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In the end, Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels prove that a funnier world is worth fighting for

Published May 29, 2026 12:00PM (EDT)

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in "Hacks" (Courtesy of HBO Max)

The following contains spoilers for the fifth season, including the series finale, of "Hacks"

Comedy loves a good callback. The fifth and final season of “ Hacks ” contains some outstanding nods to triumphs that Deborah Vance ( Jean Smart ) and Ava Daniels ( Hannah Einbinder ) savored together in the past, while also revisiting a few tribulations. But the ones in the finale top them all.

The series began with the camera following Deborah backstage as she kindly banters with the staff who make her act look easy, and ends with Ava doing her version of that stroll behind the scenes on her own sitcom pilot’s set.

The Deborah we meet in the series premiere is an extremely wealthy comedy legend (which, in the business, can be polite code for calling somebody a has-been) who views the inexperienced, cocky…