'Hacks' Final Season Review
- Juli Horsford
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Season Five. [Episodes 1 - 2]
Aired On: HBO Max.
Release Date: 04/09/26.
Genre: Comedy. Drama.
The Verdict: A Must-See
In the first episode of the fifth and final season of HBO’s hit comedy show Hacks, comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) declares she doesn’t want to be remembered as a quitter or some hysterical woman who ruined late-night television. She wants her final chapter to be memorable, iconic, and most importantly, defined by her own decisions.
Throughout the previous four seasons, Deborah has navigated the fickleness of fame and pursued comedic greatness, often to the detriment of everyone in her orbit. After a fake death report and a smear campaign from Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn), this season sees Deborah thinking about her legacy more seriously than before.
At first, it's a reactionary and impulsive response. She announces to Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and the rest of her team that she wants to EGOT (win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award) and plunges ahead pursuing the two awards she has yet to nab. She’s grasping at straws, and while it makes for funny moments (a Tony Kushner appearance and a recording session with a Tejano band) it’s not sustainable. So she resets and decides her real goal is to sell out Madison Square Garden. After violating the terms of her contract by performing a secret show that gets leaked online, Deborah goes big and announces this new goal to a pack of reporters outside of the courthouse.
All of the elements that make Hacks so good make appearances in the first episode. Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter show off their comedic chemistry with a hilarious Robby Hoffman thrown into the mix. The writers continue their trend of stuffing the thirty-four minute episode with equal amounts of funny one liners, ridiculous predicaments, and plenty of heart. But the nucleus of the show remains the relationship between Deborah and Ava. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder pull off this complex relationship with ease—they have the comedic chops to make you laugh and the emotional range to tug on your heartstrings.
It feels fitting that the final season of Hacks will focus on the idea of a legacy. The show itself has managed to maintain an absurd level of excellence while doubling as both a critical and commercial darling. If the first episode is a hint of what's to come, Hacks seems poised to cement its own legacy as one of the best shows to grace television.
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