There was hardly a dry eye inside the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on May 26 as the cast and creative team behind HBO Max’s beloved comedy Hacks gathered to celebrate the series finale and reflect on one of television’s most acclaimed five-season runs.
The evening felt less like a traditional FYC event and more like a heartfelt goodbye. Stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, along with co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, repeatedly fought back tears while discussing the final chapter of Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels’ complicated, career-defining partnership. According to attendees, emotions overflowed throughout the conversation, particularly when Smart and Einbinder discussed filming their final scenes together and saying goodbye to characters who had become part of their lives for half a decade.
The farewell was fitting for a series that became one of the defining television comedies of the 2020s. Since premiering in 2021, Hacks amassed an extraordinary awards haul, earning multiple Emmy wins including Outstanding Comedy Series, while Smart collected four Emmy Awards for her portrayal of legendary comedian Deborah Vance. The series also scored Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Writers Guild recognition throughout its run, cementing its place among HBO Max’s most decorated originals.
As the panel turned to the finale itself, the discussion became even more emotional. The creators revealed that the ending had been part of their long-term vision from the beginning, with the show’s final emotional destination mapped out years earlier. Downs admitted feeling a sense of relief when production wrapped because the team had successfully achieved the ending they originally imagined, while Aniello and Statsky spoke about creating a conclusion that honored both the comedy and the deep love story at the center of Deborah and Ava’s relationship.
The finale delivered one of television’s boldest swan songs. After Deborah receives a devastating cancer diagnosis and plans a final trip to Europe, she invites Ava to join her in Paris. What follows is a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful journey through the City of Light, where Ava desperately tries to convince her mentor and friend to keep fighting. The pair’s emotional scenes in Paris — culminating in a tearful plea from Ava not to leave her — became some of the most powerful moments the series ever produced. The creators later explained that Paris held special significance because the show’s earliest conception began there years before production started, bringing the story full circle.
Yet true to Hacks, the ending ultimately found humor amid heartbreak. Deborah rediscovers her reason to live through comedy itself and, more importantly, through her creative partnership with Ava. The series closes not with tragedy but with renewed purpose, as the duo move forward together toward another chapter. The finale’s final image of Deborah and Ava side-by-side serves as a reminder of what made Hacks resonate for five seasons: beneath the razor-sharp industry satire, the celebrity takedowns and the perfectly crafted punchlines was always a story about two women who challenged, inspired and ultimately saved each other.
As the Academy Museum audience rose for a standing ovation, the tears onstage made clear that Hacks was saying goodbye at exactly the right moment — but that didn’t make the farewell any easier.
