The Queer Men in Deborah Vance's Life: Carl Clemons-Hopkins & Mark Indelicato on 'Hacks' Season 3

It has been two long years since "Hacks" concluded its second season on Max. Viewers were stunned when legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) made the surprising decision to cut her younger writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) loose. After two seasons of bickering about their generational divide, comedy stylings, and wokeness, the two went their separate ways.

The third season of "Hacks" premiered at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in March, bringing back an ensemble comedy series that has given Jean Smart back-to-back Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance as Deborah Vance. The show excels with the assistance of its supporting cast, with Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Mark Indelicato as her employees and the queer men in Deborah's life.

Watch the entire interview.

As Marcus, Deborah's COO and trusted advisor, Clemons-Hopkins has taken his workaholic character from loneliness to a possible romance in past seasons. Like others in the series, Marcus has evolved into a warm individual while Indelicato's personal assistant character, Damien, continues to zip snappy one-liners at every chance. The two scene stealers prove to be powerhouse performers in a show chock full of veteran comedic actors, giving new depth to queer characters on streaming television.

EDGE had the privilege of joining Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Mark Indelicato for a press junket, where the two shared some insights into the newest season of "Hacks," how they view their roles in the very queer comedy series, and what they hope viewers take away from Season Three.

Below are some excerpts from the interview.

EDGE: Where should the audience expect to find Marcus and Damian in 'Hacks,' Season Three?

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: You're going to find Marcus a year into therapy. You're going to find Marcus in a bit more of a balanced lifestyle. You're going to find Marcus continuing to make his life a bit better for himself. Business is thriving, his family relationships are going well. Then you're going to find him getting some unforeseen challenges brought upon by some unforeseen people and we're going to learn a lot about stress responses.

Mark Indelicato: You will find Damian in the same sweater vest that you saw him in two years ago. But then you will find him in the exact same place doing his job, head down, keepin' it cute. Then as the season progresses, we get to see a few shake ups as far as Damian is concerned but we meet him exactly where he was before. We enter the season in this like lively sense, everyone is stoked about this newfound success and this new chapter in Deborah Vance's career. We open the season with wondering where and when Deborah and Ava will ever meet again, because imagine if they didn't?

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: It'd be a different show.

EDGE: As the two main men in Deborah Vance's life, what do each of you believe your character brings to her career and her personal life?

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: I bring a very strong left-brained analytical facts and figures energy that is necessary for managing the millions upon millions and millions of dollars she makes and the billions of fans that she has.

Mark Indelicato: I'm putting out fires. Fires she doesn't want to put out herself.

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: Or that she started!

EDGE: Carl, you have some hysterical scenes opposite Guy Branum in this new season. How fun was it to share the screen with Guy?

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: He's brilliant. I really love the clarity and specificity of the Deborah-verse in that we first see Guy's character in season one. So it's more of the fans [in the new season], and we see exactly where his fandom has brought him. Working with Guy is always great and I'm so excited for people to enjoy it.

EDGE: 'Hacks' has seemed to have eclipsed other shows when it comes to queer representation. What does it mean for both of you to be part of a show that puts queer representation front and center? We see Deborah have her own acceptance journey in this season.

Mark Indelicato: I think that in order to conscientiously put queer stories at the forefront, you also need queer people making those stories. I think that we're very fortunate on the show to have so many queer individuals that are a part of writing the words that we say, of breaking story for these characters. I think that representation in a deliberate and conscientious way is only fostered if you have people that can relate to those stories actually writing them and telling them. Not for nothing, outside of just the actual queer individuals that make the show, and making one of the queerest shows on television I would say, the sense of allyship among all of our straight divas is really palpable. I think that it's not an accident that queer stories are kind of front and center in the show.

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: Personally, I'm really grateful to be part of a show where there are queer characters whose character descriptions don't begin and end with "queer." Character descriptions don't begin and end with "Black." Character descriptions don't begin and end with "a woman." These are actual storytellers trying to tell a story and weave these characters in a hilarious and dynamic way. There's a lot of care and attention and focus on who these characters are as humans, which that shared humanity is really all any of us are fighting for at all, which is to be seen as an equal human life that's worthy of all the beautiful things that human life is worthy of. So I'm really happy that that quality shines through with this show.

EDGE: On if viewers will get to see Marcus or Damien's separate love lives blossom in, possibly teasing a return of actor Johnny Sibilly to 'Hacks,' Season Three.

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: Keep watching.

Mark Indelicato: What if I started dating Johnny?

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: And we had a whole life Monica and Brandy moment?

Mark Indelicato: Pitching!

Carl Clemons-Hopkins: 'The Boy Is Mine' Season 4.

Mark Indelicato: It's honestly because I just want Johnny to come back on the show.

EDGE: What do both of you want audiences to take away from this newest season of 'Hacks'?

Mark Indelicato: We really delve into the nuances of each characters' identities and you really get a chance to get to know every single one of the ensemble casts' lived experience. In a way that I don't think that audiences have been able to see in the first two seasons. I would also like audiences to kind of look at the subtext of what we're trying to say with the show. By that, I mean, we're tackling really, really big, controversial, cultural, sociocultural issues like ageism, one's sexual orientation kind of being at the forefront of their identity when in reality it's just a facet of their identity. Truly recognizing and remembering that this is a truly diverse show with incredible representation. I think that we're talking the talk and walking the walk when it comes to representation and diversity and inclusivity. I think that that's what audiences should really be taking away.

Carl Cleamons-Hopkins: I hope audiences take away that there are very many ways to have a difficult conversation and that I think that was it. It's been happening throughout, but I think it started in Season Two in a really beautiful way. This season continues those difficult conversations, whether it be between ages, whether it be amongst different people, different walks of life, or what have you. I feel like as a society, there's a lot of pushback around growth. There's a lot of pushback about hearing different points of views. There's a lot of pushback around the idea that people can be wrong for a long time and people can change their ways. It doesn't mean they have to be pushed out of society or harshly judged more than necessary. There are ways that we can grow together. There are ways that we can find the good amongst all of this bullshit. That doesn't have to be so dramatic.

The first two episodes stream on Max starting May 2.

Mark Indelicato and Carl Cleamons-Hopkins on Instagram: