Kaitlin Olson is having quite the moment. As fans prepare for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s 17th season to hit the 2025 TV schedule this summer, she also starred in one of last year’s best new shows, High Potential, which is getting a second season. Luckily for Hacks fans, she’ll still make time to return as DJ in Season 4, but as excited as I am to see her butt heads with her mom Deborah Vance again, there’s another character who may have already surpassed her as my favorite: Robby Hoffman’s Randi.
Randi was introduced in hilarious fashion in the Hacks Season 4 episode “Cover Girls” (streaming now with a Max subscription) as Kayla and Jimmy’s new assistant, and it’s obvious that comedy gold abounds in this trio. In fact, I think it should be more than enough to hold us over while we wait for Kaitlin Olson to make her return.
Kaitlin Olson’s DJ Has Always Been One Of My Favorite Characters On Hacks
There’s no doubt that the cast of Hacks is part of what makes it one of the best shows to stream on Max. The series is, of course, anchored by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder as Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels, respectively; and it’s hard to argue with the dynamic duo that is Kayla (Megan Stalter) and Jimmy (co-creator Paul W. Downs). In fact I’m really hoping that Kayla/Jimmy spinoff actually happens.
While those characters might be the gifts who keep on giving, Kaitlin Olson’s DJ is like the sprinkles on top. Her appearances are sporadic — she is credited on half of the first season’s episodes, two in Season 2 and three in Season 3 — but even in that limited screen time, she never fails to deliver. The mother/daughter dynamic between Deborah and DJ is complicated — heart-wrenching and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
DJ got her shining moment — and an Emmy nomination for best guest star — for the third season’s “The Roast of Deborah Vance,” when she was among the dais of comedians honoring her mother by hurling insults at her. DJ got to feel the rush that Deborah was addicted to as she repeatedly ended a story about her mom by saying, “What a cunt!” to the increasingly raucous audience.
So When Will Kaitlin Olson Appear On Hacks Season 4?
It hasn’t been confirmed when Kaitlin Olson will make her grand Season 4 entrance, but DJ is still listed by all accounts as a recurring character. One critic who received advanced screeners described a late-season episode in which DJ steals the scene, naturally, so while we don’t know when she’ll be back or how much we’ll get to see of her, at least we don’t have to worry about Olson’s schedule filling up too much to accommodate at least a small presence on Hacks.
In the meantime, I’m just excited to see more of Robby Hoffman as Randi.
Robby Hoffman Playing Kayla And Jimmy’s Assistant Is My Favorite Surprise Of Season 4 So Far
Hacks knocks it out of the park when it comes to side characters, and as a Millennial caught in the crossfires of Deborah and Ava’s Boomer vs. Gen Z war, I enjoy every scene Christopher McDonald is in just as much (OK, almost as much) as every time Poppy Liu appears. Honestly, I could use about 3x more Kiki on Hacks.
Other familiar faces include Helen Hunt, Dan Bucatinsky and so many more, but nobody stuck out to me in the first three episodes of Season 4 as much as Robby Hoffman. Randi — a gay, “probably atheist” ex-Hasidic Jew from New York — immediately proved to be quite the character, and I already can’t wait to see what kind of hell she and Kayla are going to cause for Jimmy.
Isn’t it just like Kayla, too, to go off the beaten path and hire an assistant with no experience, but who apparently has connections and knows how to get things done? I mean, Randi’s eagerness alone to clean the dog poop off Jimmy’s shoe was enough initiative to sell me on her. I can’t wait for more tidbits from her, like what she told Jimmy about hiring an assistant:
Forget the resumes. They’re a printout of lies. You truly want to assess somebody as a candidate, why don’t you ask them how many Peanut M&M's they could fit into a Honda Civic? It doesn’t matter the answer, just to see how they think.
I really have to wonder if Jimmy’s going to install that second sink for her so she’s able to keep kosher — despite being an atheist, because, “Some of these religious tenets, they were right. I can’t help that.”
Paul W. Downs told TV Insider Randi was written with Robby Hoffman in mind, and the character is apparently pretty similar to the comedian herself.
I’m New To Robby Hoffman’s Comedy, But I Can't Wait To Go On This Ride
Hacks is the first work I’m seeing of Robby Hoffman — who also appeared in the FX on Hulu series Dying for Sex (streaming on with a Hulu or Disney+ subscription) — and seeing her character on Hacks come to life was a welcome but not unexpected surprise. I first heard of her when Gabby Windey came out as gay and announced she and Hoffman were dating.
I’ve been a big fan of Gabby Windey ever since she was part of The Bachelor’s “Rose Ceremony from Hell,” and I was a huge supporter of Windey becoming The Bachelorette, because it was obvious she was made to be on TV. Since then more people have gone down the Gabby Windey rabbit hole after watching her win The Traitors, listening to her bonkers podcast and seeing the adorable pics from her and Robby Hoffman’s Las Vegas wedding.
The more I see of Gabby Windey, the more I want to see, and now the same goes for her wife, too. Now that I’ve gotten a small sample of Robby Hoffman, I want to see more of her brand of comedy, and hopefully there’s plenty of it to come on Hacks. I have no doubt she can keep me from missing Kaitlin Olson too much in the meantime.
New episodes of Hacks drop on Thursdays on Max.
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