Jean Smart Pokes Fun at Her Broken Knee After Her Emmys 2025 Win

“I may not have 30 years,” Deborah tells her outside the train station, “but I think I have another hour. Will you help me write it?” 

After Ava agrees to help with her next comedy special, the pair are seen walking down the streets of Las Vegas as Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli sing their mashup of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

And don’t worry, Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter got some love, too, as Jimmy and Kayla corner her dad into handing the reins of Latitude Management over to them. 

While the HBO Max series’ last episode was satisfying—and emotional—for fans, the entire final season seemed to give viewers exactly what they wanted. Indeed, after Ava was hired in season one by a deceptive Deborah to be a comedy writer, the internet was filled with fan-fiction of the duo evolving from enemies to lovers.

So, series creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul wrote an episode where Deborah and Ava made out while pretending to be girlfriends on a trip with Leslie Bibb and Cherry Jones.

“It was so funny,” Hannah told USA Today in an interview published May 7. “I thought they handled it beautifully. I thought it was true to the reality of the characters while also delivering what [fans] wanted.”

Meanwhile, Megan spent the season delivering instantly-iconic lines, like telling a respected actress, “You’re acting’s ass and you’re being outperformed by a dead corpse, mama!” 

Plus, fans were treated to incredible guest stars like Jesse McCartney, Christopher Briney, Billy Baldwin, Trisha Paytas, Ann Dowd and Bob Mackie.

But while the cast has been vocal about the laughter they’ve shared during the six years of creating the show, Hannah—who won the Emmy last year for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series—has admitted how difficult it was to end it. 

“I became ill,” Hannah told USA Today last month about filming her final scenes. “The second I walked out of where we were shooting, and I was doubled over. My body was shutting down.”

But the bond she built with Jean carried her through. As she put it, “Jean is such a loving, caring person who really does cherish the people around her, and we all get to feel that warmth.”

And the feeling is mutual for Jean, who said she could “always lean on” Hannah. Plus, she added, “She'll always tell you the truth.”

Read on to see other shows that recently said farewell.