Ava and Deborah may not have hung up their comedy hats, but their journey on HBO Max is over. Hacks concluded its final season on May 28, 2026. Since there will be no Hacks season 6, here’s what some of the folks behind the scenes have had to say about the reason the show is ending and how they feel about it.

Hannah Einbinder revealed this at the Emmy Awards last September, just before the Hacks cast and crew was set to begin filming season 5. According to People, she said that getting started on the final season was bittersweet (obvs) but felt kind of right.

"I think it’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done," Einbinder said. "Not overstay your welcome. Rip it and do it and laugh and cry."

Why won’t Hacks return for season 6?

Ultimately, it’s a good thing that Hacks gets to end on its own terms with the ending they’ve wanted from the start. Paul W. Downs, who plays Jimmy and (most importantly) co-created Hacks with his wife Lucia Aniello and their frequent collaborator Jen Statsky, told Esquire that the finale was actually part of the original pitch. “We had a plan for where the show went and the final episode,” he said. But they didn’t set out to make five seasons, or plan out everything that happened between the pilot and the finale. That allowed them to keep things fresh.

“A large part of the first chunk of writing Season 5 was us figuring out whether or not it should be a ‘super season’ that was divided into two seasons,” Aniello told Slate. “So there was actually quite a long time where, even in the press, people would say, ‘Is it the final season?,’ and we were like, ‘We don’t know yet.’ We weren’t trying to be coy! We were genuinely trying to see if we could have two more seasons to do!”

While they wish they were doing more, because they love working together, Aniello and Statsky both told Slate that the story lent itself to their planned ending at this time.

What else has everyone said about the final season?

Since everyone has had time to prepare, that means that social media is overflowing for Hacks and its legacy. “You guide me more than you know,” Einbinder wrote in an unabashedly corny letter to her character on IG. Jean Smart has been posting throughout the final season as well. Meg Stalter dropped a photo dump of her tears and another one of Kayla/Jimmy edits from TikTok. It’s a love fest, for sure.

“Hacks changed my life!!!!!!,” Salter said in a third IG post. “I'm really sad it's over!! These people mean everything to me!!! Paul Lucia and Jen changed my life!!! Hanny and Jean changed my life!! THE WHOLE CAST AND CREW CHANGED MY LIFE!IM SAD!!! IM UPSET!!! I HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE YET BECAUSE I CANT SAY GOODBYE!!!!”

Speaking of, Kayla and Jimmy spin-off when?

Stalter, who plays Kayla, wants it. The fans want it. The two characters, and actors, have the most hilarious chemistry. Their industry. “Everyone says that,” Downs told Elle. Heck, they could even join the cast of The Studio as their Hacks characters. Posthumous crossover, anyone? Schaefer & LuSaque for life!!!!