Stockton Street

waddduuuup

Hacks tells the story of Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian played by Jean Smart. From the start, the showrunners, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, and I were on the same page: just because it's a half-hour comedy didn't mean it had to look like one. We were free to build a visual language that felt character-driven, naturalistic, and expressive.

I wanted a sense of nostalgia, a subtle nod to Deborah Vance's heyday. To help evoke that, I partnered with Guy McVicker at Panavision to rework the modern Primo 70s into something more period-inspired. Director Lucia Aniello and I had been referencing films like Behind the Candelabra and Argo, and I passed those along to Guy as visual touchstones. He engineered a custom lens treatment that softened the highlights, added a bit of bloom, and gave the flares a warm, vintage glow.

Five years later, I've shot every episode of Hacks' four seasons. What started in Las Vegas has since expanded into a much broader journey, following Deborah through new cities, new stages, and new chapters in her career.