Jean Smart and ‘Hacks’ Team Tease a ‘Totally Unexpected’ Season 3 Twist at SXSW Premiere

Instagram video for IMDb to promote her show “Hacks,” Smart, 72, revealed that her ancestor was part of the Salem Witch trials. “I found out that my eight times great grandmother on my maternal side was convicted of witchcraft in Salem in 1692,” Smart shared.

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Kirkland will return as Police Captain Walter in Season 3 of the Paramount+ Original series Mayor of Kingstown, currently in production.

Hacks season 3 is finally going to debut on Max in May and we have details on the cast.

EXCLUSIVE: It’s late January on the Las Vegas Strip, and a woman with a tall beehive hairdo, and dressed head to toe in a pink, sequined pantsuit, steps in front of the fountain outside Caesar’s Palace clutching multiple bags of high-end designer shopping. This is Jean Smart, in the guise of her Hacks headliner Deborah Vance, preparing to shoot among the last of her scenes for the much-delayed third season of the Max and Universal Television comedy series.

Rance Collins Though the Human Rights Campaign gala on Saturday night in Los Angeles contended with a brief interruption by protestors calling for a Gaza ceasefire, the annual stayed largely on course, serving as a rallying cry for Democratic candidates and the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to the keynote speech from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Jean Smart and Sterling K.

Alex Garland‘s latest film, Civil War,  from A24 and featuring a star-studded cast including Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jesse Plemons, and Nick Offerman, aims to hold a mirror up to a society spiraling out amongst civil war. In a time when flipping through the news or scrolling through social media can feel like peering into dystopia, Garland wants to crystallize these anxieties into a narrative form, offering a prophetic vision of America’s future. However, despite its ambitious premise and high-caliber cast, the movie stands as a muddled reflection, ultimately rendering its cautionary tale less impactful than intended.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Fresh off her recent stint hosting “Saturday Night Live,” Sydney Sweeney made her way to Austin and SXSW for the world premiere of her new religious horror film “Immaculate” — and on Tuesday night, she had the crowd screaming (and laughing at their own reactions) at the Paramount Theatre. The jump scares, in particular, had the entire theater jumping — and then giggling at their own fear. “Immaculate” leans into horror but also has plenty of moments of dark humor.

Selome Hailu At a festival known for raucous audiences, Dev Patel‘s “Monkey Man” made for the rowdiest screening yet. During the SXSW premiere of the actor’s directorial debut, Austin’s Paramount Theater was filled with cries of “We love you, Dev!” and “India!” that can only be described as guttural. The crowd’s love for Patel only grew more fervent as the film went on, revealing not only a new cinematic voice, but a surprisingly political action thriller that saw Patel’s character take on the Hindu caste system with teeth, knives and blood.Dev Patel receives a standing ovation after a #SXSW screening of his feature directorial debut "Monkey Man." pic.twitter.com/OcpjhByVSu “The action genre has been abused by the system,” Patel said while introducing the film.

Banijay Germany has taken another step into the scripted market by launching a joint venture with the executive producers behind Helgoland 513.

Hannah Einbinder was moved to tears. Nick Thune was moved to sing. John Leguizamo shared hard truths.

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about the legendary Billy Preston that’s set to debut tonight at SXSW might not see the light of day.

SXSW Film & TV Festival — which runs March 8–16 in Austin, Texas — has cooked up an eclectic spread of studio crowd-pleasers, enterprising TV premieres, and indie gems aiming to break through. Here is some of the most promising fare. The canon of Ilana Glazer-led indies about childbearing expands.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given exclusive access to a first-look clip (below) from Simon Ennis’ documentary “The Hobby,” which world premieres at SXSW on Friday. International sales are being handled by Vortex Media. “The Hobby” is an affectionate, character-driven portrait of the subculture of board games, covering the World Series of Board Games in Las Vegas and reaching back to Ancient Mesopotamia.

There was plenty of star power in the front row at Louis Vuitton‘s fashion show during Paris Fashion Week this season!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Aristotle Athari is set to guest star in “Hacks” Season 3 at Max, Variety has learned exclusively. Athari is the latest guest star to be announced for the show. He joins previously announced guest stars like Helen Hunt, George Wallace, and Christopher Lloyd in Season 3.

Damien Chazelle is opening up about his career.

Get ready for the return of Hacks!

Max has dropped the official trailer for season 3 of Hacks, which returns May 2 for nine episodes.

J. Kim Murphy “Hacks” is back. Max has released the first teaser for the Emmy-winning comedy series’ upcoming third season, along with an announcement that the first two episodes will debut on the streamer on May 2.

When “Hacks” returns for a third season it will have been almost two years, yes two years, since its season two premiere. That wasn’t the plan.