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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Stuart Heritage

Hacks finale review – this venomous satire used to be the height of comedy. But now … it isn’t

Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder standing together, one holding coffee
Easygoing chuminess … Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Hacks. Photograph: Sky

For a while there, Hacks represented the height of comedy. Actual funny comedy, as opposed to trauma-ridden half-hour dramas like The Bear. When it won an Emmy for best comedy in 2024, it felt like Hacks and Hacks alone was at the vanguard of proper comedy.

That seems like a while ago now. Since then, The Studio came along: another entertainment business satire, only one with bigger stars, better production values and sharper barbs. At last year’s Emmys, The Studio won everything in sight, while all Hacks could muster were a pair of trophies for Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, playing a rich but disconnected comedian and her put-upon writer respectively. So the question is this: can Hacks rally in its final season?

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