The casting directors for "Hacks" deserve a bottle of champagne for their perfect casting of Kaitlin Olson as DJ Vance. It feels like the role might have been written for her all along — and maybe it was! — because to portray the emotionally abused and spiritually wounded only daughter to a narcissistic workaholic takes a prickly vulnerability that Olson specializes in. From the moment DJ Vance stepped into frame in an army print jumpsuit and platform heels, raging about her UTI, Olson’s place in the "Hacks" universe was solidified: Her presence as a wounded warrior in Deborah’s life was necessary to underscore the trajectory of all of her other relationships. And, in the latest episode of the show, “D’Christening,” DJ finally takes a stand against her mother’s ongoing abuse. In Olson’s hands, the revelation is tender yet tough, scary yet sentimental, and a reminder of what might happen to Deborah if she doesn’t begin to reevaluate some of her own choices.
When I first saw Olson as Deborah’s daughter, I cheered. Not only was I excited to see one of my favorite comedians spar with Jean Smart, I was also psyched to see a 40-something woman cast as a daughter, and not a mother. Olson’s penchant for petulance, spite and sass while still remaining loveable — See: Fox’s short-lived "The Mick." Seriously. Go see it. — made her an excellent candidate to portray an adult who’s stuck repeating childhood patterns with a parent. So, when DJ met Ava (Hannah Einbinder), Deborah’s new partner / daughter-figure, it fully tracked that the two would bond.
