Jean Smart Reflects on On-Screen Romance with Christopher Briney in 'Hacks' Final Season

Jean Smart has been discussing her experience bringing a romantic storyline to life alongside Christopher Briney in the concluding season of HBO's Hacks.

The 74-year-old performer and her 28-year-old co-star, known for The Summer I Turned Pretty, share a significant 46-year age difference, yet their characters develop a romantic connection throughout the show's fifth and final season.

"I did think, oh god, I hope he isn't just cringing," Jean told Deadline. "He's thinking, 'Oh, I'd really like to be on that show, but oh damn, really?' But he made me feel very comfortable and we had fun."

Showrunner Jen Statsky elaborated on the creative direction behind the pairing. "We always want to portray Deborah as the full, dimensional character that she is and show that women don't stop having sex and being sexy at any age. We also always thought it'd be funny and interesting that she would date this international rockstar that maybe wasn't exactly her type and dressed a little bit more like her than other people she dated. And so that was just always a storyline that excited us."

Statsky explained that this particular arc represents material the creative team had long wanted to explore but felt wasn't appropriate for earlier seasons. "So that was just one of the storylines that we knew would be funny, but also really sexy and real and grounded and important to show that, yeah, why wouldn't these two get together?" she noted.

Smart previously revealed that she underwent triple bypass heart surgery while production was underway on season 3 of the series.