If you haven’t watched Hacks yet, don’t worry — no one’s taking away your comedy card. But we are giving you some side-eye. The HBO Max series took home the 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series (again), proving it’s more than a sharp-tongued sleeper hit.
With Jean Smart’s razor-sharp Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder’s hot-mess Ava Daniels, Hacks is a hilarious, heartbreakingly honest look into what it means to evolve in the entertainment industry (and your personal life) when reinvention isn’t optional.
Season 4 ups the ante. Deborah finally lands her dream gig (a late-night hosting spot), and guess who’s her head writer? Ava. Whether they like it or not, the two are stuck in another high-stakes collaboration, and the drama is richer, funnier, and riskier than ever. There are fake throuples, real power plays, a juicy Vegas detour, and even a Carol Burnett cameo that might make you cry-laugh.
If you’ve somehow missed out on Hacks until now, consider this your official wake-up call.
The comedy in Season 4 (currently on air) cuts even deeper
Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are not just delivering punchlines — they’re rewriting the rulebook on intergenerational comedy.
In an Entertainment Weekly cover story, Smart said she wasn’t shocked they won the Emmy: “I just thought, I wasn’t surprised at all that we won. I was surprised that everybody was surprised.” Einbinder, meanwhile, admitted to being “really stoked” that fans are finally calling this “the best season yet.”
That confidence comes from the show’s willingness to go darker. Season 4 explores emotional manipulation, media power games, and career self-sabotage, all with laugh-out-loud timing. “We’re playing with stakes and pushing both Ava and Deborah into places they’ve never been,” Einbinder teased.
That includes sensitivity training sessions after some eyebrow-raising practical jokes and a disastrous public confrontation that puts Ava and Deborah’s already-tense dynamic on blast.
Adding to the brilliance? Comedy legend Carol Burnett, playing herself, steps in to offer Deborah some long-overdue life advice — and honestly, it’s TV gold.
Why Hacks deserved that Emmy
When Hacks won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2024 Emmys, co-creator Paul W. Downs reminded everyone why it matters. “Please support comedy. It speaks truth to power. It really does,” he said, per Rolling Stone. Downs also emphasized the importance of representation, noting only 3% of TV characters are over 60. With Smart’s Deborah Vance front and center, Hacks proves older women can be leads, scene-stealers, and Emmy magnets.
Let’s not forget this isn’t a fluke. Hacks has also won Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress (Jean Smart), Outstanding Writing, and even a Golden Globe. And it’s not slowing down.
In fact, Lucia Aniello, who directs and co-creates the series, summed it up best: “When you laugh with someone, you have something in common with them.”
So yeah, Hacks is still hilarious. But it’s also urgent, relevant, and brave…a rare combo in today’s comedy landscape.
