As ‘The Comeback’ and ‘Hacks’ End, Valerie Cherish and Deborah Vance Are Emmy Competitors for the First and Last Time

Awards Circuit Column: It's icon vs. icon as Jean Smart and Lisa Kudrow are Emmy winners, and so are their TV characters.

By Michael Schneider

Michael Schneider

Variety Editor at Large

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In the Season 5 opener of “Hacks,” Jean Smart’s beleaguered character Deborah Vance is eager to reclaim her legacy — and comes up with the perfect way to do it. She wants to be an EGOT.

The idea of the EGOT — someone who wins all of the “Big Four” entertainment awards at some point in their career (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) — has been around for a while but became even more of a talking point as stars and producers began to move between TV, film, stage and music more effortlessly.

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