Everyone wants to go out on their own terms. It’s hard to predict what will come in life and how opportunities might be swiftly lost or gained based solely on luck and coincidental timing. While the fifth and final season of Hacks is very much about its protagonist, Deborah Vance, considering what she wants her legacy to be, it’s also an example of a show that has remained fresh for the entirety of its forty-seven episodes and is wisely choosing to go out on top before losing any of its signature magic.
After quitting her talk show job, Deborah (Jean Smart) is struggling to make her big comeback in the face of her non-compete clause, which prevents her not just from doing anything but also from talking about how she wants – and needs – to do something. With Ava (Hannah Einbinder) back at her side, they have no shortage of ideas but have to get creative to try to figure out how to find some way to get her back in the spotlight. Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) and Kayla (Megan Stalter) are also struggling to keep their business afloat and to reel in clients with less complex issues to navigate than Deborah has.
Following a season where Deborah and Ava were at each other’s throats doing whatever they could to humiliate and infuriate each other, it’s a delight to have them getting along again. They’re still able to be quite funny, and it’s a refreshing change of pace to see the bitterness transformed into genuine affection, which of course still involves Ava mocking Deborah for taking every call away from her head on speaker phone and Deborah jumping at Ava’s request for a pair of tweezers since she thinks it’s a chance to tackle her less-manicured features (it’s only a splinter). Endearing banter works just as well as bickering, it turns out, and it’s nice to see that these two are just as much fun to watch when they’re not trying to ruin each other’s lives.
There’s a reason Smart has won four Emmys in a row and that Einbinder finally took home her own trophy for the show’s fourth season, highlighted by her angrily throwing a branzino at the wall. They’re enormously talented and so perfectly-suited for these parts. Watching Deborah as she reflects back on what she hasn’t accomplished and looks ahead to an uncertain future is wholly worthwhile, and Smart does just as well with the dramatic material as she does with delivering a biting one-liner. Einbinder is effortlessly funny, and seeing her emphasize Ava’s dorky traits and embrace how those serve her well is gold.
Giving Jimmy and Kayla even more screen time than ever before in this show’s swan song is a marvelous choice, and Downs and Stalter truly are an unbeatable pair. The mixture of physical comedy and storyline absurdity is truly winning, and their dynamic is different enough from Smart and Einbinder’s that the two duos play off each other very well, contributing equally to a rich whole. Despite more limited parts, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, and Kaitlin Olson are wonderful as always, and it’s a treat to have the Emmy-nominated Robby Hoffman back as an unexpectedly terrific assistant whose quips are almost as impressive as the work she does.
These final ten episodes expertly weave in a number of guest stars, only some of whom have been announced (Christopher Briney, Leslie Bibb, Cherry Jones, and Ann Dowd). They’re never too distracting or in focus, inhabiting the periphery in a way that enhances the core cast and their characters. In following their efforts to go for broke and throw everything at the wall, this show avoids jumping the shark itself by framing them as ridiculous efforts to stay relevant and feel important, which ultimately come off less as selfish or off-putting and more as survivalist in a very relatable way. Throughout five seasons, Hacks has never lost any of its flair or its footing, and this final stretch is as funny and terrific as ever, strongly closing out one formidable chapter of TV comedy history.
Season grade: 9/10
