Hacks Season 4 Review: Jean Smart does it again as Late Night’s Queen

Hacks is back and better than ever under the leadership of the iconic Deborah Vance. The HBO Max series Hacks season 4 will be airing on April 10th. The comedy is coming after Jean Smart won Best Actress in a Comedy at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and the show as a whole won Best Comedy edging out The Bear. In its history, the series has been nominated 48 times and has taken home the hardware 9 times. Don’t look for 2025 to be anything different as Hack’s picks up as strong as it left off.

HBO Max Logline: “Tensions rise as Deborah and Ava endeavor to get their late-night show off the ground and make history doing it.”

Indeed there are tensions. The comedy powerhouse begins when Deborah Vance(Jean Smart) is not keen on letting ill intentions slide. Last season, Ava Daniels(Hannah Einbinder)took a page out of Deborah’s book when she blackmailed her into the head writer position. It was a shady, yet sly move on her part. Vance didn’t think she was ready and well enough equipped to handle that kind of role in such a big world, even if she may have deserved the position.

And that is where we first land. Ava has gone from co-producer to executive extorter. There is a standoff between both women and tensions are as thick as oil. Deborah isn’t one to roll over when she’s been played so well. Ava is the one who lit the match and it takes a while to burn down. Pranks are ensued against Ava and it’s unprofessionally entertaining. A battle of wits at every turn and management must step in and extinguish the flame.

Let’s meet the newbies

Robby Hoffman enters the canvas as the “Speed” loving Randi, a potential assistant hire for Kayla(Megan Statler). She knocks it out of the ballpark on day one. Granted she doesn’t have a lot of influence throughout the season, but she’s a scene stealer in the company of Jimmy(Paul W. Downs) and Kayla who are navigating their coexistence at the company. Randi is an exceptionally captivating character with an idiosyncratic style.   

Jimmy has come such a long way from being just Ava and Debroah’s manager. There’s such fun banter between him and Kayla for the duration of the series. You couldn’t find a duo more mismatched if you tried. Kayla Schaefer is simply a firecracker going 100 miles per hour in every direction. She is one of the characters I most enjoy because she brings you that comedy aspect in everything she does. Always packing a punch, and even when she’s getting on Jimmy’s nerves(almost always) there is a lot of love and genuine respect between them. Rarely will they see eye to eye but it somehow works in the end. Her ideas come off as flamboyant and nonsensical to Jimmy and the audience, but somehow she keeps getting lucky finding success as she marches the wild beat of her drum.

Julianne Nicholson plays a character known as “Dance Mom,” an online TikTok talent found by Kayla, and introduced to Jimmy to help Deborah bring female viewers to the Late Night show. She’s vibrant, energetic, and exuberantly full of life. What happens throughout her journey is what happens to a lot of first-time fame recipients. LA can chew you up and spit you out without the right kind of support system around you. I think many actors can attest to that. Dance Mom has a candidly infectious personality that brings so much light and joy to the world. Even Deborah is on board with this pistol of fun.

A Mayor you have never seen before and will never see again

Fans will witness more of Mayor Pezzimenti(Lauren Weedman). When Deborah and Ava take the new team for a writing retreat in Vegas, the boisterous mayor and friend of Deborah’s must bail them out of a jam. This all takes place in episode 3 “What Happens in Vegas,” my second favorite episode of the season. It’s absolute Sin City at its core. There remains some hostility between Ava and Deborah still, and they take this poor team to voyage the entertainment hub of the world. As you would expect for Vegas casinos, neon lights, nightlife, and partying like there is no tomorrow. As they do so you’ll get to see some old faces from the past you may have missed from previous seasons.

Ava Daniels has about zero growth in her personal life and goes through a bit of a “situationship” that gives Deborah plenty of friend-bashing material. Not to mention a blast from her past that comes back to shake up her world and emotions. Deborah and Ava are both poster children for pushing people away. It’s a gift at this point. Each can be awful and selfish but both are likable enough to make you not care. 

Finding the funny

In season 4, Deborah Vance battles what she finds funny and what she thinks the audience will find funny. Even more friction occurs between her and Ava when Deborah spends too much energy trying to please the network and appeal to rating statistics. There are fine lines in any show when you are trying to build an audience base and still trying to be true to yourself. That’s something Deborah has to weave her way through.

Despite all the awkwardness and rogue behavior, this season has balanced all the characters. Leaving more to be desired instead of side plots that didn’t always mesh well into the story. Everything connects more smoothly. There are a lot of great comedy’s out there but few are as compelling. The Late Night Queen has a major tonal shift from last season and there’s profound character growth that fans have been longing for.

Back in season 3, there was some mild criticism that this show doesn’t feel like a comedy to fans. I think the same can also be said for The Bear. Nonetheless, fans won’t feel that way this time around. It’s such a good balance between comedy, warmth, drama, and satisfaction. Come this next Emmy season you can expect Hacks to be on top and Jean Smart to once again be an Emmy favorite. Especially when you witness her masterful performance in the penultimate episode. Deborah will blow you away with the heart that Ava swore she didn’t have.

All in all, the new season shares a lot of bold messages that we see in the reality of Hollywood today. Like network executives that go overboard to protect heinous individuals. Corporation greed is a nasty business. Men who do not like seeing women in power, especially women of a certain age. And men who also don’t have respect for women, but need them to fulfill quotas and ratings.

The iconic Deborah Vance

Nobody has evolved like Deborah Vance. Though this is solely a television show, it’s an inspiring one for older women, young women, and little girls to chase their dreams and never let anyone tell them what can’t be done. Because Deborah gets to live the impossible dream in a world where that Late Night door had already been closed. Followed by the unfeasible task of going from worst to first. The clear message is to never give up because you never know what’s around the bend. With hard work and a strong will the impossible can become attainable. Never say never.

There are a multitude of new guest stars for the Emmy award-winning program including new cast members Julianne Nicholson, Michaela Watkins, Bresha Webb, Robby Hoffman, and Eric Balfour.

Danny Jolles, Gavin Matts, Grover Whitmore, Homes, Katy Sullivan, Matt Obreg, and Sandy Honig represent the new group of showwriters for Ava Daniels. This hiring process was of course something Deborah and Ava had to butt heads about.

The show is run by creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. Returning cast members this season are Megan Statler, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, Dan Bucatinksy, Helen Hunt, Tony Goldwyn, Kaitlin Olson, Jane Adams, and Lauren Weedman.

Along with this all-star cast, there are more star-studded guest stars that pop up as the season goes along. Zero spoilers here, but you will know these popular faces from within the world of comedy, and each one will excite you more than the last. On top of that, watch out for some big(the biggest there are) celebrity namedrops. Could we see them in potential seasons of the show? You never know. Hacks leaves us with a superior build-up ending with a deeply intimate reward. It’s always such a fun time with Hacks. My only hard criticism is I would like to see much more Marcus(Carl Clemons-Hopkins) in the future. Until then, see you at Award season.

Hacks season 4 rating: A

The ten-episode season will debut on HBO with 2 episodes Thursday, April 10 at 9 p.m. ET. 

FOLLOW LORETTE ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

About the author: Shay has been writing as a journalist professionally for years. Her most common topics to cover are drama and horror but she looks forward to getting her feet wet with new and exciting genres and projects. @ShaySleighs