the award for Most Revolutionary Comedy Troupe in 2010 and the Just for Laughs Award at Montreal Sketchfest in 2014. As a solo performer, Tolev won the award for Greatest Female Stand Up at the 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards. Her comedy album I’m Not Nicely, released in 2019, was nominated for the 2020 Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year.

four Naomi Ekperigin As Herself

Naomi Ekperigin also plays herself as a single of the roasters at Deborah’s roast in Hacks season three, episode four. She roasts Deborah in the course of the roast montage. Ekperigin previously worked with Hacks co-creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky when she was a writer on Broad City. Along with the rest of the Broad City writing employees, Ekperigin was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Tv: Comedy Series.

Ekperigin plays Carol, the downtrodden HR rep of a video game studio, in Mythic Quest, and she was a standard guest on the podcast two Dope Queens. She also worked as a writer on the sitcoms Terrific News, Tricky Folks, and Entirely Biased with W. Kamau Bell, on which she also appeared. Like Tolev, Ekperigin is a increasing star who holds her personal opposite seasoned pros like Kindler and Cantone.

three Stephen Tobolowsky As Henry Winks

Stephen Tobolowsky guest-stars in Hacks season three, episode four, “Join the Club,” as an old comedian pal of Deborah’s named Henry Winks. Back in the day, the standup scene was a true boys’ club and Deborah struggled to be accepted by her male colleagues. In “Join the Club,” Henry ultimately invites Deborah into the boys’ club (which is much more of a colonoscopy club now). Having said that, she finds that she cannot love their corporation, due to the fact they’re all curmudgeonly, politically incorrect, and out of touch.

Tobolowsky is an iconic character actor identified for such roles as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and Sammy Jankis in Memento. Hacks is not his 1st HBO function he previously played Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood and “Action” Jack Barker in Silicon Valley. He shares wonderful chemistry with Wise in this episode as their characters engage in snappy comedic interplay.

two Mario Lopez As Himself

In episode four, Deborah flies out to New York City to co-host the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her co-host is none other than Mario Lopez, cameoing as himself. Though she’s hosting the parade, Deborah requires the chance to announce that she desires the Late Show hosting gig. This kickstarts a relentless campaign for the job. Mario appears shocked when Deborah utilizes the Thanksgiving Day parade as an chance to commence lobbying for a diverse Television hosting job.

Lopez is very best identified for his function as A.C. Slater in the Saved by the Bell franchise, but he’s worked much more as a Television host in current years. He worked as a host on entertainment news shows like Further and Access Hollywood. He’s also hosted reality competitors shows like America’s Greatest Dance Crew and the U.S. version of The X Element.

1 The Cast Of The View As Themselves

Just after Deborah announces her candidacy for the Late Show hosting job, Hacks season three, episode four cuts by means of a montage of Deborah continuing her campaign in other media outlets. This montage also contains clips from other media personalities commenting on Deborah’s campaign for the job. The 1st such media personalities to talk about Deborah’s bid for the hosting job is the cast of The View.

Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin all play themselves discussing no matter if or not Deborah’s campaign will be productive (and no matter if she’d be a great host for the Late Show). There are a couple of diverse opinions flying about the table, but Deborah’s strongest defender is Goldberg. Goldberg admires Deborah’s tenacity and believes that if she keeps it up, it will ultimately win her the coveted gig.