I can’t believe Hacks is over with this fifth season!
While I respect the creators for going out on their own terms, I still would have gladly watched ten more seasons of this show. Sigh. We start the season with Deborah and Ava back in Vegas, where they learn that Bob Lipka has launched a smear campaign against Deborah. Since her late night contract has placed a gag order on her, she can’t defend herself in public, much less through her stand-up, which is what she really wants to do. It’s looking like it’s going to be a long 18 months, but Deborah has a big mouth, so she ends up getting creative in communicating to people.
She at first tries a convention where she learns that her dedicated fan base are ready to quit on her. Ever since her late night gig she’s been neglecting them. She learns that she needs them to be a success, so she doubles down on her commitment to them. In turn, they help her sell out a show at Madison Square Garden (slated for 9/11) for when her gag order is finally lifted. But Bob Lipka is as much of a snake as you can be, so of course that show doesn’t go according to plan. Deborah and the team do find a way to make it work eventually, but gosh, what a road to get there!
Ava, while still successfully by Deborah’s side, does get her chance to shine outside of Deborah’s spotlight. After some struggles, she manages to get a new show off the ground that is eventually inspired by her and Deborah’s unconventional relationship. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Kayla encounter many setbacks, and ultimately lose their business to Kayla’s vindictive father. Things do fall into place for the two of them in the end, but Paul W Downs and Meg Statler have some of the most fun chemistry I’ve ever seen. I hope they work together in the future. To top off her empire, Deborah helps Marcus get a new boutique hotel off the ground, really honing in on intimate comedy clubs and helping new comics get their footing – love!
While all of those storylines are largely over-arching over the course of the final season, there are a few one off bits that are both comical, and for me at least, a bit quizzical. The former comes in the episode where DJ gets accepted into The Amazing Race and makes Deborah cash in on her promise to compete with her. Deborah probably would have slayed with a different partner, but the end clown bit was a hoot. And as a bit of a spoiler, in the final epsiode some time has passed and we meet Deborah confidning in Ava that her cancer is back and she will be ending her own life in Switerland. Um, what? I don’t even remember that cancer was a part of this show! So that made much of the last episode more somber than I was hoping it would be, but thank god it never ended up being truly gut-wrenching. You’ll just have to tune in to see how everything played out in the end.
Overall, this was a great series with wonderful stories and plenty of laughs, and I am truly sad to see that that it’s over. For those of you that have not had the joy of watching this rollercoaster yet – what are you waiting for!?