This week’s Take Ten guests are beloved Hacks duo Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter.
April 9th will bring the fifth and final season of the HBO Max hit comedy series and Deadline sat down with Stalter, who plays maverick talent agent Kayla, and Downs, the co-showrunner who does double-duty as Jimmy, Kayla’s put-upon, ever-tolerant business partner.
To kick things off, Downs asked, “Meg, what’s the most Kayla thing about you?”
“I feel like we both are really who we are, and there’s a certain free-spirit-ness,” Stalter said.
“No one is more free than Meg, except maybe Kayla. Kayla might be the only person freer than you,” Downs added.
Megan Stalter as Kayla and Paul W. Downs as Jimmy in Season 5 of ‘Hacks’.
HBO Max
At the start of Season 5, Ava (Hannah Einbinder) is concerned because Deborah (Jean Smart) was seen wearing Crocs outside— a sure sign of an imminent breakdown. So what would be crossing the line for Kayla? “I like to wear a lot of wigs on the red carpet,” Stalter said. “I feel like, if you saw me in a wig, like in the grocery store, that would be scary, because it would seem like I was in some sort of hiding. Maybe I thought that I was more famous than I am, or maybe I was just sad and need to be cheered up…”
Which brought us onto the fact that Downs and Stalter famously (infamously?) wore coordinating orange outfits at the Critics Choice Awards earlier this year— just like Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. Would they call this cosplay and if so, what’s their next Halloween outfit plan?
“We were wearing outfits we planned on wearing, and then they wore the same outfits a couple weeks before,” Stalter said.
“So OK, fine,” Downs deadpanned. “Are we gonna change our outfits? No. Don’t change yourself for someone else. I would say, be yourself, and those were ourselves.”
Stalter added, “Kylie, I feel like… after we did the outfit, she wants to act, which probably means that she wants to meet us.”
L to R: Megan Stalter, Robbie Hoffman and Paul W. Downs in Season 5 of ‘Hacks’.
HBO Max
The pair agreed they should join forces with Chalamet and Jenner, “play Settlers of Catan” and possibly “do a big movie” together.
As for what the future holds for Jimmy and Kayla, Stalter told Downs, “I did tell you the other day I could see Kayla becoming a famous pop star in a different country, and that’s just something that popped in my head. And I feel like they’re in each other’s lives forever. I think like they definitely fall in love with people and then there’s some jealousy there. Then then I can imagine them living on the same block, watching each other’s kids all the time.” Cue slightly panicked expression from Jimmy/Downs.
To find out more, including their go-to karaoke duet, the things co-star Robby Hoffman says that make them crack up on set and whether Jimmy would really help Kayla to bury a body, watch the full episode of Take Ten above.
Season 5 of Hacks debuts Thursday, April 9 at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET on HBO Max.