The biggest shock last night was that this HBO show about a veteran stand-up comedian starring Jean Smart won Best Comedy over The Bear. Was that a win for a really funny comedy?

At the last Emmy Awards in January, which was postponed from 2023, the show The Bear, hosted by Jeremy Allen White, received six awards in the Comedy category; a result that was very controversial by television viewers who argued that an angst-filled show about trauma in a restaurant kitchen was definitely more of a drama than a comedy.

Cut to the official report from last night Emmy Awards 2024and the father-son presenting duo Eugene and Dan Levy couldn’t resist making a little dig at this topic, which is still obviously so controversial eight months later, in their opening monologue: “I know some of you might be expecting us to make a joke about whether ‘The Bear’ is really a comedy… but in the true spirit of ‘The Bear,’ we’re not going to make any jokes.”

Although The Bear again did very well in the comedy categories, four awards (Outstanding Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Directing), the series lost the top prize – Best Comedy – and that was the biggest surprise of the night. Instead, HBO’s “Hacks” unexpectedly secured the coveted award for Best Comedy Series without even a single glimpse of the chefs’ white work clothes.

At X, there was joy among some users, partly because of the fact that the series was beaten. Hacks is a genuinely funny comedy that undoubtedly fits its Emmy category and leaves some viewers feeling like everything has been put right in the television world. “I think three hours of collective live-tweeting that The Bear is not a comedy metaphysically changed the name on the envelope for Outstanding Comedy to Hacks,” one person commented on X, while another simply added: “At the Emmys they said The Bear wasn’t a comedy.”

Aside from the controversy surrounding The Bear, there was plenty of sympathy for Hacks’ win. “Hacks has been brilliant (and really hilarious) on a whole new level this season. I’m thrilled it won tonight.” another Emmy viewerr wrote on X. “Hacks wins, there is justice for comedy”, another commented.

That the underdog was seen as the winner — and also triumphed over other popular comedies like Drop It, Larry!, Abbot Elementary and Only Murders In The Building — was in keeping with the show’s premise. Created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, the series is about bringing together an unlikely, down-on-its-luck duo who bridge — or at least try to bridge — the generation gap in Hollywood.

Jean Smart plays Deborah Vance, an older stand-up comedian (with a strong touch of Joan Rivers) who finds her career on the back burner due to the age-discriminatory nature of her industry. Her agent sets her up with Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder, a young, ambitious writer who is fired from her regular TV job for tweeting something obscene, and is sent to Las Vegas to help Deborah revive her career and make it relevant again to a modern audience.

These are two women who have been marginalized in their industries, and they’re angry about it – that’s what makes the comedy so great. Neither of them is likable. Deborah is undoubtedly an abusive boss, both verbally and physically. In just one of their violent altercations, she throws giant crystals at Ava’s head. Ava, on the other hand, is overly demanding, whining about how hard her life is, but at the same time treating others around her terribly, trampling over anyone if she thinks it will get her ahead.

That these characters seem horrible at first but are actually complex people, struggling, albeit in the wrong ways, through the twists and turns that life throws at them, is another key factor in Hacks’ success. Over the course of three seasons, we watch the two women end up in a twisted, codependent relationship that resembles a mother-daughter relationship, sometimes maternal and caring, sometimes – mostly – bitchy and snappy. In the season three finale, without giving too much away, the abused Ava finally snaps and stabs Deborah; she’s learned from the best.

Putting aside the show’s Hollywood setting, another thing the show does very well is show the generational divide in a way that seems believable to anyone who fits into the character’s demographic. Deborah, the baby boomer, is a vulgar bully who doesn’t understand why kids get so annoyed by her old comedy routines. She is called out for this in season three when a video of her telling racist and ableist jokes goes viral and students at Berkeley “cancel” her honorary doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jean Smart is a tour de force in the role, with lightning-quick comedic timing that makes her a diva icon off screen as well. In her acceptance speech last night for the award for Best Actress in a Comedy—which she won for the third time—she poked fun at HBO and the platform’s name changes, quipping, “…everyone at HBO. At… Max—sorry. Just what we needed, another network.” And it’s vanishingly rare for such a prestigious show to be hosted by a woman in her 70s. “About 20% of our population is over 60,” Hacks’ co-creator Paul W. Downs pointed out scathingly. said in his Emmy speech“and on television there are only three percent of these characters.”

Alongside her, Einbinder’s Ava, who sits on the cusp between millennials and Gen Z, is equally busy teaching Deborah modern manners and frustrated with her failure to fit in with the younger Gen Z crowd, or even other people her age, like Meg Stalter’s goofy, nepo-babyish assistant Kayla. While there are hilarious lines throughout the series, it’s Kayla who makes many of the truly witty remarks, especially in her collaboration with co-creator Paul W. Downs, who also plays beleaguered agent Jimmy.

The humor is irreverent, subversive and self-deprecating, approaching the “culture war” debate intelligently. “We really believe that (comedy) can bridge divides when you laugh at someone, when you have something in common with them,” said another co-creator, Lucia Aniello. said in the Emmy speechBut in addition to its challenging themes and sharp characters, the film also often makes viewers – myself included – snort and giggle uncomfortably. And that is precisely why its victory is so gratifying for many.