Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera has won three Emmys and been nominated for seven, for the music he’s written for hit television shows such as “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Lessons in Chemistry.” Rivera’s latest nomination for television’s top honor is for “Hacks,” the buzzy HBO series which wound up its fifth season this summer with a record-breaking 25 nominations, the most ever for a comedy series in a single season.
But Rivera, a professor and the multi-award-winning chair of the Media Scoring and Production program at the Frost School of Music, says the thrill never gets old.
“Each time you get nominated is like the first time,” said Rivera. “You get the call, and you still feel that newness and potential. The gratitude is because your peers are the ones voting. People who do what you do are saying “this is good, I like this.” There’s no better affirmation.”
The impact of that affirmation was magnified by Rivera’s having spent five seasons with “Hacks,” the longest he has worked on any series. That longevity allowed him to grow with the show, deepening his collaboration with the showrunners and learning about writing for comedy and for complex characters that evolve over a long storytelling arc. “Hacks” centers on the often fraught relationship between aging comedy legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and the young writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), as they navigate their careers, connection, and the broader culture.
“When people think of comedy, they often assume the music should be funny,” Rivera said in an interview on The Blank Mag, one of the platforms covering music in film and television where he is frequently featured. “On “Hacks” I learned very quickly that the opposite was usually true… treating the emotional truth of the moment with respect usually served the comedy better than chasing the joke.”
Rivera treasures being able to share these kinds of creative insights and the countless practical tips he’s learned from over 13 years of scoring for shows that also include “Griselda,” “Dept. Q” and “Godless” with his students at the Frost School.
“Hacks taught me a lot about the role of music in comedy,” Rivera said. “The music’s job is always contextual to the story. No matter what you’re doing, the biggest challenge is to be as adaptable to that as you can.”
His 2026 Emmy nomination is for outstanding original music and lyrics for the satirical song “Mis Figuritas” (My Figurines), which Deborah sings in the “EGOT” episode. It was the first time a song entirely in Spanish was nominated in this category. “Mis Figuritas” has some heavyweight competition, including Lady Gaga for “Wednesday,” Trey Parker for “South Park,” and songs on “The Boys,” “The Pitt,” and “Spider-Noir.”
“The competition is pretty stacked,” said Rivera.
Rivera’s co-composer and co-nominee is David Stal, who began working with Rivera in 2017, contributed additional music to season one of “Hacks,” and became a co-composer the following season. That evolution reflects Rivera’s love of teaching. “That I was able to mentor David into a co-composer who is getting nominated is a point of pride with me,” he said. “It emulates what I do at the Frost School.”
“Hacks” also earned Rivera his third nomination for an Imagen Award, which honors Latino talent in film, television and streaming, for best music composition for film or television. It’s another meaningful recognition for Rivera, who is on the board of Reel Change: Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring, and is a member of the advisory board for the Composers Diversity Collective.
“If I can support talented people who are up and coming and are Hispanic, that’s awesome,” Rivera said.
As “Hacks” was winding up, HBO greenlit a rare live orchestra recording of some of the show’s final music at the Eastwood Scoring Stage (named for film legend Clint Eastwood) at the Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood. In a video shot at the session, Einbinder can be seen tearing up as the orchestra plays her final theme, which captures her character’s growth from angsty neophyte to confident professional.
It was an emotional moment for Rivera as well. He knew many of the musicians, the top players in Los Angeles who play on all the major soundtracks, since they were in school together at USC Thornton School of Music, where Rivera earned his DMA.
“That’s where it hit me that I’ve been doing this for a while,” Rivera said. “I know the musicians. I walk in, I say, “Hey, how are you doing?” One player commissioned me to write something for her when I was starting as a composer. I’m getting to work with friends. It was another moment when I realized how lucky I was.”
