Editor's note: This article contains spoilers for the first four seasons of Hacks.
After years of maintaining that Hacks would indeed end after five seasons, the co-creators and showrunners behind the Emmy-winning comedy series delivered a thrilling season 4 finale and got an exciting season 5 renewal from Max (soon to be HBO Max again). But as we stand on the precipice of the Hacks endgame, we couldn't help but wonder: Is the beloved LGBTQ+ show still ending on its fifth season?
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The three showrunners of Hacks — Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky — have insisted for years that the hit comedy series is planned to end in its fifth season. Over time, that game plan was maintained in interviews with The New York Times,Deadline, andThe Hollywood Reporter. And even when the actors were asked about it, the answer never changed: Season 5 would be the end of Hacks, as far as they knew.
"We pitched five seasons. Even in the pitch of the whole series, we pitched the very last scene, the finale," Aniello told Fast Company, recalling the origin story of Hacks. "Suzanna Makkos, who bought the show [for WarnerMedia], stopped us before we got there. She was like, 'You don't have to pitch anymore. I'm going to buy the show.'"
Right after the electrifying finale of Hacks season 4, several interviews were published with the three showrunners discussing what's next for the series. Now that they've arrived on the edge of season 5, are Aniello, Downs, and Statsky still committed to ending the show next?
Short answer: Maybe so! Long answer: There's a lot more to the story.
Jean Smart on Hacks.
HBO Max
After praising the executives and collaborators surrounding Hacks, Downs told Variety that they, as showrunners, have "been allowed to do the amount of episodes every season that the story demands."
For example, Downs revealed that Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) getting an honorary degree from her alma mater was something they had thought about in season 1. As they mapped things out, however, that storyline took place in season 3.
"We are now breaking up season 5, and we have to see how many episodes it will take us to get to where we know we're going to go," Downs explained. "The final scene of the final episode has been in our minds since 2015, and we're excited to get there. But that may take more episodes than we can fit in the season."
Ultimately, Downs argued that there's room for more episodes if that's what the story legitimately requires. "If we can't get to that final chapter in 10 [episodes], and it might be more… We just don't know. That's the truth. We know where we're going, we just don't know how long it will take to get there."
Paul W. Downs on Hacks.
HBO Max
"We absolutely know how we want to end the series, and it's always been the same as when we originally pitched it. I think we are still working towards this [season 5] being the last season," Aniello told Gold Derby. "That being said, we haven't broken the season and figured it out."
Aniello echoed Downs's sentiments that Hacks has received a lot of support from its studio and network in terms of episode count. "That's why we haven't done 10 [episodes] every season. Sometimes it feels like eight, sometimes it feels like nine, sometimes it feels like 10." Downs added that the fifth season of Hacks currently has "too many episodes in one season," but that they're still in early stages.
When asked by Gold Derby if this meant that Hacks would get a two-part fifth season, or if the series would have a full new season plus a movie finale, Statsky laughed and replied, "I dunno." She added, "We know the ingredients. It's just a question of where in the recipe will they go."
Robby Hoffman on Hacks.
HBO Max
One big reason why Hacks could be extended beyond its fifth season is that the showrunners "have a lot of things we want to do this season."
"[There are] a lot of stories we want to pay homage to and a lot of characters we want to do right by," Aniello told Deadline. "So that being said, there's always a world where it's more than the amount that we can turn out in a year. Because we really like having the show out every year."
Statsky told TVLine, "We know where the series ends, but along the way, things have changed, things have been added, things have been subtracted. We're just at this point: Listening, and figuring out, and really doing gut checks on where we want the story to go. That's a really long non-answer, but the truth is that we do let the story, and the characters, tell us. We're still figuring out how much more there is to tell."
"In the last season, there's going to be a lot of story we want to tell, and a lot of characters we want to serve in the ensemble," Downs explained on Interview magazine. "So I'll leave it open, but we don't want to overstay our welcome."
Hannah Einbinder on Hacks.
HBO Max
Fans who are theorizing and speculating over what's next on Hacks season 5 — potentially the final chapter of the series — could actually take some cues from how things ended in season 4, it seems.
"Deborah is in this process of mourning the loss of her dream," Downs told TheWrap. "For her ultimate story — your obituary — to be written with your biggest loss first is just too much for her to bear. It was like rocket fuel to motivate her into a very different fifth season."
Statsky added, "She will not let this be the way that she's remembered. She will not let her biggest loss, the loss of this show — even though it was a moral and emotional victory — define her."
The season 4 finale is also revealing for how Ava (Hannah Einbinder) will move her story forward on Hacks.
"[Ava] has unwavering belief in the work that she and Deborah do together, the power and strength of it, and the fact that they are better together than apart," Statsky told TheWrap. "Ava has really grown…to understand that [this] is what she wants to be spending her time doing. I think, first and foremost, she will always want to take advantage of this really unique, special, kismet connection that they have."
While discussing the future of the two leading women of Hacks in the upcoming fifth season, Aniello told TVLine that "Deborah and Ava are quite bonded" at this point.
She elaborated, "Obviously, they had that conversation on the boat. But Deborah doesn't say 'I have some rewriting to do.' She says, 'We have some rewriting to do.'" As such, Aniello doesn't believe that Deborah and Ava would "return immediately to that friction."
Downs agreed, "After that slippery slope, after what happens in that episode… Yeah, they're pretty ride or die."
"But in terms of what else is left to conquer," Aniello mused, "I think part of the journey is figuring out what exactly, what kind of legacy you want to leave behind, and how do you get that, and then what are the obstacles for getting that?"
She went on, "As an artist, it's a really interesting thing — especially for Deborah, because she has a certain career. And, in terms of who defines it, she's always had her career defined by other people. This is her opportunity to define it on her own terms. And how she does that, we think, will be really fun."
Jean Smart on Hacks.
HBO Max
A fun fact revealed in the Gold Derby story is that episode 9 ("A Slippery Slope") was the original season 4 finale — which meant that episode 10 ("Heaven") was initially conceived as the first episode of season 5.
"We've actually had the idea for the obituary leaking and this misprint since season 1," Downs explained when asked by Gold Derby about that change. "We were always looking for the right place to have that be sort of rocket fuel for the character — it's almost like a near-death experience, you know? We'd really wake them up. And we were like, 'Oh, it's so much more fun to just do that now, so we can hit the ground running in season 5.'"
Carl Clemons-Hopkins on Hacks.
HBO Max
The TVLine interview noted that Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins) wasn't as present in "Deborah's world" in the past two seasons, and then asked the showrunners what fans can expect from the character going forward.
"He's in the finale quite a bit, and I think that is because his story is not done," Aniello replied. "Re-incorporating him into that finale was a conscious choice."
Downs added, "We've always tried to keep it true to life. We've talked about like, 'Oh, how could Marcus factor into the late-night show?' But it isn't really what he does or wants to do, so it didn't feel right for the character. It almost felt unfair to do that to the character."
"So now that we're not in the late night offices and making that show," Downs went on, "there's obviously more room for his story to dovetail again with Deborah's — which is exciting, because as we get to the final chapters of the story, it does feel nice to sort of have a return to what we started doing in season 1 with our ensemble."
Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs on Hacks.
HBO Max
Deadline's Matt Grobar asked the Hacks showrunners if they were open to any spin-off ideas, pointedly suggesting one centered on Jimmy (played by Downs himself) and Kayla (Megan Stalter).
"We're asked that a lot," Downs replied, "and the truth is that we have so many funny scenes for Jimmy and Kayla that don't end up in the show. And we're like, 'Well, that's going to be for a different show.'" After all, Downs argued, Hacks is all about Deborah Vance and her relationship with Ava. He continued, "So you're right. There's certainly a lot of material there, and it would be a lot of fun. I think we would absolutely be open to it, but we haven't been asked to do it. So, you know…"
Aniello teased, "Start the petition!"
The first four seasons of Hacks are now streaming on Max / HBO Max.
