Hacks: Season 1

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	Your Score
7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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Hacks

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Season Details & Credits

HBO Max | Season Premiere Date: May 13, 2021

Summary: Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a Las Vegas comedian, mentors a 25-year-old writer (Hannah Einbinder) in this dark comedy from Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky.

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama

Season 1 Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Telegraph Benji Wilson

Apr 1, 2022

The pacing is exquisite, with every episode revealing just enough of Deb and Ava’s backstory to cast them repeatedly in a new light. So there it is: Hacks is every bit as great as you’ve been told. Read full review

IndieWire Ben Travers

May 13, 2021

It’s clear this series has legs, as a much-deserved showcase for Smart, as a thoughtful story about the evolution of comedy, and as an original series that’s very much its own thing. Let’s see where this show can go. Read full review

Melanie McFarland

May 14, 2021

"Hacks" writes a surfeit of generosity into everyone, especially Deborah, whose vulnerability Smart readily accesses. ... Through it all "Hacks" steadily builds a real respect and friendship between these two women, expanding our view of what it means to secure and defend a throne at the banquet table, while appreciating the enormous struggle it takes to even get on the wait list. Watching and enjoying it is enough, but Smart and Einbinder make us want to sit with these two, Smart especially, as Deborah and Ava enrich each other's existence. Read full review

Richard Roeper

May 11, 2021

Even when we take a subplot detour into the lives of the backup players, “Hacks” never loses its edge — but it’s when Smart and Einbinder have the floor to themselves that this show sparkles brighter than Deborah’s outfits under the Vegas spotlight. Read full review

The Guardian Lucy Mangan

Apr 1, 2022

There are plenty of laughs along the way, but it’s the unforced emotional truths that make Hacks a right and proper vehicle for Smart. Read full review

Matthew Gilbert

May 17, 2021

“Hacks” is all about Jean Smart, and if you don’t enjoy her dry, direct delivery and her tough-broad demeanor, you have no business here. The HBO Max comedy is first and foremost a vehicle for her, one that starts off shakily but gets sturdier with each new half-hour. Read full review

Inkoo Kang

May 12, 2021

There’s a schematic quality to the series’ foundation that Hacks mostly fails to outgrow in the first six of its 10 episodes. Deborah and Ava’s boomer-versus-millennial, heartland-versus-the-coasts, experience-versus-innovation tensions are constantly telegraphed without becoming organic to the characters. Occasionally, their differences can lead to interesting discussions. Read full review

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User Score

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7.2

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User Reviews

Redbullfan

Jun 11, 2021

Well written and good characters. IMO too much time is spent on Ava and not near enough on Kaitlin Olson's character DJ. Kaitlin is a comic gold mine, especially with Jean Smart, and the series would be so much funnier if she was featured every episode.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

truerock

May 12, 2022

The 2021 TV series Hacks on HBO is a drama about a comedian and a comedy writer. So, the series is not so much a comedy as it is a drama about comedy.
The series is generally considered good and recieves a lot of positive reviews. I'm going to skip making comments regarding the highThe 2021 TV series Hacks on HBO is a drama about a comedian and a comedy writer. So, the series is not so much a comedy as it is a drama about comedy.
The series is generally considered good and recieves a lot of positive reviews. I'm going to skip making comments regarding the high quality aspects of the series and make an observation about some of the actors in the less important roles.
I do this because I've always felt when casting, writing, etc does very good work on the minor roles - it invariably results in very good entertainment.

Kaitlin Olson who plays Deborah "DJ" Vance Jr. and Christopher McDonald who plays Marty Ghilain, CEO of the Palmetto Casino have non-major, straight roles in the series.
Their acting, the writing, directing, etc for their parts is excellent. And to me, the attention to details like that is what makes a series like Hacks good.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarcDoyle

May 15, 2021

The first two episodes show potential. Jean Smart is incredible, of course. And though I've never seen her counterpart, it seems like she'll be a good foil. I'll definitely keep watching.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

xepav95557

May 26, 2021

Underwritten and over-acted, Hacks makes a strong case that the greatest hacks of all are the people who think that a drama about stand-up comedy makes for compelling television.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Seasons & Episodes

85

Series Overview
Season 2

88
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: May 12, 2022
Season 1

82
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: May 13, 2021
- No episode information is currently available for this season