Hacks is back with a bang for its fifth and final season.
The Emmy award-winning series released its first episode on HBO Max on 9 April, promising a season that reflects on the legacy of its comedic leading lady, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), writes Film News Blitz’s Sarah Sharp.
It assures equally fun and compelling storylines for the rest of its well-loved characters: Deborah’s “voice,” Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), delightfully chaotic agents, Jimmy and Kayla (Paul W. Downs and Megan Salter), and Deborah’s family, both biological and not, DJ, Damien, Josefina, and Marcus (Kaitlin Olson, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins).
She has risen
(Spoilers) The fourth season left our comedic super-duo, Deb and Ava, at a bit of a loss.
Deborah chose Ava over her late-night show, and as a result, is no longer allowed to perform comedy for the remainder of her contract.
To make matters worse, after her spiral in Singapore, TMZ mistakenly reported Deborah as dead.
But she has risen, and Deborah decides that this cannot be it for her career.
The fifth season opens on a memorial to Deborah, reminding viewers just who she is. We see a Diet Coke plush and a poster entitled “we’ll miss you queen.”
Her next target becomes clear: she has to solidify her legacy.
So what next?
(Spoilers) The opening episode of season five sets a clear direction for what’s to come.
After a slight detour where Deborah wants to achieve EGOT status, Ava reminds her that she should be remembered for comedy.
A clip from the trailer surfaces in this episode, in which Deborah tells Ava, “They’re not just rewriting me, they’re erasing me.”
Through a risky pitch by Ava involving a speakeasy-esque comedy show, a leaked clip, and Deborah being sued, the goal is set.
When her contract is up, Deborah will sell out Madison Square Garden.
This season is thus primed to be the most ambitious yet, where our ever-entertaining characters will aim to have the last laugh.
Smart and Einbinder also remain as hilarious as ever in their partnership as a Las Vegas comedian and an LA writer.
When and where to watch ‘Hacks’
New episodes of Hacks will be released weekly from 9 April 2026 until the 10th and final episode on 28 May 2026.
They will be released at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max.
The first four seasons are also available to stream on NOW TV and Showmax.
Here you can catch up on Deborah and Ava’s relationship and their journey to late-night television from Las Vegas.
The last laugh
All in all, Hacks’ final season is set up to be just as full of heart and laughs as the seasons before it.
Jen Statsky, one of the creators of Hacks, explained in an interview with Screenrant that, “We’d always talked about this being a five-season show, lately, and we knew the endpoint that we were writing towards.”
While it is sad to see it end, this season is sure to grace viewers with more of Ava “being super bi,” sassy Deborah quips, and an answer to whether Jimmy and Kayla will ever have sex.
READ NEXT – ‘Pretty Lethal’ review: Vicky Jewson’s film is full of guts and gore
