Spoiler Alert! This article contains spoilers for all three seasons of HacksOver the course of its first three seasons, Hacks has delivered some truly great episodes, from the hilarious original pilot to the jaw-dropping season 3 finale. Created by Broad City’s Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, Hacks stars Jean Smart as legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, the down-on-her-luck millennial writer Deborah hires to drag her act into the 21st century. Throughout the show’s three seasons, Deborah and Ava have charted a complicated love-hate relationship with plenty of ups and downs.
Hacks has recently been the subject of controversy for winning Outstanding Comedy Series over The Bear at the Emmys. But Hacks is just as deserving of the award as The Bear would have been. It’s an incisive satirical takedown of show business with some of the most consistently brilliant writing and acting on television. It’s both a laugh-out-loud comedy and a touching, heartfelt character drama. In three seasons consisting of 27 episodes overall, Hacks hasn’t had a single bad episode — but the very best ones have stood out among the rest.
10
“There Is No Line”
Season 1, Episode 1
The very first episode of Hacks — season 1, episode 1, “There is No Line” — is still one of the show’s best. The pilot received universal acclaim from critics and won Emmys for writing and directing. It begins with Deborah and Ava both reaching low points in their careers: Deborah has been bumped to a midweek show at the Vegas casino where she has a residency, and Ava has been blacklisted from the business after tweeting a controversial joke.
Ava needs a job, and Deborah needs a younger perspective to update her material. So, their manager Jimmy has the bright idea to bring them together. The initial meeting of Deborah and Ava brought together a comic pairing for the ages, and it kicked off their relationship on an unforgettable note. The show would get even better in its subsequent episodes, but “There is No Line” set a high bar for the series that followed.
9
“Par For The Course”
Season 3, Episode 6
Hacks season 3 follows Deborah’s efforts to finally make her dream of becoming a late-night host come true. In season 3, episode 6, “Par for the Course,” she participates in a golf tournament with some cable affiliates in the hope of making a good impression, so they’ll recommend her for the hosting job. But halfway through the tournament, when she learns they’ve given the gig to someone else, Deborah drops the nice-guy act and kicks the affiliates’ butts up and down the golf course.
While it’s heartbreaking to see Deborah’s dreams dashed (for now), it’s always a joy to see Deborah in cold-hearted badass mode. “Par for the Course” wrings plenty of laughs out of Deborah bringing Ava on the course as her caddy. She gets a great B-plot where she falls for a wealthy golfer who turns out to be an ultra-conservative fracking mogul with a working-class fetish. It’s not quite as mind-blowing as the episodes that deliver bombshell twists, but it’s a ton of fun.
8
“New Eyes”
Season 1, Episode 6
The Hacks writers started to bring Deborah and Ava closer together in season 1, episode 6, “New Eyes.” The episode sees Deborah and Ava working on new standup material while staying at a luxury spa where Deborah is recovering from a recent eye lift. While writing jokes in Deborah’s suite, they take edibles together, which loosens them up enough to finally start having fun (including pulling an ill-fated prank on Deborah’s overly serious nurse).
The episode has plenty of hilarious gags and one-liners, but it’s also deeply emotional as Deborah starts to care about Ava. “New Eyes” also subtly tackles the frustrations of everyday sexism in a really poignant way. There’s a scene touching on male doctors’ dismissal of women’s healthcare concerns, showing Hacks’ ability to highlight real-world issues without making them the focus of the episode. “New Eyes” outdid the pilot by mixing social commentary into its razor-sharp character work.
7
“The Click”
Season 2, Episode 6
Smart won her second consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her fantastic performance in season 2, episode 6, “The Click.” After a one-night stand with a much younger man, Deborah has a revelation that finally clicks her new standup act into place. Rather than trying to escape her past indiscretions and controversies (namely, the allegation that she burned down her ex-husband’s house), Deborah decides to embrace them and make them the centerpiece of the show.
Not only is Smart’s acting in the episode magnificent; “The Click” also touches on the core of all great comedy: truth. In addition to being a great comedy series in its own right, Hacks is a study of the business of comedy and the creative process behind it. “The Click” highlights the raw honesty that all comedians must embrace to be truly great. It’s a little too inside-baseball to connect universally, but it’s a fascinating insight into the process nonetheless.
6
“One Day”
Season 3, Episode 5
Hacks slowed down for a somber, character-focused installment in season 3, episode 5, “One Day.” While suffering from writers’ block, Deborah and Ava decide to get out and go for a walk to clear their heads. However, while wandering through the woods, Deborah falls and sustains an injury, and they find themselves stranded without their phones. This was a great way to strip away all the series’ usual stylistic trappings and focus squarely on Deborah and Ava’s relationship.
Deborah’s injury becomes a symbol of her mortality as she confides her fears about aging. Smart nails Deborah’s monologue about how she thought she’d get around to achieving certain dreams “one day,” and now she’s reckoning with running out of days to do those things. “One Day” highlights Deborah’s heavily guarded vulnerability and builds to a heartwarming ending. “One Day” balances humor with heart more effectively than most other Hacks episodes.
5
“The One, The Only”
Season 2, Episode 8
All throughout season 2, Deborah reckoned with constant bombing. She hit the road, played small venues all across the country, and felt like she was losing her touch as the audience suddenly stopped laughing. After some soul-searching and perseverance, that storyline came to a head in the season finale – season 2, episode 8, “The One, the Only” – as Deborah finally got her groove back and filmed her special at the Palmetto.
As with all the show’s season finales, Hacks season 2 ends on a shocking, game-changing cliffhanger: as soon as Deborah is back on top, she fires Ava. It’s an emotional rollercoaster of an episode, with euphoric highs like Deborah’s unexpected DVD sales and devastating lows like a man’s death at the show. “The One, the Only” is easily a top-five episode, because it encapsulates all of Hacks’ best qualities: it’s funny, it’s earnest, and it’s wildly unpredictable.
4
“The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular”
Season 3, Episode 7
Deborah’s relationship with her estranged sister Kathy was one of the most important parts of Deborah’s backstory, and Hacks finally addressed it in season 3, episode 7, “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular.” Inspired by Ava’s words of wisdom, Deborah extends an olive branch to Kathy and invites her to her famous annual Christmas party. Most of the episode takes place at the party, but there’s also a hilarious B-plot involving Jimmy and Kayla trying to get a Fatty Arbuckle biopic made in an elaborate plan to secure Deborah’s late-night hosting job.
While the main cast is firing on all cylinders as usual, “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular” has two of Hacks’ best guest performances, too. J. Smith-Cameron shares terrific chemistry with Smart, especially in the scene where Deborah and Kathy finally air their grievances to each other. Plus, Christopher Lloyd gives a wonderfully eccentric turn as a Fatty Arbuckle descendant who doesn’t want to be alone on Christmas. These guest stars made an already great cast even more lovable for one glorious episode.
3
“The Captain’s Wife”
Season 2, Episode 4
Deborah and Ava hit the high seas on a lesbian cruise in season 2, episode 4, “The Captain’s Wife.” Deborah initially panics, since she’s used to playing primarily to gay men and this is a totally different demographic, so she brings Ava with her to retool the material. Ava faces her debilitating fear of the ocean to join Deborah on the cruise, but despite their best efforts, the show is an unmitigated disaster, and they’re asked to leave the ship.
“The Captain’s Wife” is a great bottle episode that puts the season-long arc on hold to focus on Deborah and Ava’s developing friendship. The cruise brings Deborah and Ava closer together, as it helps Deborah understand Ava better. As Ava opens up about her bisexuality, Deborah starts to let go of her old-school prejudices and becomes more open-minded. “The Captain’s Wife” stands out from most other Hacks episodes, because it takes the characters out of their usual environment to dig a little deeper into their emotions and their relationship.
2
“1.69 Million”
Season 1, Episode 6
Smart won her first Emmy for playing Deborah for her unforgettable turn in season 1, episode 6, “1.69 Million.” This is the episode that turned Hacks from a really good show into one of the greatest shows on television. “1.69 Million” tackles the casual sexism embedded in the standup comedy circuit. When Deborah performs at the iconic Sacramento comedy club where she got her start, Ava is shocked to see just how normalized misogyny is in this club environment.
The titular scene is one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series. After Ava confronts Deborah about her failure to act against the sexism within the industry, Deborah finally decides to fight back. When she sees the loudmouthed, chauvinistic host of the show, Drew, harassing one of the female comedians, Deborah offers him $1.69 million to quit comedy – and he agrees. This scene is a thing of beauty, and that triumphant scene alone makes it Hacks’ second-best episode, because it encapsulates what makes Deborah such a great and unique character.
1
“Bulletproof”
Season 3, Episode 9
In its third-season finale – season 3, episode 9, “Bulletproof” – Hacks reached a new height of greatness. “Bulletproof” is even more shocking and game-changing than the two season finales that came before it. Deborah has finally landed the late-night hosting gig, but that’s just the beginning of her problems. Now that she has the job, she’s worried about losing the job. In order to not rock the boat, she decides to keep the current head writer and denies Ava the job she promised her.
Just when Deborah and Ava seem to have gotten past their differences and become genuine friends, “Bulletproof” throws another spanner in the works. In Hacks season 3’s ending, Ava ingeniously decides to use Deborah’s duplicitous tactics against her and blackmails her into giving her the job. This completely flips the script on their relationship. The Hacks writers outdid themselves with the season 3 finale. It has just as many laughs as the average episode, but it also delivers one jaw-dropping twist after another, which makes for gripping television.