Warning: This article contains spoilers for Hacks season 3.
A fan-favorite supporting player from Succession has found the perfect new TV role in a different hilarious, sharply written, critically acclaimed HBO show. Since Succession ended its four-season run last year, many of its most beloved stars have found new projects to sink their teeth into. Brian Cox is playing Helm Hammerhand in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Jeremy Strong is playing Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. Matthew Macfadyen is playing Paradox in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Sarah Snook is starring in the grown-up animated drama Memoir of a Snail. Kieran Culkin is starring in Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial effort A Real Pain. Nicholas Braun is starring in SNL 1975, about the early days of Saturday Night Live. Everyone from the Succession cast is capitalizing on the show’s popularity to score new acting roles. One of the best scene-stealers from Succession’s supporting cast has found the perfect new role to fill the void left by their iconic Succession character.
Hacks season 3 has brought in J. Smith-Cameron to play Deborah Vance’s estranged sister, Kathy. The previous seasons had introduced a rift that occurred between the two sisters when Kathy slept with Deborah’s husband and he left Deborah for her. Hacks seasons 1 and 2 had established that Deborah has resented Kathy for years and hasn’t spoken to her for just as long. But the series had always teased that the sisters would one day reunite and bury the hatchet.
After sleeping with a married man and becoming “the other woman” – something she swore she’d never do after her own husband cheated on her – Deborah opens up to the possibility of reconnecting with Kathy. While she’s sending out invitations to her lavish annual Christmas party, she decides to extend an olive branch to her sister. When Kathy answers the door to receive the invitation, Hacks season 3 reveals the guest star playing her: Succession’s Gerri actor, J. Smith-Cameron.
Linda Purl previously played a younger Kathy in earlier seasons of Hacks, but Smith-Cameron is a perfect casting choice to play the older Kathy in season 3. The role of Deborah’s sister will make great use of Smith-Cameron’s Succession skills. Throughout Succession’s run, Gerri was shown to be extremely witty and able to verbally spar with anyone – and Smith-Cameron nailed that character trait. It seems like she’ll have a similar characterization in Hacks, and her biting comedic chops will truly come in handy for the dysfunctional dynamic and verbal punches with Jean Smart’s Deborah.