In the late 1980s, Jean Smart became a household name, with her starring role as Charlene on Designing Women. Since then, she has become one of the most venerated character actors working in the industry today, carving out a clear role for herself in the pantheon of television history.
Many prestige TV events of late have been elevated by the inclusion of Smart’s talents. This spring, she has been carrying the greater HBO endeavor by helping to round out the ensemble on the popular miniseries, Mare of Easttown, and heading up her own series from the Broad City team, Hacks. Both have a solid case for being career-best turns from her.
Mare Of Easttown: Fruit Ninja
What makes Mare of Easttown such a compelling watch is not the central mystery, but rather the lived-in details that help to flesh out the world in which these characters live. Everyone’s lives feel so authentic because of it.
One of these great touches comes from the recurring interest, Helen Fahey (Jean Smart), had in the mobile game, Fruit Ninja. If she had an iPad in hand on a sleepless night, Helen was swiping any and all fruits. It might seem innocuous, but it was such a delightful nuance from Smart.
Hacks: Chemistry With The Cast
Many of the cast members on Hacks seem primed for their roles on the show. As Deborah Vance, Smart is able to slip from superficial to sleazy with the comparably slimy Marty, portrayed by Christopher McDonald.
However, Smart’s two-hander abilities really shine during her scenes with Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava, her new writer. Smart is so deft in every interaction that it’s left to her scene-mates to keep up with her.
Mare Of Easttown: Relationship With Mare
On Mare of Easttown, Helen does not quite get to share chemistry-laden scenes with the entire ensemble. Instead, her scenes are limited to family life and domesticity. But the relationship she has with Kate Winslet’s lead Mare character is such a beating heart of the show.
Their dynamic informs much of the characters’ actions in the series. The prickly nature with which they often greet each other feels very relatable to anyone who harbors love in a standoffish, maternal relationship.
Hacks: Tricky Stand-Up
On Hacks, Jean Smart is asked to pull off a tricky balance that fails more often than not. She is tasked with crafting a character who seems like a believable stand-up comedian. Fake stand-up comedy is often much harder to write and deliver than the real sets.
Not only that, but Smart achieves the balance of playing a stand-up comedian who is washed up, but still with enough of a legacy and talent to make it seem like she’s still a venerated act. If the show falters at times, Smart never does.
Mare Of Easttown: Small Town Stalwart
Hacks undoubtedly embraces the idea that the audience must make inferences when it comes to Vance’s life before her Las Vegas residencies. Mare, however, embodies such a “show over tell” philosophy that much of the small town motif is left on the Helen character.
The motif is prominently defined as one where very few, if any, characters are able to escape the oppressive trappings of their hometown. As one of the elders in the community, Smart must demonstrate the toll this takes on Helen, as well as the humor with which she handles it.
Hacks: Multi-Dimensional Role
The Deborah Vance character, created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, is the kind that is impossibly rare on any screen, big or small. Unfortunately, it’s not a role that always existed for actors like Jean Smart.
Fortunately, Hacks recognizes the talent behind Smart and what a force she is and it created someone who exists outside of traditional archetypes. Far from one-note or one-dimensional, Smart is able to flex all of her muscles in the role, which makes for a worthy showcase.
Mare Of Easttown: Center Of Empathy
There are times in Mare when things can seem just too dour or morose. That is where Smart’s portrayal of Helen is such a welcome reprieve. From smaller B-plots, like the reveal of a relationship at a wake, to more instrumental stories, like her connection with her great-grandchild’s birth mother, Mare would not have been nearly as digestible without Helen.
As such, it would have been a much thicker slog without Smart, too. She functions as the center of empathy in the series, grounding the characters in the reminder of why they still strive to do the right thing.
Hacks: Singular Showcase
Mare of Easttown is certainly an ensemble piece – and a worthy one at that. And while Hacks is filled with compelling characters, too, it’s largely a singular showcase for the talents of Smart.
Yes, she plays off the others well, but some of the best scenes in the show, thus far, have been the ones in which Vance is left to herself. As the camera follows Deborah through her daily life, Smart delivers a performance that seems to account for every tic of existence.
Mare Of Easttown: What Goes Unsaid
Over the course of Mare, more is revealed about each of the characters, especially Helen. It requires subtlety and stoicism from Smart, who is more than up to the task, as she reveals so much about her life and her emotions through what is unsaid.
Many performances might have led Helen to an emotional breakthrough with Mare in the finale, but Smart plays this moment with reservation. She’s unable to articulate everything between her and her daughter, but still manages to make it a breathtaking television moment.
Hacks: Return To Comedy
Between Fargo, Legion, and Watchmen, Smart has become such a staple of dramatic television recently that it’s easy to forget how deft she is as a comic performer. While moments of levity exist in Mare, it’s Hacks that allows her to showcase a darker sense of humor.
Deborah is certainly not as wholesome as Charlene, but she doesn’t need to be. Smart is using the weight of her off-screen awareness to deliver funny material in cutting ways that she might not have before. When Jean Smart is allowed to be funny, she’s an undeniable force.
