The last season of this once hugely funny comedy absolutely tears out of the blocks in its best outing in years. But it’s still not the show it once was – despite the brilliant performances
F
or a while there, Hacks represented the height of comedy. Actual funny comedy, as opposed to trauma-ridden half-hour dramas like The Bear. When it won an Emmy for best comedy in 2024, it felt like Hacks and Hacks alone was at the vanguard of proper comedy.
That seems like a while ago now. Since then, The Studio came along: another entertainment business satire, only one with bigger stars, better production values and sharper barbs. At last year’s Emmys, The Studio won everything in sight, while all Hacks could muster were a pair of trophies for Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, playing a rich but disconnected comedian and her put-upon writer respectively. So the question is this: can Hacks rally in its final season?
In short, sort of. The good news is that this final run is a clear step up from the woolly third and fourth seasons that saw Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance land a coveted spot hosting a late-night talkshow. What could have been a beautiful opportunity to take down a dying format ended up exposing most of the show’s flaws. During the late-night scenes, Hacks was forced to prove that Vance was as good a comedian as everyone said she was.
