In case you hadn’t heard, “Hacks” is coming to an end. At least that’s what creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky have declared ahead of its fifth and now final season. And, as with the previous four seasons and Emmy-winning 37 episodes, the HBO Max staple remains a stellar and entertaining showcase for the incomparable talents and incredible chemistry of stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder. You wish it could go on forever, but we already know that’s not Deborah Vance’s style.
READ MORE: “Hacks” Season 4 Review: The Wolves Are Coming For Deborah Vance
When we last left comedy legend Vance (Smart) and her writing maestro, Ava (Einbinder), the duo were on a six-month escapade in Singapore. Deborah was having a comeback of monumental proportions with her dream gig, a relatively new late-night talk show, but quit spectacularly on air after the network insisted she fire Ava. Displaying a maturity that was barely teased upon way back in the first season, Deborah chose her friendship over her career and the consequences that came with it. Censored from performing or speaking in public under a burdensome non-compete contract, the Asian enclave provided Vance a loophole to continue practicing stand-up comedy. That is, until she decided to head home and rebuild her career once more.
At the beginning of this new season, Deborah returns to Vegas to discover her fans (also known as “Little Debs”) think she’s died (uh oh, TMZ was wrong). Worse, the CEO of her former network, Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn), has spent months spreading lies that she had a psychotic break the night she quit the talk show. Somehow, she’s become a cultural pariah once more.
Now, the heightened tone and entertainment industry shenanigans of “Hacks” have always allowed for some suspension of disbelief, but this is the one time you may stop and think, “Wait, what?” No one told Deborah and Ava that this career slander was ongoing while they were in Singapore for six months? No one told them Lipka and the network had scrubbed any trace of the show and her acclaimed one-woman special online? Seriously? It’s a quibble to a necessary plot point, but also a reach.
Still under that insane contract, Deborah decides she needs to cement her legacy once and for all. At first, she wants to complete the elusive EGOT as she already has an Emmy and a Tony Award (as a financial producer, of course) locked up. But over the course of 10 episodes, a grander plan unfurls. Deborah will wait out the eight months to the end of her non-compete and celebrate her freedom with a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden, a feat few stand-up comedians have pulled off. Along the way, she’ll make some painful discoveries, reconnect with old friends, and empower others to pursue their own dreams. Oh, and maybe indulge in a May December romance with a hot young pop star (“The Summer I Turned Pretty’s” Christopher Briney) along the way.
Now pretty much acclimated to all of her mentor’s boomer quirks is Ava, who feels she owes Vance for giving up her dream to stand by her and, well, is sort of at peace with it. Where previous seasons focused on Ava attempting to escape Deborah’s shadow and pursue her own projects, she’s finally found a balance at this stage in their relationship. That’s partially due to a deep bond that’s grown between the two women and the arrival of a major television executive (Caitlyn Riley), who insists she’ll greenlight whatever Ava wants to make next. Just one of many secondary storylines weaving through the season.
“Hacks” has always been an ensemble, and Aniello, Downs, and Statsky clearly want to set all the mainstays on their respective paths while making sure not to completely wrap their stories up with a perfect bow. Some of these are more compelling than others. Deborah’s former COO, Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), takes a chance at renovating a downtown Vegas casino and hotel. That’s fun and puts the action back in Vegas, a locale the show drifted away from in season four. Deborah’s manager, Jimmy (Downs), his partner Kayla (Meg Stalter), and their assistant Randi (Robby Hoffman) find their indie agency in financial straits. The “Hacks” braintrust wants to use this narrative to comment on industry trends, but as hilarious as that trio is (Stalter truly comes into her own), it becomes less compelling as the season goes on.
The final season also features a ton of celebrity cameos and returning guest stars, which HBO and the showrunners want to keep secret, but fair warning, they aren’t as surprising as previous years (season four was their cameos’ peak), and that’s O.K. This time around, Deborah and Ava deserve your complete attention. That being said, Kaitlin Olson somehow delivers her most hilarious performance to date as Deborah’s daughter DJ (that’s after earning two Emmy noms for previous guest appearances) andJane Adams is always a scene-stealer as Ava’s kooky mother Nina.
When it first debuted five years ago, as the world came out of the pandemic, no one would have thought a comedy about a “legendary” old school comedienne and her inherently Gen Z writer would become a seminal show of this era. Especially a series focused on Vance’s attempts to become relevant again in Hollywood after a decades-long residency in Las Vegas and countless hours shelling branded merchandise on QVC. Even as the patriarchy, corporate media, family, and her own ego continue to impede their efforts.
“Hacks” still feels relevant, however. This season in particular includes spot-on commentary on the fallacy of AI and a shrinking entertainment business. But with the passage of half a decade, there is a part of it that already harkens back to a time that’s been lost. To a time before the LA fires, before the end of peak TV, to pre-strike optimism and a more open political environment. Cumulatively, this final season makes you realize how much the HBO Max staple is a touchstone of the Biden era. And in some ways, Aniello, Downs, Statsky, and their writing staff seem to know it. The world has changed dramatically in five years, but there is one constant: Deborah heroically endures.
Does “Hacks” come to an end with one of the greatest season finale episodes of all time? No, but that’s O.K. Really. It’s more than satisfying enough. The last episode will make you cackle, tug at your heartstrings, and, yes, make you wish Deborah and Ava stuck around a little bit longer. And perhaps that’s truly the best time to say goodbye. Like any great comic or any great performer, give it all you’ve got and leave them wanting more. [B+]
“Hacks” Season 5 premieres on Thursday, April 9 at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
