LOS ANGELES — Kaitlin Olson brought a balled-up napkin to the Aug. 16 HBO FYC event to talk about the fifth and final season of "Hacks."
It's a good thing, because the "High Potential" star got emotional talking about being away from her father, Donald Lee Olson,who died at the age of 76 on May 15, 2026.
“Well, I brought a napkin, so everything's going to be OK,” Olson joked to “Hacks” co-creator and star Paul W. Downs, who moderated the event.
The Emmy-nominated actress cried describing the painful circumstances surrounding her Emmy-nominated return as self-absorbed DJ Vance, the daughter of Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), during the making of the final "Hacks" Season 5.
“My dad was kind of dying the whole time,” Olson said. “It was very challenging
because I really just wanted to be in Oregon with my mom and dad.”
The difficult period was made even more complicated by Olson simultaneously starring in and producing ABC's "High Potential."Her demanding production schedule forced the "Hacks" team to repeatedly accommodate changes to her shooting dates.
When Olson finally arrived to shoot her first day on "Hacks" in late 2025, the actress went through hair and makeup before receiving devastating news from home. Her father's condition had drastically worsened.
“I got a call that he was rushed back to the ICU, and I was like, ‘I gotta go,’” Olson recalled.
Olson said the "Hacks" cast and crew immediately rallied around her.
“You guys were so wonderful,” she said, noting how difficult it was to delay and reschedule her shooting schedule. "You just hugged me and said, ‘Go.’”
"Hacks" co-star Hannah Einbinder reached out afterward with another reassuring message.
“Hannah texted me later and said, ‘I just want you to know the whole crew is … we're fine. We're just with you the whole time,’” Olson recalled. “That was really special.”
Olson eventually returned to the set, where she faced the challenge of acting hilarious while dealing with grief.
“It was hard to be shooting a comedy and be so sad,” she said, who felt guilt being away from her ailing father. "I talked to my parents about it, and they were like, ‘What are you talking about? Get out of here. This is what we love about you. Go do your thing. It makes us so proud and so happy.'"
Olson was able to travel back and forth to Oregon to spend weekends with her parents during what she described as “a long death" for her father.
There were final gifts. Her father lived long enough to watch her "Hacks" episode, "Montecito," for which Olson is nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series.
“He saw the episode,” Olson said, becoming emotional again. “It was the last thing of mine that he saw, and he just thought it was so funny.”
When her father died in May, Olson wrote a loving tribute, calling him, "My first love, my first protector and my forever favorite person."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kaitlin Olson tearfully recalls filming 'Hacks' while her father was dying
