One of the funniest shows on television is coming to an end this April. The fifth and final season of the Emmy-winning “Hacks” will premiere on HBO Max April 9.
New episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays. Two episodes will air on April 30 and May 7, leading up to the series finale on May 28.
The first trailer for this last season picks up right after the events of Season 4. If you need a refresher, last season followed Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) as they scrambled to make a relevant talk show in the 2020s. The season ended with Deborah defying the network’s wishes and publicly quitting the show — a move that broke her contract. After several news organizations mistakenly reported Deborah’s death, the trailer starts with the real Deborah pulling up to her mansion to find her gate covered in flowers and dolls. She then proves she’s very much alive and well.
The rest of the trailer shows Deborah shimmying in a dress made of playing cards, screaming into her hands and getting arrested. During a heated press conference, she tells several reporters that if she so much as performs one joke, she’ll go to jail.
“Everything that we have worked on for the past five years is gone,” Deborah says to Ava. “They’re not just rewriting me. They are erasing me.”
Later in the trailer, Ava counters with a grounding insight. “You are going to be remembered for comedy. Because you’re a comedian,” she says. Watch the full trailer above.
This season will follow Deborah and Ava as they cement Deborah’s legacy. In addition to Smart and Einbinder, Season 5 stars Paul W. Downs, Megan Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato and Rose Abdoo. Guest stars for this season include Robby Hoffman, Tony Goldwyn, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Jane Adams, Lauren Weedman, Poppy Liu, Johnny Sibilly, Luenell, Angela E. Gibbs and Caitlin Reilly. Christopher Briney also joins the cast of Season 5 as a guest star.
“Hacks” is created and showrun by Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky. Downs and Aniello executive produce via their Paulilu banner, and Statsky EPs via First Thought Productions. Other executive producers include Michael Schur via Fremulon and David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment in addition to Morgan Sackett, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Nate Young and Ashley Glazier. “Hacks” is produced by is Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
The comedy has been an awards darling since its premiere in 2021. Out of the more than 60 Emmy nominations the series has received, it has won 12 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024. Smart has also won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series four times for her role as Deborah Vance, and Aniello, Downs and Statsky have won multiple Emmys for their work on the show.
