That Pulse-Pounding Hacks Score for Episode 9
Co-composers David Stal and Carlos Rafael Rivera talk about a new sound for a tense sequence.
Absolutely the biggest spoiler warning: If you haven’t yet watched the May 22 episode of Hacks, stop reading, go watch, then come back.
Did you think that comedy legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) was going to break your heart all over again during Episode 9, “A Slippery Slope”? Well, I guess she did—just not in the way we thought she would.
Things go from great to worse in the penultimate episode of Season 4, which finds Deborah and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) tumbling from the heights of No. 1 in late night to the fallout of having a problematic straight man as a guest on the show. Ava’s ethics and mouth earn Deborah an ultimatum: Fire Ava or the show is over.
So Deborah sends Ava on a fool’s errand on the Oscars red carpet, and by the time Ava’s panic sets in and she jumps out of a ride share and races to the studio, our hearts are pounding as hard as hers.
The sequence is unlike anything we’ve seen over four seasons of Hacks. There’s no joke, nor even really the glint of one. There is just Ava’s mounting fear, her panicked voicemail to Deborah, and a mad dash through traffic. Adding to the unease is music from series co-composers David Stal and Carlos Rafael Rivera that is equally unlike what we’ve heard before.
“There was a version that was much tamer, much more in the quote-unquote Hacks universe,” Stal says. “And they wanted more attention. We tried a couple of synth elements that felt a little too far out. We don't want it to be Stranger Things or something like that; we had to keep it grounded in our universe. But they still wanted this big moment where [Ava’s like], ‘Oh shit, they fired me.’ So we gravitated to some elements that could [bring] more intention. We had some pulsating strings, some deep synths. Hopefully it doesn't stray too far away from the Hacks world, but yeah, it changes tones because it's a feeling we haven't felt before in this series.”
It’s a bravura sequence that ends in true Hacks fashion by zigging when we expect a zag. Deborah hasn’t fired Ava; she’s going live on national television to announce that, due to pressure to fire her and censor jokes, she’s quitting the show. The moment would be unexpected in any season, but particularly so in this one, when Deborah’s lifelong dream has finally come true.
“Their great storytelling ability is that they've really misdirected us to feel that,” Rivera says. “I think David and I both felt that the show was changing tonally [for that sequence], and it was our job to pull the reins in so it doesn't become another show. That's the goal: Keep it in the universe of Hacks, but it's a very different moment for all the characters. They're all doing something [out of character], and we're not sure how it's gonna play out.”
That includes some very beta male fisticuffs between Deborah’s manager, Jimmy (Paul W. Downs), and impotently furious studio exec Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn) in the control room. Jimmy knows Deborah’s plan, and he fights to keep her on the air as long as possible to deliver her damning speech, finally shedding his nice guy persona and going “full gorilla” in the process. (Stal and Rivera initially wrote much more music for the battle sequence, but they eventually pulled it back.)
Both composers are quick to point out how skilled the show’s creators—Lucia Aniello, Downs, and Jen Statsky—are at nailing different showbiz formats, from stand-up to talk shows. But Rivera and Stal are equally adept at the complementary musical languages.
“They push us to be better,” Stal says. “We see the show that they're making, and they say, ‘We need this.’ And internally, Carlos and I might think, ‘We've never done that before.’ But we try it, and we do something we never thought we might do because they're going out on all the ledges. They bring us along with, and we have to support them.”
“ We need to,” Rivera adds. “We need to. When you come into this industry as a composer, as a maker of music, you think, ‘Oh, it's just the thing I'm making and here's my music.’ But it's truly collaborative. If you're not willing to revise and revise until you find it, you won't grow—and you won't work, either. That's the ultimate truth. Like David said, they're stepping on the ledge themselves. They're taking big, bold risks this season. We have to be willing to take them, too. We have to go along for the ride and help that story be as good as it can. But without their feedback, it'll never be as good.”
David Stal’s credits include Lessons in Chemistry, The Queen’s Gambit, and What/If. Carlos Rafael Rivera’s credits as composer include Lessons in Chemistry, The Queen’s Gambit (he won Emmys for both), and the upcoming Netflix series Dept. Q.
I have to rewatch the episode now. I was so into what as happening I did not even notice the music. It was such an amazing episode!