WARNING! This article contains spoilers for Hacks season 3, episode 2!

Summary

• Young Deborah Vance returns in Hacks season 3, setting up a big hosting gig for Deborah's character.
• Olivia Boreham-Wing plays young Deborah, using VFX to superimpose Jean Smart's past footage.
• Deborah's mirror reflection of her young self hints at bigger flashback sequences in upcoming episodes.

Max’s Hacks season 3 includes a subtle return of young Deborah Vance in episode 2, with the actress who plays her reprising her role from season 1. The cast and characters of Hacks season 3 include plenty of returning faces from the show’s past outings, with several new additions also joining Deborah and Ava’s adventures in the hit comedy. With Hacks season 3, episode 2 setting up Deborah to finally fulfill the late-night hosting gig she lost out on early in her career, it seems plenty more returns from figures in her past can be expected in upcoming outings.

While she had originally been booked for an interview, Deborah ended up being roped into a one-night hosting gig for a late-night talk show in Hacks season 3, episode 2. The meaning of this opportunity called back to reveals about Deborah’s past in season 1, namely that she was slated to be the first female late-night talk show host back in the 1970s for Late Night with Deborah Vance, which filmed its pilot but ultimately never aired. So, fittingly, as present-day Deborah prepares to step onstage and host Danny Collins’ late-night show, she takes a glimpse in the mirror and sees her 1970s-era younger self in the reflection.

Olivia Boreham-Wing Plays Young Deborah Vance In Hacks Season 3

Young Deborah Vance is played by both Olivia Boreham-Wing and Jean Smart

Young Deborah Vance is played by Olivia Boreham-Wing in Hacks season 3, episode 2, with the actress also being known for her roles in The Blacklist, Invisible, The OA, and A Rainy Day in New York. Boreham-Wing also played the young Deborah seen in season 1’s footage of the unaired talk show pilot of Hacks' main stand-up comedian. However, while Olivia Boreham-Wing physically portrays young Deborah, Jean Smart is still performing the voice-overs for the character’s talk show flashbacks back in season 1.

Boreham-Wing memorizes Smart’s performances and does a lip-dub of her dialogue, with the Hacks team then using VFX to superimpose old footage of Jean Smart onto Boreham-Wing’s face.

Though Boreham-Wing looks remarkably like a young Jean Smart, there are some digital effects used to accomplish her transformation into 1970s-era Deborah Vance in Hacks. According to Decider, Boreham-Wing memorizes Smart’s performances and does a lip-dub of her dialogue, with the Hacks team then using VFX to superimpose old footage of Jean Smart onto Boreham-Wing’s face. The same technology was then brought back for Boreham-Wing’s brief mirror reflection return as young Deborah in Hacks season 3, episode 2.

New episodes of Hacks season 3 release Thursdays on Max.

Hacks Season 3, Episode 2's Young Deborah Appearance Sets Up A Bigger Flashback

Olivia Boreham-Wing could reprise her role in coming episodes

With Jean Smart’s Deborah seeing her younger self in the mirror before her guest hosting gig, Hacks season 3’s teased upcoming storyline may culminate in a bigger flashback sequence. The hit Max Original TV show is setting up a plot for Deborah to become the full-time host for the late-night talk show after Danny Collins’ exit, which means she’s finally fulfilling the dreams of the younger self she sees in the mirror. Deborah getting this role is apt to bring back more memories from the time of her failed pilot from the 1970s, which could lead to an extended flashback of these events with her ex-husband and sister in Hacks season 3.

Source: Decider