In Season 1 of the HBO Max original series Hacks, legendary but no longer irreplaceable Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and canceled television writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) reluctantly agreed to work together in a last-ditch bid to resuscitate their careers. Despite their initial misgivings, their collaboration proved a success, and in Season 2 they embark on a cross-country trek to workshop new material for Deborah's act and to continue workshopping their personal lives.
Created by Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, Hacks has been photographed from the beginning by cinematographer Adam Bricker, whose work on the show has garnered two Primetime Emmy nominations (for the Season 1 episode Primm and the Season 2 episode The Click ) and an ASC Award nomination (for the Season 1 episode There Is No Line ). Bricker turned to Panavision Hollywood for his camera and lens package, opting for Panavision's Millennium DXL2 on Season 1 and Panavised Red V-Raptors on Season 2, with modified Primo 70 optics in front of the cameras for both seasons. The cinematographer recently spoke with Panavision about his approach to shooting the series' 18 episodes to date.
Panavision: How did you come to be involved in Hacks? What drew you to the project?
Adam Bricker: From the first page of the pilot, I could tell Hacks was operating on another level. It opens with a fast-paced, energetic oner that introduces us to the glamorous Las Vegas world of Deborah Vance, but soon pivots to the quieter, lonelier side of her fame. It's rare to find a half-hour comedy so rich with character-motivated visual storytelling, so I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to meet with Jen, Paul, and Lucia. We shared a similar sensibility from the get-go, and I was honored when they brought me on board.
Lucia Aniello has also directed 11 of the 18 episodes to date, including the pilot. How would you define the look that the two of you sought to create with Season 1?
Bricker: In that first meeting, we all agreed that comedies can be shot cinematically; they don't need to be bright or adhere to a certain look to emphasize a joke. If something is funny, it's funny. We were interested in using the cinematography to underscore our characters' emotional journeys and enhance the storytelling wherever we could.
Lucia's foundational visual references were a reflection of that ethos. She recommended I watch Judy, shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland, BSC, a film in which the lighting beautifully reflects the character's emotional state, and Bergman's Persona, for compositional inspiration. Lucia also wanted the look of Deborah's life in Vegas to have a nostalgic quality, and we both loved Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, which became another important touchstone. Building off those films, I put together a look-book that helped establish our visual language and that we could refer to throughout the shoot.
Season 2 takes the show on the road. Did the introduction of new environments lead to any particular evolutions in the look or your approach to shooting the series?
Bricker: Whereas Season 1 was about the grandiosity and glitz of Vegas, Season 2 was about Deborah getting back to her roots, taking us into the dive bars and small comedy clubs where she workshops her new material and, of course, the tour bus that is her chariot.
Shooting in the tight confines of the tour bus presented a fun creative challenge. First, we downsized our camera body to a Red V-Raptor to save space. We were actually the first major production to shoot on the Raptor, and Panavision machined a suite of custom accessories to accompany it, which is something I've always loved about Panavision they don't just buy things, they build them.
Then our art department, led by production designer Alec Contestabile, built a replica of the tour bus interior on our stages at Universal. I was looking for ways that we could realistically convey motion on this stationary set. I rode around on tour buses during prep, photographing the interiors as a light study. Chief lighting technician Daniel McNutt and key grip Randy Garcia were able to use those findings to program and rig concert movers to mimic the natural bounce and play of sunlight through a vehicle speeding down the interstate.
Lucia, Paul and Jen also made key strategic choices which helped add so much depth, texture, and atmosphere to our visuals. Though we mostly shot in and around Los Angeles, we took Jean, Hannah and a skeleton crew to the Grand Canyon to shoot at sunrise for a pivotal scene. We then sent second-unit DP Charlie Hoosier Panian on a road trip to film the actual tour bus as it drove through some iconic American landscapes, and his gorgeous frames made it feel like that bus was all over America, because, in a way, it was. In combination with every department's exceptional work, all of our visuals reinforced the sense of perpetual motion our characters find themselves in this season, both literally and emotionally.
How did you first start working with Panavision, and what brought you to Panavision for Hacks?
Bricker: I first connected with [marketing executive] Rik DeLisle at Panavision Hollywood when I was embarking on the indie feature Happily. It was a passion project with big ambitions and a very limited budget, but Panavision could not have been more supportive of what we were trying to achieve in the film.
Shortly thereafter I found myself back at Panavision for the second season of the show Sorry for Your Loss, which I was inheriting from DP Xavier Grobet, ASC, AMC. He shot the first season on a DXL2 and had worked with Guy McVicker [who now serves as technical marketing manager at Panavision Woodland Hills] to customize a lens package, which set the look.
I loved meeting Guy he is a true wea
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
22/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
22/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
16/01/2026
The start of a new year brings fresh possibilities. Whether you're diving in with big goals or simply setting new intentions, audiobooks can bring inspirati...
16/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
15/01/2026
The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...
15/01/2026
The JEC Composites Innovation Awards annually honor the most innovative and ambi...
15/01/2026
X-energy Reactor Company, LLC ( X-energy ) and SGL Carbon LLC ( SGL ) have signed a 10-year framework agreement to provide graphite for the deployment of X-ener...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
15/01/2026
15 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Reaches 3.0 million Customers with Starlink Dir...
15/01/2026
Views to free streaming service U grew by 15%, average monthly active users by 23% and registrations by 18%
UKTV's channels achieved record viewing share, ...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
Sky Sports to show Final Stage of inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Sky and FIFA have agreed an exclusive new partnership whi...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
The official trailer for the second season of Seth Mac...
15/01/2026
Wuppertal January 15, 2026
Riedel RefCam Takes Center Court in German Basketba...
15/01/2026
Arvato Systems Named Launch Partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud
As a launch partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Arvato Systems enables customer...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 ITV, one of the UKs leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), to ...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Press Release: The Boston Globe Names Cartesian a Top Place to Work in 2025
January 14, 2026
News
Cartesian - January 14, 2026 - EINPresswire.com - Sp...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Marcus Theatres Announce Five-Year Extension for Cinema ACE and Ent...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Santikos Entertainment Announce Five-Year Circuit Wide Commitment t...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Independent media in Brazil and Colombia is facing an urgent crisis of traditional business models alongside a deteriorating security environment, according to ...
13/01/2026
Luxembourg, December 17, 2025 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading spa...
13/01/2026
Written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot and Angela LaManna, produced b...
13/01/2026
New updates to Hitmaker Expansion from Celemony and Softube Edit pitch-perfect vocals with Melodyne Essential and get radio-ready guitar tones from Softube...
13/01/2026
Live broadcasts from RT 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz & Aisling, RT Radio 1 Tod...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan and increases its support for the J...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
In Season 1 of the HBO Max original series Hacks, legendary but no longer irreplaceable Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and canceled television writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) reluctantly agreed to work together in a last-ditch bid to resuscitate their careers. Despite their initial misgivings, their collaboration proved a success, and in Season 2 they embark on a cross-country trek to workshop new material for Deborah's act and to continue workshopping their personal lives.
