Deborah Vance is coming back for more.
Max has renewed comedy series Hacks, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, for a fourth season.
The news comes hours after the finale of the third season – titled “Bulletproof” – dropped on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service.
Season three of the show, which comes from creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, launched on May 2.
Smart’s Vance begins the season riding high off the success of her standup special while Einbinder’s Ava pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles. However, they obviously pair up again and [SPOILER ALERT], Vance may or may not have just scored a massive late-night win.
Season two of the show launched in May 2022 but a confluence of events delayed production on season three. Firstly, there was Smart’s health issues. She went in for a successful heart procedure in February 2023. Production resumed in May, nine weeks after stopping for Smart’s procedure and recovery, and then shot for a day before the Writers Guild of America announced its intention to strike beginning May 2. Then there was the actors strike, which ended in November 2023.
Aniello told Deadline about season three, they’ve “given Deborah her white whale”.
“It’s giving her what she wanted for so long, but at what cost?” added Statsky. “What we’re setting up is that Deborah is now on the biggest stage of her career.”
The trio of creators have long said that they pitched a five season arc for Hacks, so as long as things go to plan, there’ll be another renewal this time next year. They already know the ending, as well, per Deadline’s cover story.
The show also stars Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Vance’s COO Marcus, Downs as agent Jimmy LuSaque Jr., Megan Stalter as agent assistant Kayla Schaefer, Rose Abdoo as Vance’s estate manager Josefina and Mark Indelicato as her personal assistant Damien.
Kaitlin Olson, Jane Adams and Christopher McDonald also recur.
The first two seasons of Hacks were both nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys but lost out to Ted Lasso. Smart, however, won both years for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Aniello, Downs and Statsky won for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2021 with Aniello also winning for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series that year.
Married couple Downs and Aniello exec produce via their Paulilu banner, Statsky via her First Thought Productions shingle. Michael Schur exec produces for Fremulon, alongside David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment and Morgan Sackett. It is produced by Universal Television.
Sarah Aubrey, Head of Max Original Programming, quote: “We congratulate Hacks’ brilliant cast and crew, and our partners at Universal Television. Hacks is a masterfully crafted comedy delivering laughs and sharp insights about the vulnerability and joy of sharing a dream. The creative team behind this singular show is not only brilliant but also a joy to work with. We couldn’t be happier to give viewers another season with Deborah, Ava, and the rest of the Hacks family.”
Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television quote: “Hats off to Jen, Lucia and Paul for crafting a world as compelling and poignant as it is clever and funny. We applaud our outstanding cast, who made it easy to fall in love with these flawed, hilarious and deeply human characters, and we thank everyone at Max for a terrific partnership over the first three seasons and counting. We can’t wait to deliver more Hacks to fans around the world.”
