What happens when a fading comedy legend is forced to work with a young writer who can barely stand each other? If you do not know, don’t worry, Hacks answers that question through its strikingly well-crafted five-season run, so you’ll find out.
SOME PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD
To recap, the series centers around Deborah Vance, a successful Las Vegas comedian who, at the start of the first season, is beginning to lose momentum and relevance, as well as Ava Daniels, a disgraced comedy writer struggling to find work after a controversial tweet that blacklisted her. Forced together by their agent, Jimmy LuSaque, they clash constantly but gradually develop a mutual respect as Ava helps Deborah create more personal, emotionally honest comedic sketches. However, after Ava is known to have criticized Deborah to industry executives, their bond is broken at the end of the season.
In season 2, the pair travel together on a comedy tour while developing Deborah’s material, though tensions remain high from feelings of betrayal. Nevertheless, throughout the season, as they work through their conflict, they revitalize her career with a deeply personal act that becomes her new, very successful comedy special. However, yet again, the season ends with a knife to the back as Deborah fires Ava, believing she needs to build an independent career away from her own influence.
At the start of season 3, we view the women on separate paths before they come back together, eventually both proposing to a network, Deborah’s lifelong dream of hosting a late-night television show. At first, she promises Ava the head writer position, but later backs out, fearing Ava lacks the necessary experience. After yet another betrayal, Ava uses information that Deborah is in a relationship with a network executive to blackmail her into keeping her promise about the job.
Season 4 explores the fallout from that blackmail as Deborah and Ava launch the late-night show that soon reaches #1 in late-night. Their partnership becomes increasingly strained by workplace pressures, personal resentment, and ambition. Yet they continue to produce the show together, and both are forced to confront how much they really depend on one another. By the end of the season, and with the big conflict setting up the story of season 5, Deborah breaches her contract by quitting the late-night show in an act of disobedience after being forced to fire Ava. She now has to follow an 18-month non-competing clause, during which time her reputation is bashed by false claims and death rumors made by the network in retaliation for quitting.
The final season of the Emmy-winning comedic series is Deborah’s last quest to cement her legacy in the entertainment industry. After being claimed dead from a very brief report by TMZ, it got her wondering what she will and wants to leave behind, realizing she is not yet satisfied. This plotline is the base of the entire season as Ava and her try to find a way to make both of their dreams come true.
Without diving too far into major spoilers, the season largely focuses on Deborah navigating the next stage of her career while continuing to maintain her newly mended, complicated relationship with Ava. The decision to keep the bond that they fixed at the end of season four, instead of pitting them against each other as they had made the driving conflict in the season’s predecessors, was a good call. It would have been very easy for the writers to continue with another dramatic falling-out, but instead they chose a more refreshing approach, which was very appreciated. Although their relationship still has disagreements, tension, and emotional complexity, it allows both characters to continue to grow and to ground their genuine care and mutual respect, which has established their mentorship as an endearing friendship, while giving the audience something surprisingly heartwarming.
From the first season, one of this show’s greatest strengths has always been its ability to balance sharp, witty comedy with authentic emotional depth, and this season may be the best example yet. The writers consistently find new ways to explore their central themes of loneliness, ambition/failure in the entertainment industry, aging, and identity, without sacrificing their humor. This ability allows the show to feel sharp and concise while also being vulnerable, making the comedy set in real emotional stakes that feel special and meaningful.
For their final season, the writers really played around with their story, and in one episode, they even leaned into years of fan speculation and shipping surrounding Deborah and Ava. It was truly an episode for the core fans and long-time viewers of Hacks. This just shows that the writers can poke fun at fan theories while still honoring their own story pathways. Including episodes and scenes that playfully indulge the fanbase without going off the rails into something that feels forced and ruins the storyline shows the writers’ awareness of the chemistry of their own show.
Another highlight remains the dynamic between Ava and Deborah’s agents, Jimmy and Kayla. What began as one of the show’s most absurd pairings has evolved into one of the most entertaining, surprising, and beautiful relationships. This unlikely duo each brings out the best and worst in each other, especially as they work around their firms’ financial instability. Kayla’s chaotic energy constantly pushes Jimmy outside of his comfort zone, while Jimmy provides a grounding influence that helps her mature. I also can not believe it took me 5 seasons and 5 years to realize that Jimmy is not gay. Let’s just say if Paul W. Downs ever wanted to take on the role of a gay man in a future project, it would be very believable.
Speaking of character growth, Kayla is perhaps the most developed character in the entire series. From going from an incompetent assistant with barely any screentime, whose primary role is comic relief. To overtime, becoming an unfiltered, lovable co-partner that completes Jimmy’s character. To make things better, her growth never felt forced and, gradually over the course of the run, became the keystone character we know her to be in season five.
Although Jimmy and Kayla’s storyline did grow in meaning, Deborah and Ava have always remained the heart of the show, and both characters continued to reveal more layers in every episode. Deborah’s journey throughout the series has been about learning to let people in and loosening her need for control over every detail of what happens around her. At the same time, Ava has evolved from an idealistic and often self-righteous young 24-year-old to a 30-year-old individual capable of understanding nuance and accepting imperfection in the world and in others. Not only does the writing play a huge role in fostering this growth, but Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder deserve enormous credit not only for showing it but for making it believable. Smart is an absolute powerhouse, taking unapologetic authority of the camera while also being able to become vulnerable quickly. Meanwhile, Einbinder gives Ava a maturity that highlights just how far the character has come since season one. While also continuing to deliver stellar deadpan, especially her hard-hitting punchlines. Together, their performances not only elevate the emotional journey of friendship but also make Hacks all the more enjoyable to watch.
On the other hand, the care put into the writing is evident throughout the entire season. The writers clearly understood these characters and where their character arcs were and where they needed to end. The numerous callbacks, reflections, and parallels to season one just show how much thought they put into the way they want to tell their story.
Honestly, I have almost no notes of the entire season as a whole. Everything felt intentional and contributed to the overall story beautifully. With all of the messes of final seasons we have been seeing lately, the choice of the writers to end the series on their own terms in a natural conclusion rather than overstaying their welcome is the reason it is one of the best final seasons we have seen in a long time.
My only real issue comes down to the storyline introduced in the final episode. Based on the tone of the rest of the season, one might expect a relatively lighthearted conclusion. Instead, the finale takes a sudden dark turn that they had been subtly foreshadowing throughout the entire season. Although completing this twist would have been devastating, the choice to bail out in the last ten minutes of the show was of poor taste. They really took ‘go big or go home’ to heart for their last episode, yet then proceeded to choose to go home. I feel like it’s the kind of twist you either fully commit to or don’t bring up at all. However, even though I do not fully agree with the moment, when they were creating this sadness as they delved into a profoundly deep topic, the writers were really able to capture the feelings Ava was having about losing someone she had learned to really care for, while also being able to continue with Ava and the story’s comedic ambiance.
Even with that one criticism, Hacks remains one of the funniest and most consistently well-written sitcoms I have ever watched. Its layered character, outstanding performances, and thoughtful writing have made it a standout comedy from beginning to end. If someone has not yet given themselves the chance to immerse themselves in this stunning world, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
