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Helen Hunt's character, Winnie Landell, was recently removed from her executive position at the network that airs Late Night with Deborah Vance in Hacks season 4. This decision came after Deborah filed a complaint with network owner Bob Lipka, claiming Landell was being too pushy for a spinoff series. While Deborah did not explicitly mention firing her, Lipka "took care" of the matter by removing her.
Following the release of Hacks season 4 episode 8 on May 15, 2025, Helen Hunt spoke to Vanity Fair in an interview published the next day. She reflected on her guest role and how she felt upon learning her character was being written out. Hunt said:
"I think these writers are so great and so smart. They know that Jean’s character has to be incredibly likable and fierce and ruthless again and again, unpredictably. What you want good writing to be is surprising and inevitable."
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When asked about what she liked most about playing Winnie Landell over two seasons of Hacks, Hunt answered:
"Jean and Hannah are so good, so good together. They hold their own with each other. They let each other win. They love each other in real life, and it’s a love story, in the way that Breaking Bad was a love story. So getting to step in with good writing underneath me to that beautiful pair of actors was amazing."
What did Helen Hunt say about similarities between her Hacks season 4 character and the women she met in outside world?
During the Vanity Fair interview about her role in Hacks season 4, Helen Hunt shared her experience of encountering women like Winnie Landell in real life.
Talking about a movie executive she once worked with, Landell recalled how she greatly focused on the quality of the product. She remembered being told that things were "good" but needed to be "even better" than she thought.
On what she learned from that brief conversation, Hunt said:
"Meaning, as a woman and a woman’s story, it’s got to be absolutely bulletproof. I know a lot of these women. Their handshakes are strong, and they want what they want, and they’ve come in clear as day and don’t bullshit around. They tell you the truth and don’t soft-pedal it. They assume that you, as another woman who’s achieved a certain amount of success, will understand we’re not fu*king around here."
Hunt also emphasized the pressures of getting it "just right" when a woman rises the ladder and makes it to the top, meaning that there is no scope for faltering.
Besides Hacks season 4, Helen Hunt and Jean Smart collaborate in which other show?
Hacks season 4 is not the only show where audiences have seen Helen Hunt and Jean Smart share the screen. The two talented actors previously starred in the hugely popular television sitcom Mad About You, which aired between 1992 and 1999.
Helen Hunt played the lead role of Jamie Buchman in Mad About You, while Jean Smart appeared in a smaller role as Chelsea Stevens-Kobolakis in the 2019 revival of the show.
The next episode of Hacks season 4 arrives on HBO and HBO Max on May 22, 2025.
