'Hacks' Season 5 Review: HBO's Best Comedy of the Last 5 Years Checks All the Right Boxes With Its Ending

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Hannah Einbinder's Ava smiling with Jean Smart's Deborah in Hacks Season 5

Published Apr 7, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT

Emily Bernard is a Features Editor and Peer Mentor for Collider who studied History, Playwriting, and English at the University of Scranton. She’s a proud comedy nerd who loves getting into the nitty gritty of a joke and how it came to be, and she's interviewed several of her favorite comedians, including Tig Notaro, Hannah Einbinder, John Early, Julio Torres, Patton Oswalt, Ego Nwodim, Aidy Bryant, and Please Don’t Destroy. Emily’s not totally sure how she feels about this whole "writing in the third person" thing, but it sounds more professional, so she's going to stick with it.

All good things must come to an end. When it was recently confirmed that Season 5 of HBO's hit comedy Hacks would be its last, it felt right. For four seasons, co-creators Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs delivered a carefully crafted comedy series that never grew stale, jumped the shark, or, most importantly, stopped being funny. In fact, it got funnier — and even more heartfelt — as legendary stand-up comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) evolved brilliantly both personally and professionally, coming quite a long way from that whip-smart, fast-paced, insult exchange that was their meet-cute back in the first episode.

Wrapping up a series as beloved and critically revered as Hacks is arguably much more difficult than trying to get a show off the ground. The margin for error is gone, there are numerous complicated relationships and storylines to bring to a respectable end, and there's a passionate fanbase to satisfy. It's even more difficult to do when you are climbing out of a season finale that felt almost too risky. Thankfully, Hacks' final season knocks it out of the park in practically every way and makes you question why you ever doubted the show's boldest swing in the first place.

'Hacks' Season 5 Quickly Rebounds From a Shaky Season 4 Finale

Season 4 of Hacks was, to put it simply, unlike anything the series had done before, in that, for the first time, Ava was not only on essentially the same power level as head writer of Deborah's late-night show, but also had the upper hand in a big way (blackmail). Yes, the series had put them at odds before (heck, their bickering is the show’s foundational charm), but Season 4 took things further by pushing Ava and Deborah ideologically apart and keeping them that way. The risk felt organic and important for the characters in order not to become stagnant. The penultimate episode of Season 4 felt like the perfect closer, with Deborah making her most selfless move yet by giving up her late-night show in solidarity with Ava, who the network wanted to fire — and then, there was Singapore.

Hacks' Season 4 finale sent Deborah into an extreme downward spiral. Due to a loophole in her non-compete contract that banned her from performing or speaking for months, Deborah took Ava to one of the only places she could legally perform. The fun times only lasted until Deborah turned to drinking and lost her desire to work on her act. In a dismissive, drunken fury, she told a concerned Ava that she had no friends and no life outside of her, and that she was pathetic. This all felt like it took things a bridge too far and was, in a few ways, simply unnecessary. After her false death announcement by TMZ, Deborah vowed to win the people back and cement her legacy, with Ava at her side. Hacks' return was teed up in a big yet ambiguous way, with as much opportunity for a misfire as there was for an exceptional final season. Aniello, Downs, and Statsky quickly quell any fear or apprehension fans might've had after that Singapore excursion by sticking to the formula that got viewers hooked in the beginning and has kept them enamored ever since.

'Hacks' Season 5 Gives Deborah and Ava a New Goal

Jean Smart's Deborah on the phone with Hannah Einbinder's Ava listening closely in Hacks Season 5

One of the things that makes Hacks Season 5 work so well is the palpable energy in every episode. It starts with Deborah hilariously dismissing a shrine fans made at her mansion when they thought she had actually died, only for said fans to be shocked — and relieved — to come face to face with the legend in her own driveway. Smart continues to effortlessly embody Deborah's callous demeanor to hilarious effect, while also seamlessly revealing sides softened by Einbinder's Ava throughout their loving, toxic relationship. Hacks is at its best when Deborah and Ava have something to work toward, and that scrappy determination is established immediately in Season 5 as Deborah sets her sights on solidifying her legacy. When you die, she argues, you're remembered for your biggest achievement or biggest failure. She wasn't going to be remembered for the fire, the late-night controversy, or her Singapore meltdown; she was going to be remembered for being an excellent comedian.

This instantly gives Season 5 and its core characters a strong focus. Business partners Jimmy (Downs) and Kayla (Megan Stalter) are equipped with their blunt, Hollywood neophyte assistant Randi (played by Robby Hoffman, who was Emmy-nominated for her guest work in Season 4) as they think of how Deborah can really cement her legacy in gold (should she… go for an EGOT?) and also try to take on new clients so they don't rely on Kayla's trust fund. While Hoffman can definitely feel underused at times, she's also playing a character that pops up at just the right time, whether with a hyper-specific fact, a solution to a problem you didn't anticipate, or a handy invention. Serving as purely comic relief in a series that's bursting with hilarious line deliveries and characters is no easy feat, but Hoffman plays her part perfectly, making for a solid late-in-the-series addition and functioning as a reminder of how far Kayla and Jimmy have come.

Jean Smart's Deborah in a gold outfit holding a microphone in the Season 1 finale of Hacks.

With each season, Ava has continually earned more independence while also strengthening her bond with Deborah — even if she doesn't necessarily feel like she has a life outside of that. What's especially charming about the way this is executed here is how Ava isn't the one bothered by that — Deborah is. Deborah is reminded at inconvenient times about her perceived "meltdown" in Singapore, but the story smartly doesn't dwell on it. Instead, it serves as a motivator and reality check for Deborah, leading to her making many selfless decisions throughout Season 5 that really show her growth, and how much of an impact Ava — and her many other fans — have had on both her work and how she sees the world. Ava and Deborah's codependency is problematic, but it's also what makes them sing, and seeing them mostly in harmony for the final season is just what you want as the show nears the finish line.

'Hacks' Final Season Is Immensely Satisfying for Die-Hard Fans of the HBO Comedy

Kaitlin Olson's DJ and Jean Smart's Deborah Vance in clown makeup in Hacks Season 5

If there's one word to describe Hacks' final season, it's satisfying. For those who have been in the trenches with Ava and Deborah since Day 1, clinging to every detail, recurring joke (Ava's large hands, for one), and passing character, then the many Easter eggs hidden in all 10 episodes are just a joy to come across. Season 5 feels like a final season with its many callbacks and full-circle moments, though it largely never feels like you're being hit over the head with a more morose, "farewell" feeling. Seeds are planted smartly for what could be on the horizon for Ava's career after Deborah's career crescendos, giving Einbinder's character an agency and progression that's more than earned, and is, well, incredibly satisfying.

Hacks is also never afraid to lean into physical comedy, something that is woefully underused in the genre. Whether it's an over-the-top situation Jimmy and Kayla must climb themselves out of in a hotel room, or Deborah and DJ's (Kaitlin Olson) bottle episode that doubles as much-needed closure for the mother-daughter pair, Hacks has always been a joke-heavy comedy that's unafraid to get silly. And speaking of closure, no stone is left unturned in the final season, with familiar faces returning, and sidelined storylines, like Deborah's sitcom Who's Making Dinner?, coming back around to play a bigger role than one might expect.

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart Do Some of Their Best Work in 'Hacks' Season 5

Above all, Hacks Season 5 really feels like it's having fun. It has the scrappiness and determination of Season 1, and, while Deborah and Ava's "mission" gets established early on, the episodes are littered with side quests that don't really have a "purpose" other than the fact that they are hysterical. Einbinder and Smart share a number of scenes that allow them to let loose in the comedy sandbox, with Episode 7 serving as a wink to fans and acting as a series highlight for Einbinder and her unrivaled comedic timing and line delivery. Both characters share wildly different romance subplots with outcomes you definitely won't see coming, with Deborah's acting as another wake-up call of sorts.

Hacks Season 5, which very much feels like it was written with the fans in mind, still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. There's a noticeable tonal shift in the final three episodes, which are also the most daring of the season. Downs, Aniello, and Statsky save the heaviest emotional beats for the end, with each of those episodes feeling like the final pieces of a very detailed puzzle. That's when the "oh, this rollercoaster is ending" feeling really sinks in, with a shocking Deborah storyline that's hinted at earlier hanging over the final moments, making you wonder if that's really the way the series will come to a close. But, as with every season before it, Hacks takes a sharp left turn when you least expect it, and Ava and Deborah end up exactly where they are meant to be. Hacks' big, brave final season will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the people who believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself.

Hacks Season 5 premieres April 9 on HBO.

Hacks

Hacks' fifth and final season delivers laughter, heartfelt moments, and satisfying closure.

Release Date 2021 - 2026-00-00

Pros & Cons

Hacks' final season calls back to many characters and storylines from the entire series' run in a very satisfying way.
Emmy winners Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart are at the top of their game in Hacks' final season.
Hacks' final season has the fun, scrappy energy that hooked us in Season 1.

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