The 2025 Emmys are the time to celebrate the best in TV, but before the awards show even began, fans found out that they’re about to bid farewell to a beloved comedy series.
While walking the Emmys red carpet, Hacks star Hannah Einbinder revealed that the upcoming fifth season of the hit HBO Max series will be its final installment.
“It will feel different,” Einbinder told E! host Heather McMahan, per Variety. “We’re going to start [filming] next week, and knowing it’s the last season is really bittersweet. But I think it’s right, you know?”
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The actress, who stars opposite Jean Smart on the series, added, “It’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done. Not overstay your welcome. Rip it and do it and laugh and cry.”
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) in Hacks season 4.
(Image credit: Max)
The beloved showbiz comedy, created by Lucia Anello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky about the relationship between a stand-up legend and her younger writer, was renewed for its fifth season in May 2025, days before its season 4 finale. Before Einbender’s announcement, the showrunners had previously said in interviews that they were unsure whether they would stick to their original five-season plan for the series.
“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 said back in May.
“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…The truth is that we’ve been really lucky to be able to tell the story in the way that the writing requires, and we’re gonna do that again. And so if we can’t get to that final chapter in 10, 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.”
Jean Smart wins the 2025 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Fans may recall that the acclaimed season 4 of Hacks concluded with Smart’s Deborah Vance down on her luck and living in Singapore after leaving late-night TV and facing a non-compete clause. However, it sets up the forthcoming episodes as a false report of her death inspires a fire in her and her writer/mentee, Ava (Einbinder), to return to the U.S. and fight the industry to reclaim her work.
This year’s Emmys ceremony marked a big night for Hacks, which was nominated for 14 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Hannah Einbinder wins the 2025 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
(Image credit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
The stars took home major prizes. Smart won her fourth consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for playing Deborah Vance (marking her seventh Emmy overall). Meanwhile, Einbinder took home her first-ever award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for her performance as Ava Daniels.
Einbender, who is known for being vocal about both social justice issues and her love of the Philadelphia Eagles, ended her speech by saying, “Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine.”
