HBO's Hacks features several actual stand-up comics in its cast of characters. This is a crucial component in how the series can realistically depict the cutthroat world of stand-up and live entertainment, which serves as the setting for the HBO Max comedy. Curiously, Jean Smart, who plays stand-up comedy legend Deborah Vance, doesn't actually do stand-up. However, there are more than a dozen real stand-ups in the crew and cast of Hacks. Along with many of the show's writers, Hacks' creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky are all experienced comedians.

All three creators are known for their work on Broad City, while Statsky also wrote for The Good Place and Parks and Recreation. Moreover, the show's writing room also includes Pat Regan, who also wrote for It Girl Gay Assistant and has been featured by Comedy Central for his work as a stand-up comic. Meanwhile, although Kaitlin Olson, who plays DJ Vance, is not technically a standup, she is one of the creators and stars of the infamous and hilariously controversial It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Hacks doubles down on its examination of the comedy industry by casting several actual stand-up comics in various roles.

Hannah Einbinder

As Ava

Ava Daniels is one of Hacks’ lead characters. She’s introduced as a struggling comedy writer who quickly finds herself trapped in a never-ending toxic relationship with mainstream comedy legend Deborah Vance, played by Jean Smart. Ava’s actor, Hannah Einbinder, is a stand-up comic who made her network television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She has also guested on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Pardo’s Never Not Funny.

It’s interesting that Einbinder was cast as the writer and Smart was as the comic. Whereas Einbinder is an experienced stand-up comedian, Smart is an actor who hasn’t performed stand-up. Of course, Smart is such a great actor that Deborah is still believable as a stand-up comic in spite of Smart’s lack of experience in that field.

Luenell

As Miss Loretta

Miss Loretta is Marcus’ mom's best friend, and the two are always hanging out at Marcus’ house. Based on her appearance in Marcus’ bar trivia team in season 3, she’s practically family. The character is played brilliantly by Luenell. Luenell is a veteran stand-up comic and comedic actor who has also appeared in Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! and Coming 2 America.

A known character actor, Luenell often appears as a fictionalized version of herself in movies and TV series. Luenell was one of the few hired actors featured in the mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, in which she plays the sex worker that Borat hires to take to a dinner party. She appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, and John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA.

Margaret Cho

As herself

When Ava and Deborah go on a lesbian cruise, Deborah runs into an old friend and colleague who was staying on the same ship: comedian Margaret Cho. Ever since she got her big break in the autobiographical series All-American Girl, which was a major breakthrough in Asian American representation in the media, Cho has gone on to become a household name in stand-up comedy. She’s released such comedy albums as Drunk with Power, Live in Houston, PsyCHO, Assassin, Revolution, Cho Dependent – Live at the Tabernacle, and Notorious C.H.O. – Live at Carnegie Hall.

Hacks isn’t the only show that Cho has guest-starred in. She also appeared in Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and played herself in Good Trouble and Show Us Your Pets. She had a recurring role as Charlie Utada in The Flight Attendant season 2.

Guy Branum

As Little Debbie Fan

One of the best running gags in Hacks is Deborah’s relationship with her loyal fan base. When audiences were introduced to a fan of Little Debbie, a show that Deborah starred in when she was very young and just getting started, the fan is played by stand-up comedian Guy Branum. Branum was a head writer and sketch performer on X-Play on the G4 network and a regular ist on Chelsea Lately on the E! network.

He’s the former host of the podcast Pop Rocket on the Maximum Fun network and hosted TruTV’s Talk Show the Game Show. Apart from being a practicing stand-up comic, Branum is a TV writer whose writing credits include shows like Last Comic Standing, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and The Mindy Project. Branum often appears on talk shows as part of comedic s.

Solomon Georgio

As Jordan

Jordan is the subletter who rents Ava’s place in Los Angeles and lives there while she’s away in Vegas working with Deborah. Jordan was played by a real-life stand-up comedian named Solomon Georgio. Georgio only appears briefly in Hacks, but he often stole the scenes he was in. Georgio is a staple of the stand-up comedy scene and even played himself opposite fellow comic Pete Holmes in an episode of Holmes’ HBO comedy series Crashing: season 3, episode 2, “The Temple Gig.”

Georgio also hosts the Team Coco podcast The Juice

Apart from appearing on various late-night talk shows to perform stand-up, Georgio also hosts the Team Coco podcast The Juice. Georgio's writing credits include High Fidelity, Shrill, Dollface, Adam Ruins Everything, Survival of the Thickest, and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has also made appearances on such hit comedy shows as Drunk History and The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail.

Megan Stalter

As Kayla

Ava’s manager Jimmy was forced to take on an assistant, Kayla. She’s absolutely terrible at her job, but since she’s the daughter of Jimmy’s boss, he’s stuck with her. Jimmy and Kayla’s relationship has evolved as much as Deborah and Ava’s over the course of Hacks’ run. Initially, Jimmy was frustrated with Kayla for being a bad assistant. But when he realizes she’d make a great manager, he begs her not to quit and offers her a position as his partner.

Kayla is played by Megan Stalter, who is best known for The Megan Stalter Show and her stint in Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News. Stalter also has a role in Queer as Folk, which is streaming on Amazon Prime, and plays herself in National Lampoon Radio Hour and The Improv Guru.

Joe Mande

As Ray

Ray is the front desk clerk at the lobby of the Palmetto, the fancy Las Vegas hotel where Ava lived in Hacks season 1. Whenever Ava came to the front desk and he had to talk to her, Ray was miserable. He also reappeared in season 3 when Ava went to a bar trivia night with Marcus’ family. Ray was on one of the other quiz teams, and he was dismayed to see Ava again. He thought he was done dealing with her after she moved out of the hotel.

Ray is played by Joe Mande, who has also written two episodes of Hacks. Mande is best known for his appearances in The Good Place, Kroll Show, and Parks and Recreation, which he also wrote for. He also appears in Modern Family and The Disaster Artist.

Martha Kelly

As Barbara

Barbara has a brief but memorable role in Hacks as the HR manager at Jimmy and Kayla’s office. She’s played by Martha Kelly, a real-life stand-up comedian. While Kelly does do stand-up comedy, she’s primarily known as an actor who’s adept at playing both comedic and dramatic roles. In addition to her work in Hacks, Kelly is known for her co-starring role in Zach Galifianakis’ dark comedy series Baskets on FX.

In 2022, Kelly was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her frightening role as Laurie, the drug lord who manipulates Rue, in Euphoria. She also had roles in Gaslit and American Gods. As a stand-up, she’s appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour and Blend, and NBC’s Last Comic Standing.

Iris Bahr

As Perla

When Deborah goes in for a cosmetic surgery on her eyes, she’s treated by a nurse named Perla. Perla gets involved in one of Hacks’ best gags when Deborah and Ava decide to pull a prank on her. Perla is played by Iris Bahr, a well-known stand-up comedian and comedic actor. Bahr is also the host of the X-RAE podcast and the author of three books: Dork Whore, Machu My Picchu, and Book of Leon (which she co-wrote with J.B. Smoove).

Bahr played Rachel Heinemann, a recurring role in Curb Your Enthusiasm season 5, and later reprised her role as one of the witnesses at Larry’s trial in the finale. Bahr has also appeared in The Conners, Friends, and Irreversible. She received praise for her solo show, DAI (enough), and her self-penned TV series, Svetlana.

Rekha Shankar

As Victoria

One of Ava’s former writing partners, Victoria, briefly reunites with Ava while she’s working with Deborah in Vegas. When Ava sees a group of her old writing partners enjoying a night out together outside of a Vegas club, Victoria is the one seen to the left of the group. Victoria is played by Rekha Shankar, who’s a stand-up comedian, actor, and comedy writer in real life.

Aside from being a stand-up comic, Shankar has extensive TV credits. Shankar is perhaps most famous for her roles in CollegeHumor Originals, Ultramechatron Team Go!, Kingpin Katie, and Adam Ruins Everything. She also played Gaya alongside Zach Galifianakis’ abrasive talk show host in Between Two Ferns: The Movie. She’s an executive story editor for Andy Samberg and Neil Campbell’s Digman! and the head writer for CollegeHumor's Hardly Working series.