TikTok, AI sitcoms, and the humiliations of modern celebrity: How Hacks and The Comeback nail the pressures of staying relevant. These two HBO sitcoms, starring women over 60, are a satisfying symmetry, illuminating a cultural habit of projecting "comeback" narratives onto women who feel society's pressure to constantly reinvent themselves. Both shows mock the indignities of fame today, where even the most iconic stars are forced to chase relevance and clicks. In these shows, the demands of algorithm-era fame are the bleakest - and funniest - punchline. Personally, I think these shows are a brilliant commentary on the modern celebrity landscape, where the pressure to stay relevant and the demands of the attention economy are the new battlegrounds for fame. What makes this particularly fascinating is how these shows subvert the traditional comeback narrative. In Hacks, Deborah Vance, a legendary comedian, is forced to chase her relevance through TikToks and social clips, shaking hands at parties, and doing just about everything apart from what made her famous: comedy. In The Comeback, Valerie Cherish, a high-cringe sitcom star, is handed a career lifeline when she scores the lead role in a new sitcom, but the script has been written by AI, and this is a secret she is forbidden from sharing. One thing that immediately stands out is how these shows highlight the absurdity of the modern celebrity landscape. In my opinion, the shows are a brilliant satire of the attention economy, where the demands of staying relevant are the new battleground for fame. From my perspective, the shows are a commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant. What many people don't realize is that these shows are not just about the humiliations of modern celebrity, but also about the psychological impact of the attention economy. If you take a step back and think about it, these shows are a reflection of our own societal pressures to constantly reinvent ourselves and stay relevant. This raises a deeper question: Do we, as a culture, need to constantly reinvent ourselves to have our greatness celebrated? A detail that I find especially interesting is how these shows subvert the traditional comeback narrative. In Hacks, Deborah's obsession with achieving Egot (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status is a commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant. What this really suggests is that the shows are a reflection of our own societal pressures to constantly reinvent ourselves and stay relevant. Personally, I think these shows are a brilliant commentary on the modern celebrity landscape, where the pressure to stay relevant and the demands of the attention economy are the new battlegrounds for fame. In fact, the whole premise of The Comeback is Valerie trying to cling on to her cultural value by leaning into new forms of media - first reality TV and now AI. But underneath it all, what she really wants is to be taken seriously as a comedy actor. Similarly, in the season five premiere of Hacks, Deborah develops a sudden obsession with achieving Egot status, which sees her record a music album in Spanish in the hope of snagging a Grammy. Ava reminds her that her legacy won't be defined by award statistics or publicity stunts. "You are going to be remembered for comedy," she says, "because you're a comedian." Personally, I think this is a powerful commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant. In their own HBO-created worlds, Deborah and Valerie are of a different status. (Deborah is already a formidable icon when we meet her, while Valerie's position always seems more precarious.) Yet in their final chapter, they feel more aligned. By this point, both women have survived decades in an industry that is still obsessed with the newest thing and, despite their many awards, achievements, and respective reinventions, it never feels like enough. The goalposts keep moving and they're always one failure away from being declared a flop. Personally, I think this is a powerful commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant. I noticed something similar on my social feed when Madonna announced her long-awaited return with Confessions II. At first, I even felt myself projecting a sense of all-or-nothing onto her return - as if everything rode on the album being a hit, despite her 2024 Celebration tour concluding with the biggest crowd of her career in Rio de Janeiro. But I realized that my kneejerk response was contributing, in real time, to the type of expectations that Taylor Swift described in her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. "The female artists that I know of have to remake themselves 20 times more than the male artists," Swift said. "Or else you're out of a job." The truth is that Madonna could release an album of fart sounds set to dance beats and she would still be the queen of pop. In the season premiere of Hacks, as Deborah chases yet another reinvention, she stages a secret gig to try out some new material after being silenced by the non-compete clause. "When you're away from the spotlight, you have time to think about what really matters …" she says, before answering her own question: "The spotlight!" These shows reveal the extreme, undignified lengths that Deborah and Valerie are willing to go in order to stage the perfect comeback story one more time. But should they have to? Personally, I think these shows are a brilliant commentary on the modern celebrity landscape, where the pressure to stay relevant and the demands of the attention economy are the new battlegrounds for fame. In fact, the shows are a reflection of our own societal pressures to constantly reinvent ourselves and stay relevant. What this really suggests is that the shows are a powerful commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant. In conclusion, Hacks and The Comeback are a brilliant commentary on the modern celebrity landscape, where the pressure to stay relevant and the demands of the attention economy are the new battlegrounds for fame. The shows are a powerful reflection of our own societal pressures to constantly reinvent ourselves and stay relevant, and they are a brilliant satire of the attention economy. What this really suggests is that the shows are a powerful commentary on the pressure to constantly reinvent oneself, and the lengths to which celebrities will go to stay relevant.
