The beauty of HBO Max’s smash hit comedy lies in the relationship between Deborah and Ava that developed over five seasons.
Hacks contains multitudes; at once it’s a giddy comedy, an unpredictable drama, and an endlessly fruitful sitcom, but more than anything, Hacks is a love story. Across five seasons, the personal and professional relationship of Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) has been the beating heart of the show. So much so, their relationship may just be one of the greatest love stories to grace our screens.
When Hacks first debuted in 2021 on HBO Max, the series framed itself as a comedy-drama, yet the connection between a revered Las Vegas stand-up and a down-on-her-luck Gen Z bisexual can best be described as a romance. The two women couldn’t be more different, but as the rules of romance dictate: opposites attract. The journey of Deborah and Ava perfectly aligns with the template of a romance, featuring a complicated meet-cute, compromises and sacrifices, a painful breakup, and a declaration of love that solidifies their partnership.
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Hacks’ debut season set up the duo re-inventing and modernising Deborah’s stand-up; season two saw the pair honing their comedic voice, before seasons three and four focused on them finding their place in the late-night circuit. The fifth and final season of the 12-time Emmy-winning show continues to follow the development of the comedic pairing, but turns its focus to legacy, with Deborah desperate to ensure her obituary is packed with impressive accolades – namely securing an EGOT and a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
No matter the timeline position or the state of their comedy careers, Hacks is built around Deborah and Ava’s deeply loving, intergenerational connections from which jokes easily spout and the pair poke at each other for a reaction. However, the final season is different. Finally, the two comedians are recognising the intimacy and adoration they harbour. Their lives have become intertwined, their tastes merged, and they understand each other like no one else. Putting that into words doesn’t come naturally, especially for Deborah so when she confesses that Ava is “her voice”, it feels revolutionary. But the sentiment has always been there in Deborah’s hearty laugh, reserved only for Ava, pushing the younger writer for a better punchline, and the way the pair lock eyes, communicating without words. Greta Gerwig’s Frances Ha monologue on relationships comes to mind: “It’s that thing when you’re with someone… you look across the room and catch each other’s eyes… but not because you’re possessive, or it’s precisely sexual, but because that is your person in this life.”
An early episode in the final season features a softly spoken confession of love as Deborah admits she previously had no friends, believing her fans were the only people in her corner. “Then I met you, and I didn’t need them so much anymore,” she tells Ava, who replies: “It makes sense. I’m your number one fan.” Like a rom-com confession scene, dialogue between the pair shrinks the show to their bond. Romance is somewhat mythical, hard to pin down or outline in a clear shape, but when you see it, it’s unmistakable. What Deborah and Ava have is undeniable and more visible than ever in this final season; they’re allowed to co-exist, no longer questioning each other’s intentions or bracing for animosity. Smart has soothed the jagged edges of Deborah, though her core is still molten, while Einbinder brings out Ava’s emboldened transformation, willing to put her neck out knowing her other half is always there to support her. Their alliance is rooted in this stability of romance, and even their most explosive argument – full-on screaming with tears pouring down their faces – is rooted in their passionate, inescapable love for one another. They care too much not to raise their voices and beg for more time together.
Their partnership comes full circle midway through this final season as the topic of salt and pepper shakers arises. In the second episode of the first season, Ava had to strong-arm a vintage shop owner into selling the shakers to Deborah, whose kitchen houses a glass trophy cabinet displaying her extensive collection. It was a near-impossible mission for the young writer, desperate to prove her worth to the legendary comedian, but she managed it. Five years later, Ava returns to that same antique dealer with another request. It’s an apt plot point to return to, as over 47 episodes, the salt and pepper shakers have become a perfect metaphor for these two comedians: they can work separately, but together they are complementary and belong side by side. The final season has many different subplot flavours – Deborah competes on a celebrity edition of The Amazing Race with her daughter and an AI company trying to scrape Deborah’s comedy catalogue to help users be witty – but there’s no substitute for the pairing of Deborah and Ava.
The love these women share is a treasure in both the lives of these characters and the scope of TV. However, in today’s landscape, even the suggestion of an intimate bond between them is paired with queerbaiting accusations. Co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky are very aware of fans’ love for their characters’ coupling – even Einbinder has weighed in, declaring: “Girls, you know I want what you want.” Though we should endeavour to seek authentic LGBTQ+ representation, it’s essential to see all sorts of romantic forms on screen. Instead of a sexual component, Hacks offers something that is arguably more intimate: the experience of being known. The show has borne witness to these two flawed women learning to grow together, a beautiful character study of shared passion that rests on the knowledge that they need each other. Sure, sex can be vulnerable, but have you tried to tell a half-formed joke in front of someone you admire?
The Hacks finale even explicitly broaches the duo as a couple when fellow comedian Kelly Kilpatrick (Cherry Jones) assumes Deborah and Ava are dating. It’s a reasonable mistake, seeing their candid bickering, but this leads to the duo spending the weekend pretending to be lesbian lovers with Kelly and her partner Monica (Leslie Bibb). Hilariously, when playing the part of committed lesbian lovers, their dynamic doesn’t change. The real kicker is when they’re asked how they first met – Ava simply recounts the reality of their first meeting without changing the details. She concludes: “We went back and forth, the connection was undeniable. We’ve been together ever since.” It’s all entirely true, soul-bearingly so as it becomes glaringly obvious that their love is completely comparable to a loving couple, stacked with cute confessions (“I hate when we go to bed angry”) and Deborah seething at the possibility of Ava ‘cheating’ on her.
The bittersweet Hacks conclusion sees the pair wind up in Paris, strolling through the city of love arm in arm. There’s even a nod to a hallmark of queer cinema: a slow-motion club scene where Ava stares lovingly across the dancefloor at Deborah under bisexual-coloured pulsing lights. You can see the younger comedian cataloguing the vision into memory, apt for a season that is all about legacy and how the older comedian would like to be remembered. But Deborah can’t be remembered without Ava, Ava can’t be remembered without Deborah. Hacks will be remembered for them both.
