Hacks (2021)

Hacks is an American dark comedy drama television series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky that premiered on May 13, 2021, on HBO Max. It follows Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a stand-up comedian, and her comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), as they navigate the evolving dynamics of their professional partnership and personal lives within the contemporary comedy industry. The series concluded on May 28, 2026, after five seasons and 47 episodes.

Hacks received critical acclaim and won a number of major awards, including five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, winning that award for its third season. Its first and third seasons won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and its third season won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.

Smart's performance won her five Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the first actress in history to win for all seasons of a multi-season show. She also earned three Screen Actors Guild Awards, four Critics' Choice Awards, two Television Critics Association Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Einbinder received five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2025. Other members of the cast who received Emmy nominations include Downs (two nominations), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (one nomination), and Megan Stalter (one nomination).

Premise

Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas-based stand-up comedian, needs to reinvent her aging act to avoid losing her residency at the Palmetto Casino. Ava Daniels is a young comedy writer who is unable to find work due to an insensitive tweet and her reputation for being self-centered and arrogant. When Ava's agent sends her to work as Deborah's new head writer, the two slowly bond as Ava pushes her new boss to take more risks and Deborah, in turn, helps Ava start to work through her personal problems.

Cast and characters

Main

Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedian

Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck comedy writer

Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Marcus Vaughan, COO (season 1) and later as CEO (seasons 2–5) of Deborah's management company and her closest advisor

Megan Stalter as Kayla Schaefer, who works as Jimmy's assistant and later his co-manager (seasons 3–5; recurring seasons 1–2)

Paul W. Downs as Jimmy LuSaque Jr., Deborah and Ava's manager (seasons 3–5; recurring seasons 1–2)

Rose Abdoo as Josefina, Deborah's estate manager (seasons 3–5; recurring seasons 1–2)

Mark Indelicato as Damien Asada Agosto, Deborah's personal assistant (seasons 3–5; recurring seasons 1–2)

Recurring

Kaitlin Olson as Deborah "DJ" Vance Jr., Deborah's daughter

Christopher McDonald as Marty Ghilain, CEO of the Palmetto Casino

Poppy Liu as Kiki Loas, Deborah's personal blackjack dealer

Johnny Sibilly as Wilson, a water inspector who gets entangled with Marcus

Angela E. Gibbs as Robin, Marcus' mother

Jane Adams as Nina Daniels, Ava's mother

Lorenza Izzo as Ruby, an actress and Ava's girlfriend (seasons 1–4)

Luenell as Miss Loretta, Robin's best friend

Joe Mande as Ray, a hotel clerk for the Palmetto (seasons 1–3, 5)

Lauren Weedman as Jo Pezzimenti, the mayor of Las Vegas

Helen Hunt as Winnie Landell, a network executive (seasons 3–4)

Dan Bucatinsky as Rob, the executive producer of Late Night with Deborah Vance (seasons 3–4)

Tony Goldwyn as Bob Lipka, a top executive of the conglomerate that owns Late Night (seasons 3–5)

Michaela Watkins as Stacey, the HR representative at the TV studio (season 4)

Robby Hoffman as Randi, the new assistant for Jimmy and Kayla (seasons 4–5)

Guest

Cameos

A number of comedians and celebrities guest-star or make cameo appearances as themselves throughout the series:

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Season 3 (2024)

Season 4 (2025)

Season 5 (2026)

Production

In May 2020, HBO Max announced that it had picked up the series and that Jean Smart would star. Additional casting was announced in February 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, actors held table reads over Zoom, there were no cast parties during production, and stars Smart and Clemons-Hopkins did not even meet each other in person until minutes before the pilot was filmed. In June 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season, and the cast added Laurie Metcalf, Martha Kelly, and Ming-Na Wen in recurring roles and Margaret Cho as a guest star.

In June 2022, HBO Max renewed the series for a third season. In September 2022, the showrunners revealed that a time jump would take place between the second and third season. Production began for the third season in November 2022, but paused near the end of February 2023 for a few weeks before resuming in March due to Smart recovering from a "successful heart procedure". Production shut down in May 2023 due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs were promoted to series regulars in the third season after having recurring roles since the first season. In February 2024, it was announced Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Bucatinsky, George Wallace and Tony Goldwyn would guest star in the third season. In March and April 2024, Aristotle Athari and J. Smith-Cameron were respectively announced to guest star in the third season. In May 2024, Max renewed the series for a fourth season. The fourth season began filming in October 2024 and wrapped in January 2025. In May 2025, Max renewed the series for a fifth season, which was confirmed to be the final season at the 2025 Emmy Awards.

Release

Hacks premiered on May 13, 2021, with a two-episode release. Two episodes were released on a weekly basis through June 10, 2021, for the remainder of the 10-episode first season. The second season premiered on May 12, 2022, with a two-episode release weekly. The second season of Hacks premiered on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2022. The third season premiered on May 2, 2024. Two episodes were released weekly through May 30.

The first season was released on Blu-ray on June 14, 2022. In May 2026, the creators of the series expressed their plans on releasing the complete series on physical media, because "It's such an important time for people to invest in physical media". In August 2026, it was announced the complete series would be released on Blu-ray later that year. The following month, it was confirmed the set would release on December 8, 2026, and feature over 4 hours of bonus features.

Reception

Critical response

All five seasons of Hacks have received critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds a 98% rating. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series received a score of 87 out of 100.

Season 1

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating for the first season of 100% based on 74 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "A prickling debut that pulls few punches, Hacks deftly balances its sharp critiques of the comedy world with more intimate moments, all the while giving the incomparable Jean Smart a role worthy of her talents – and an excellent partner in Hannah Einbinder." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 25 critics.

Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season also received an approval rating of 100% based on 54 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Hacks hits the road, but Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder remain very much at home with each other in a sterling sophomore season that finds novel ways to deepen the central pair's lovable friendship." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 24 critics.

Season 3

The third season received an approval rating of 98% based on 50 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critics consensus states, "Reuniting never felt so good – Hacks roars back with a fresh set and a persuasive argument for its own longevity." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 based on 22 critics.

Season 4

The fourth season received an approval rating of 98% based on 42 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critics consensus states, "Pitting Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder's dynamic duo against each other on the mountaintop of success, Hacks finds fresh ways to mine comedic gold from one of television's most compelling relationships." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 20 critics.

Season 5

The fifth and final season received an approval rating of 97% based on 37 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critics consensus states, "Hacks takes a triumphant bow with a final season that keeps the pace and jokes right on par with its previous installments, bidding farewell to Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels with all the flair and care this world has to offer." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 15 critics.

Awards and nominations

See also

List of television shows set in Las Vegas

Notes

References

External links

Hacks on HBO Max

Hacks at IMDb

Hacks at Rotten Tomatoes

Official season 2 finale screenplay