‘Hacks’ Renewed for Fifth Season at Max

Hacks is entering the record books at Max.

The streamer has renewed the series for a fifth season, which will make Hacks the longest-running live-action show in Max’s (admittedly not very long) history. Series creators and showrunnners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky announced the renewal Tuesday evening at an Emmy FYC screening in Los Angeles.

The pickup for the Emmy-winning comedy from Universal Television comes two days before its fourth season finale. The current season has seen Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) realize her dream of hosting a late-night talk show — though with more strings attached than she would like — with Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) as her head writer.

Hacks premiered in May 2021, when the streaming service where it runs was known as HBO Max. It has continued since the platform changed its name to Max in April 2023 — and with the renewal, season five will stream on the re-renamed HBO Max. (Depending on when in the summer Warner Bros. Discovery pulls the trigger on the name change, And Just Like That and Peacemaker could also become HBO Max-Max-HBO Max originals, though neither has run as long as Hacks.)

“Yes! More! We congratulate Hacks’ singularly talented cast and crew and our great partners at Universal Television,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original programming at Max.

Added Universal TV president Erin Underhill, “Like Deborah Vance herself, Hacks only gets bolder, sharper, and more iconic with time. We’re beyond thrilled to keep the laughter rolling with Jen, Paul, Lucia, our extraordinary cast and crew, and our partners at Max.”

Along with Smart and Einbinder, Hacks stars Downs, Megan Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato and Rose Abdoo. Recurring actors Dan Bucatinsky, Helen Hunt, Tony Goldwyn, Kaitlin Olson, Jane Adams, Lauren Weedman, Christopher McDonald, Poppy Liu, Lorenza Izzo, Johnny Sibilly, Paul Felder, Polly Draper, Luenell and Aristotle Athari reprised their roles in season four, joined by series newcomers Julianne Nicholson, Michaela Watkins, Bresha Webb, Robby Hoffman, Eric Balfour, Danny Jolles, Gavin Matts, Grover Whitmore, III, Holmes, Jasmine Ashanti, Katy Sullivan, Matt Oberg, Sandy Honig and Jake Shane. 

Downs and Aniello executive produce via their Paulilu company, and Statsky exec produces through her First Thought Productions. Michael Schur of Fremulon, David Miner of 3 Arts, Morgan Sackett and Joe Mande also executive produce.