Public Holiday Fest Streaming 26' - Hacks - Season Five/Series Finale

Hacks is one of the best 30 minute comedies of all time. The HBO Max, 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. 

Sadly, the series concluded last Friday, after five seasons & 47 episodes. That said, they went out with a bang! The show left on a massive high. Unlike recent concluding series, Heartbreak High, the soon to conclude All American, which will begin it's final season in July, along with The Boys, which kind of left with a whimper.

Hacks has received critical acclaim and won a number of major awards, including four consecutive 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 four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, four Critics' Choice Awards, two Television Critics Association Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Einbinder received four consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2025. Other members of the cast who received Emmy nominations include Downs (one nomination) and Carl Clemons-Hopkins (one nomination).

So how does this exceptional comedy series conclude? Read on below if you got around to watching the finale Friday. Allow with fellow HBO series, Halfman.

Man HBO is having a moment. Also Euphoria really does need to end too. That has defiantly passed its prime.

Ava shoots the pilot for Who's Making Dinner; Deborah and Marcus open the Diva, which now employs Marty, Kiki, Josefina and Damien; Jimmy puts up with humiliation in the Latitude mailroom. 

Deborah confesses to Ava she has cancer and refuses to be treated, and that after their Paris vacation they'll head to Zurich for Deborah's assisted suicide. 

Ava refuses to participate and confides in Jimmy, who already knows and convinces her to go with Deborah. Jimmy blackmails Michael into giving up Latitude to him and Kayla after discovering via his mailroom work that Michael had been embezzling from the company; half the employees quit but the rest support Jimmy's new vision for Latitude. 

Deborah and Ava enjoy Paris, and Ava makes one last attempt to change Deborah's mind because she's scared of losing her but Deborah refuses. Ava relents, and while waiting to board their train to Zurich, she and Deborah riff on jokes about dying. 

Inspired, Deborah stops Ava from boarding and asks her to help write one last hour-long comedy special. Ava accepts, and Deborah starts treatment in Las Vegas as they work on jokes together again.

Was a near perfect finale. I honestly thought Deborah was going to die. This was a damn fine series. Every season had laugh out loud moments. It was always like did Jean Smart just say that?

I expect more awards incoming for this show. Great last season. Funnily enough, it steams on Stan, not HBO Max. Which does actually only have The Pitt and upcoming Big Bang Theory spin-off, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe incoming.

I guess Paramount really are taking over!

Until next time! BYE!