News

The Awards Magnet team has reconvened to analyze all of the comedy categories at the 2025 Emmys.

Senior editors Marcus James Dixon, Denton Davidson, and Mia McNiece agree that The Studio is the frontrunner in the Best Comedy Series race. After all, the Apple TV+ program is about Hollywood, and it set a new record for a first-year comedy with 23 total nominations, including four alone for Seth Rogen — series, lead actor, director, and writer — and he could potentially sweep all four.

Performers from The Studio over-performed in the nominations phase, with a whopping 10 of them receiving mentions. That number includes five guest stars who all portray themselves, plus Bryan Cranston, whose fictional performance steals the show. All of that bodes well for The Studio's chances up in the Best Comedy Series contest, considering that the Acting Branch is the largest within the Television Academy.

Comparatively, Hacks, the reigning Best Comedy Series champion,...

More than 2,300 members of the Writers Guild of America have signed an open letter decrying recent actions taken by President Trump and his administration that they say represent “an unprecedented, authoritarian assault.”

The WGA East and WGA West union members signing the letter include Spike Lee, Adam McKay, Ilana Glazer, Mike Schur, Liz Merriwether and Tony Gilroy.

The letter cites Trump’s “baseless lawsuits” against news organizations that have “published stories he does not like and leveraged them into payoffs”; for example, it points to Paramount Global’s agreement last month to pay Trump $16 million to settle “a meritless lawsuit” against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that Trump alleged was deceptively edited. In addition, the letter notes, Trump has “retaliated against publications reporting factually on the White House and threatened broadcasters’ licenses,” and has regularly called for the cancelation of news and entertainment TV shows that criticize him.

With the Emmy Awards just over a month away, the potential winners are starting to sever themselves from the rest of the pack.

Based on Gold Derby's latest predictions, Severance, The Studio, and Adolescence are frontrunners in drama, comedy and limited, respectively. Should our odds prove correct, Apple TV+'s wins for Severance and The Studio would mark the first time a network or streamer has won drama and comedy in the same night since HBO's victories for Game of Thrones and Veep in 2016.

Below are our latest predictions below for all 26 main categories for the Primetime Emmys, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 14, spanning drama, comedy, limited, competition, and variety. (The other 97 races will be doled out across two Creative Arts ceremonies on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7.)

For drama, Severance is out front in a trio of categories: Best Drama Series, Best Drama Directing (Ben Stiller for "Cold Harbor...

Just under two months ago, Hollywood mainstay Julianne Nicholson received her IndieWire Performance Honor, another mark in a year that is finally shining the spotlight on the journeyman actress. Sure, we’ve always been aware of her talent — she even earned some awards recognition as part of the ensembles for “August: Osage County” and “I, Tonya,” as well as a Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for “Mare of Eastown.” But it’s 2025 now, and Julianne Nicholson is a full-fledged television star.

First came “Paradise,” in which she got to portray the villainess Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond. Then came her recurring stint on “Hacks,” where she stretched her comedic muscle as a dancing mom TikTok influencer, appropriately named Dance Mom. Last month, Nicholson scored both her second and third Emmy noms for the projects, in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Guest Actress in a Comedy Series categories, respectively.

“I know it’s greedy,...

Who's ready for a little Emmys history lesson?

If Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky were to win Best Comedy Writing this year they would enter the Emmy record books as the women with the most wins for writing a single narrative series. They're nominated for the penultimate episode of Hacks Season 4, titled "A Slippery Slope."

With four Emmy nominations, Aniello and Statsky have already tied Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Diane English (Murphy Brown) for the most bids for a woman in the Best Comedy Writing category. To date, Aniello, Statsky, Fey and Anne Flett-Giordano (Frasier) are the only women to prevail twice for a comedy; Fey has a third writing win under her belt for the variety program Saturday Night Live. For dramas, Robin Green (The Sopranos) holds the record for a single series for a female writer, with six noms and two wins.

Comedy WritingContenderOdds 1.Hacks A Slippery...

Seth Rogen is the odds-on favorite to win so many Emmys for The Studio, he'll need to bring a mantelpiece as his plus-one.

According to Gold Derby's predictions for the 2025 Emmys, Rogen is out front to win Best Comedy Series (for which he's a producer), Best Comedy Actor, and Best Comedy Directing (for "The Oner"). Plus, he's the runner-up in Best Comedy Writing (for "The Promotion"), behind only the Hacks showrunning trio of Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky (for "A Slippery Slope").

Should Rogen win all four, he'd be the only person in Emmy history to win those specific trophies in the same year. In 2020, Daniel Levy won three of the four for Schitt's Creek, but his acting award was for supporting, not lead. Here's what Rogen tells Gold Derby about potentially making history:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gold Derby (@goldderby)

To date,...

Seth Rogen’s The Studio took home the most Emmy nominations in the comedy category, nabbing a total of 23 nods for the Apple TV+ series that pokes fun at Hollywood.

Other best comedy series nominees include HBO Max’s Hacks (which took home the top award and best actress for star Jean Smart at last year’s ceremony), Hulu’s The Bear (which set a record for most wins in a single season), ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Apple TV+’s Shrinking and FX’s What We Do in the Shadows.

The 2025 Emmy nominations include a first-time nod for Harrison Ford and the first acting noms for directors Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.

The 77th Emmy Awards, hosted by Nat Bargatze (who is also nominated for best writing for a variety special), will air live on CBS from the Peacock Theater in L.

Going into its fifth season, it's no secret that Hacks remains one of the most popular and successful comedies on television and shows no signs of slowing down. But it's not even just one of the biggest comedies, it's also among the biggest shows on television overall. That's even more clear following the 2025 Emmy Award nominations announcement.

Hacks season 4 was among the most-nominated shows, landing 14 total nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, which the show won last year, and Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy series for Jean Smart, which she has won for three consecutive years. Even with all of this success, there's still chatter that Hacks season 5 could be the last.

Hacks season 5 might be the final season

The chatter isn't coming out of nowhere, though, as the trio of Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky have stated that they have always envisioned a five-season plan for the series.

Are we in store for more “Emmy sweepers?”

With more than 25,000 voting members, the Television Academy is made up of 31 peer groups, each representing a specific field of expertise — actors, writers, editors, and so on. Of the many categories, only 15 are voted on by the entire membership. These include outstanding comedy, drama, limited or anthology series, television movie, talk series, variety special (live and pre-recorded), short form, hosted nonfiction series, structured and unstructured reality, reality competition, scripted variety and game show.

Unlike the Oscars, which allow all eligible members to vote in the final round, the Emmys restrict both nomination and winner selection to designated peer groups. That exclusivity shapes the voting landscape — and it explains the rise of a modern phenomenon: the Emmy sweep.

Only once before 2020 had a series ever won all seven major categories: HBO’s “Angels in America” in 2004. Then came the Covid-era stunner: Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek,...

Actress Brenda Song and actor Harvey Guillén announced this year’s Emmy Award nominations on Tuesday.

AppleTV+’s Severence dominated the list with 27 nods in total.

The HBO drama miniseries, The Penguin, earned 24 nominations, including one for Best Limited or Anthology Series and Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Apple TV+’s The Studio and HBO’s The White Lotus were each nominated for 23 Emmys.

The Studio was nominated for Best Comedy Series. The show’s lead actor, Seth Rogen, received a nod for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Kathryn Hahn was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on the show.

Actor Jason Isaacs received a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nomination for his performance in The White Lotus, which also received an award for Best Directing in a Drama Series.

Scott Glenn received a Best Guest...

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are the Emmys’ “’25 Bonnie and Clyde.” Let’s just hope the power couple stays Drunk in Love even after this year’s competition, where they’re competitors in the outstanding variety special (live) category.

Jay-Z, under his real name Shawn Carter, is among the executive producers nominated for Fox’s “The Apple Music Super Bowl Lix Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar,” which earned four nods total. Beyoncé is up for Netflix’s “Beyoncé Bowl” as executive producer and performer (billed as Beyoncé Knowles-Carter); that Christmas event also landed four nods.

Perhaps Jesse Collins can keep the peace. Not only is Jesse Collins Entertainment once again producing this year’s Emmy telecast, but the company was part of both the Kendrick Lamar halftime show and the Beyoncé event. On Emmy night in the production truck, Collins is likely to face 99 problems — hopefully this isn’t one.

That’s...

Where To Watch 2025 Emmys’ 10 Most-Nominated Shows? (Photo Credit – Hotstar/Prime Video)

The battle for television’s most prestigious awards just got even fiercer. The Television Academy has announced the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, which will be held on September 14, 2025, in California.

Leading the pack with an impressive 27 nominations is the Apple TV+ dystopian sci-fi thriller Severance. Close behind are Colin Farrell’s crime drama The Penguin, which has 24 nominations, followed by satirical comedy The Studio and dark comedy The White Lotus, tied at 23 nominations each.

Here are the ten most-nominated shows at the 2025 Emmys, along with their IMDb ratings and streaming platforms in India and the US.

10. The Pitt Streaming Platform – Jio Hotstar (India), Max (US) IMDb Rating – 8.9/10 Creator – R. Scott Gemmill Emmy 2025 Nominations – 13 Trending How To Train Your Dragon Ott Release Update: Universal’s Biggie Gears Up For Its Digital Arrival, Here’s How To Watch It

M3GAN 2.0...

With the 2025 Emmy nominations out, we’re doing a quick hit of who we think can actually win the golden statues. Check out our winner picks for the big categories below, with explanations for some of the closer races.

2025 Emmys Predicted Winners Comedy Series Categories

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

And the nominees are:

Uzo Aduba – The Residence

Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary

Ayo Edebiri – The Bear

Jean Smart – Hacks

Predicted Winner: Jean Smart

Potential Upset: Quinta Brunson

Longshot: Uzo Aduba

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

And the nominees are:

Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This as Noah Roklov

Seth Rogen – The Studio as Matt Remick

Jason Segel – Shrinking as Jimmy Laird

Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building as Oliver Putnam

Jeremy Allen White – The Bear as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto

Predicted Winner: Jeremy Allen White

Potential Upset: Martin Short

Longshot: Seth Rogen...

Emmy voters gave Hacks a standing ovation on Tuesday, rewarding the show with 14 nominations including Best Comedy Series, which it won last year. (The only comedy with more bids is The Studio with a whopping 23.) However, Season 4 of HBO Max's acclaimed series didn't get everything for which it submitted, and there were three notable snubs that caught fans off-guard: supporting actors Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter, and guest actor Christopher McDonald.

Here are the categories Hacks got into — and missed.

Best Comedy Series: Nominated

The fourth season of Hacks focused on Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) becoming the respective host and head writer of a broadcast network talk show, fulfilling Deborah's lifelong dream. It was predictably nominated in Best Comedy Series alongside Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, The Studio, and What We Do in the Shadows.

The 2025 Emmy Awards are due to take place in less than two months on September 14, and the Academy has finally unveiled the nominations. This was a stacked year for television with new seasons of Severance, Squid Game, The Bear, and more shows all earning recognition. Below you’ll find a full list of nominees in every category, from Outstanding Drama Series to Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott ElementaryThe BearHacksNobody Wants ThisOnly Murders in the BuildingShrinkingThe StudioWhat We Do in the Shadows Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Adam Brody,Nobody Wants ThisSeth Rogen,The StudioMartin Short, Only Murders in the BuildingJeremy Allen White,The BearJason Segel,Shrinking Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants ThisQuinta Brunson, Abbott ElementaryAyo Edebiri, The BearJean Smart, HacksUzo Aduba, The ResidenceOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesJeff Hiller, Somebody, SomewhereHarrison Ford, ShrinkingEbon Moss-Bacharach, The BearMichael Urie,...

“Severance” is the clear frontrunner for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards. The Apple TV+ dystopian thriller from Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller scored 27 nominations, the most of any one program, on Tuesday morning.

Altogether, there were four shows that scored more than 20 nominations. HBO’s “The Penguin” was the second most-nominated series of the year with 24 nods. That was followed by Apple TV+’s “The Studio” and HBO’s “The White Lotus,” both of which secured 23 nominations.

Harvey Guillén and Brenda Song announced the nominees for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Earlier on Tuesday, “CBS Mornings” revealed the nominees for reality competition series and talk series, which largely went as predicted.

The 77th Primetime Awards will take place live at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 14, 2025. The show will air on CBS and Paramount+ and will be hosted by Nate Bargatze.

Here are the major nominations for the 2025 Primetime...

Jean Smart? “The Bear?” Noah Wyle? “White Lotus?” These are just a few words fans are likely to hear if they tune in Tuesday, July 15 to watch the 77th Primetime Emmy Award nominees announced. “Running Point” star Brenda Song and “What We Do in the Shadows” actor Harvey Guillén will lead the event from the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center starting at 11:30 a.m. Et. How can you watch the Emmy noms as they’re revealed? You can watch live on the Emmy Awards website or on the Television Academy’s YouTube channel, which we’ve embedded below.

For the last few weeks, IndieWire has been predicting the contenders in every category, and there are several names — beyond the first few mentioned above — that are expected. Comedy series like “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building,” and “Abbott Elementary” are all anticipated to rack up nominations, while on the...

With 99 submissions, this year's Best Comedy Directing category at the Emmys will have six finalists when the nominations are announced July 15.

Similar to the drama category, the comedy directing ballot has a mix of shows that took different approaches to their entries. While some played it smart (see: Hacks and The Studio) submitting one memorable episode that will be a sure-thing to make the final field, others opted for three entries, with Shrinking going up to four. In those cases, overload and potential vote-splitting make it harder to discern which episode entry will make it into the lineup of six — technically five, since one spot is reserved for a multicamera show. (More on that below.)

As mentioned, Hacks and The Studio are essentially locks for this category because of their single options. The HBO Max series has been a consistent nominee — Lucia Aniello won for the first season in 2021 — and it submitted the penultimate episode,...

With 94 submissions, this year's Best Comedy Writing category at the Emmys will have six finalists when the nominations are announced July 15.

As expected, there are many single submissions from many of these front-runners, with no series entering more than two installments. But what may come as a surprise is the number of writers credited for scripting each episode — The Studio, for instance, has five writers for its entry. This, of course, does not matter in terms of voting, as writers are not listed on the ballot, but it’s an interesting side note to see how many scribes it takes to make people laugh.

This is a category that often defies conventional wisdom. Voters often gravitate towards shows that are less represented, such as last year when the branch nominated two canceled programs over others that were nominated for Best Comedy Series.

While there are often surprises here, this year the reigning champion,...

Exclusive: On the heels of Hacks‘ Season 5 renewal by Max, the Emmy-winning comedy series’ co-creators, executive producers and co-showrunners Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs have signed a new overall deal with Warner Bros. Television and the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer, which is set to revert to its previous name HBO Max later this summer.

Under the exclusive new multiyear pact, Aniello and Downs will develop and produce new television projects through their Paulilu Productions.

The new agreement begins in August 2025. It will succeed Aniello and Downs’ previous overall deal with Warner Bros. TV Group signed in August 2021, following Hacks‘ May 2021 series premiere, June 2021 Series 2 renewal and July 2021 Emmy breakthrough with 15 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

The Universal TV-produced Hacks, on which Aniello and Downs are co-creators and co-showrunners alongside Jen Statsky, has garnered 48 Emmy nominations for its first three seasons. The 9 wins to date include Outstanding Comedy Series last year,...

Hacks is looking to go back to back.

After pulling off one of the biggest awards upsets in recent history at last year's Emmys over The Bear, the reigning Best Comedy Series champ is not only aiming to defend its crown, but to have its biggest Emmy showing ever. The afterglow of a huge win could have that effect. Season 1 scored 15 nominations, Season 2 got 17 nominations, and Season 3 earned 16. All three seasons won three awards each time. Will Hacks pocket its most nominations and most wins this year?

For Season 4, the (soon-to-be HBO) Max (again) series has 30 submissions across 15 categories on the Emmy ballot. Let's break down its Emmy prospects.

Best Comedy Series

Hacks is obviously the odds-on favorite and has been perched in the top spot all season. The Studio has risen all the way up to No. 2, but there is no safer nominee than the reigning champ that has...

Voting for the 2025 Emmys officially opened today, and Gold Derby has spotted several intriguing strategies, omissions, and oddities in the ballots, which are available to view on the Television Academy website.

When it comes to the writing and directing categories, a popular strategy is to submit as few options as possible, so as not to split the vote. (Remember how Succession would only submit a single episode in writing each year? It won that race four seasons in a row.) That's why we're so surprised to see ABC's boat-themed medical drama Doctor Odyssey flooding the ballot 11 different times for Best Drama Directing. If the show can't pinpoint one or two stand-out directors out of Jen Lynch, Our Lady J, Tessa Blake, Paris Barclay, Crystle Roberson Dorsey, Brad Buecker, Millicent Shelton, Michael Medico, Steven Canals, Maggie Kiley, and John J. Gray, how are the voters supposed to?

Last year, Slow Horses...

Through four seasons, Hacks has become of one of the defining — and one of the funniest — shows of the decade. Created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the Max comedy following stand-up legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her complicated relationship with a young comedy writer, Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), has delivered some certified bangers that are hilarious, heartwarming, incisive, and absolutely shocking, sometimes all at once. Just as shocking? Its win for Best Comedy Series in 2024 over The Bear, a surprising but wholly deserved victory for its better-than-ever third season. Not as surprising? Smart winning her third Best Comedy Actress Emmy, remaining undefeated for the show.

Hacks, which also stars Downs, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Megan Stalter, Rose Abdoo, and Mark Indelicato, just concluded its fourth season with an ending that sets the show on a new course once again.

As it preps for its fifth season, which...

“Hey, everybody. Welcome to the last day of shooting for Season 4 of ‘Hacks.’”

It was a chilly evening on the beach in Southern California, with a cold wind coming off the water near Los Angeles Harbor. And as a disembodied voice coming from somewhere in the crowd of bundled-up crew members suggested, it was indeed the final night of shooting on the fourth season of the HBO Max series that is the reigning champion in the Emmys’ Outstanding Comedy Series category.

Apart from a couple of pickup shots and a stuntwoman running into the frigid Pacific Ocean while pretending to be Jean Smart, there was one big scene to nail on this early-March night. And in many ways, it was the pivotal scene in all of Season 4. The previous season had ended with writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) blackmailing her way into the head writer’s job on the new...

In ‘Hacks’ rollicking rollercoaster of a fourth season, comedy cohorts Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder traversed all-out war, touching reconciliation and a shocking outcome. As Smart’s veteran comedian Deborah Vance reached for the brass ring of a talk show hosting gig, her fear of failure created a world of hurt for Ava Daniels (Einbinder) and much disruption for their agents Jimmy (co-showrunner Paul W. Downs) and Kayla (Megan Stalter). But, as always, Deborah and Ava led viewers through it all with a chemistry that leaps off the screen and has served the HBO Max show’s hit status all the way to its recent Season 5 renewal. Here, Smart and Einbinder describe a bond so tight, they often seem to finish each other’s sentences, and how it felt to shoot a season filled with vitriol toward each other—a risk that would ultimately pay off, but required trust and the bedrock of true friendship.

It isn’t just sitcom fans at Cracked who shake their fists at the heavens and shout “The Bear isn’t a comedy!” every time the FX show sweeps another round of Golden Globes or Emmy Awards. According to “multiple writers on various comedy series” who spoke to Vulture, the industry’s joke-writing pros decided enough was enough when it came to honoring dramatic shows just because they were nominated in the comedy category.

The breaking point for comedy writers might have been when The Bear was nominated in 23 comedy categories last summer, breaking 30 Rock’s record of 22. “30 Rock is held in such high regard,” one sitcom writer told Vulture. “So much work goes into making jokes, and 30 Rock was a joke machine. So when you see a show that doesn’t even actively try to be funny, it’s a bit insulting.”

Another Emmy-winning writer agreed:...

When Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs stepped onto a pickleball court for a recent Gold Derby interview it was a full-circle callback to a fan-favorite scene from Max’s critically acclaimed comedy Hacks. In the Season 3 episode, their characters — eccentric talent agents Kayla and Jimmy — hilariously face off against a TV network president played by Helen Hunt in a match that became a standout moment for fans.

“We trained, we had a coach,” Downs said, laughing. Stalter chimed in: “Yes, I loved our classes.”

The blend of sharp comedy and heartfelt connection has propelled Hacks through four acclaimed seasons, with a fifth officially confirmed. The series follows Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a legendary comedian, who partners with Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a young, edgy writer, to revitalize her act. Created by Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky, Hacks has garnered widespread acclaim for its witty writing, emotional depth, and...

Hannah Einbinder, known for her role as Ava Daniels in HBO Max’s Hacks, has openly discussed the challenges of typecasting in Hollywood. Despite Ava’s character being a complex portrayal of a young, flawed comedy writer, Einbinder has noted that some industry professionals have attempted to pigeonhole her into similar roles, often emphasizing negative stereotypes of millennials.

This experience highlighted the broader issue of typecasting in the entertainment industry, where actors may find themselves repeatedly offered roles that mirror a single character they’ve portrayed, limiting their opportunities to showcase their range and versatility.

Hannah Einbinder got typecast as the “messy millennial” in Hacks Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels in a still from Hacks | Credits: Max

Hannah Einbinder is tired of the typecast. In The Hollywood Reporter’s Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable, the Hacks star cracked open the box Hollywood tried to put her in. “Early on in Hacks,...

“I never actually made tooth-to-Emmy-winner contact. I did not bite.”

That’s co-creator and actor Paul W. Downs denying — to the best of his recollection — ever clamping down on Emmy-winner Julianne Nicholson’s hand while lunging to bite her during their “frantic” scene in “Hacks” Season 4.

“I think that’s the only take where you pretended to [bite her], actually,” co-creator Lucia Aniello said. “She would’ve been fine with it. She’s so game, if Paul bit her hand, she would’ve gone with it. She would not have stopped the scene.”

“She was really holding onto that bag,” Downs said. “She was very committed.”

The scene in question, which you can see in the full video interview above, is from Episode 9, “A Slippery Slope,” which was written by Downs, Aniello, and co-creator Jen Statsky. They were joined by cinematographer Adam Bricker and production designer Rob Tokarz, for a virtual panel...

“Hacks” is now four seasons into an established comedy rhythm, even as it continues to find new ways to complicate the dynamic between standup legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). But that certainly doesn’t mean making the show has gotten easy or expected.

Co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky have always been pretty visual writers, with a clear sense of what they want, but they search with the tirelessness of Damian’s (Mark Indelicato) quest for coyote-warding bear piss to sculpt exactly the right comedy moments. So while they often aren’t “finding the show” in the edit in a wholesale way, they are searching every frame for what beat is the funniest.

“We do like to watch pretty much every take of everything. That is always going to be the thing we like to do,” Aniello told IndieWire on...

According to Paul Downs, no other actress on television could possibly wear the shoes of Deborah “DJ” Vance Jr. besides Kaitlin Olson, and that's not just because they’re size 13.

On the critically beloved HBO comedy Hacks, no character has gone through more positive growth than DJ, the formerly drug addicted daughter of a legendary comedian who has spent the last four seasons finding her own identity and independence apart from her famous namesake. DJ is the heart of Hacks and Olson is the hit show's stand-out supporting star, but Olson’s stellar performance isn’t just the serendipitous result of the casting process that the rest of the Hacks squad went through.

In a recent talk with comedy veteran and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Susie Essman for Interview Magazine, Downs revealed that he hand-picked Olson to play DJ when he and his team first began writing the character. Fortunately for them,...

It’s no secret that “Hacks” is well-liked around here at IndieWire. We’ve put it on our list of best TV shows, best shot TV shows, and dug into how their production design, costume, hair and makeup, and writing teams have all crafted a great comedy series. But the work that cinematographer Adam Bricker and his camera team pulled off while shooting on location in Singapore for the Season 4 finale, “Heaven,” includes a sequence that might be the most beautiful thing “Hacks” has ever shot — or any other TV comedy, for that matter.

There are actually two bravura montages in “Heaven.” Both of them catch Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in a fraught place as a result of walking away from her Late Night series before seeing Ava (Hannah Einbinder) fired from it. The first, following a dejected Deborah around a bargain store one listless, late night in Vegas, glows...

Panels for shows like ‘House of the Dragon’ and others are launching on Max as it prepares its campaign to sway Emmy voters.

Last year, Max tried a unique tactic in order to win over more Emmy voters over: the platform made its For Your Consideration panels available for subscribers to stream on the service. Several shows on Max won big at the 2024 Emmy Awards, and the panels may have helped to sway some minds. That would explain why Warner Bros. Discovery is bringing back those panels in 2025, as announced on Tuesday.

Key Details: Available now: Max’s For Your Consideration panels are available as of Tuesday, June 3. Access galore: The panels offer access to talent both in front of and behind the camera. Best of the best: Panels for “Dune: Prophecy,” “The Pitt,” and more are available. Sign Up $9.99+ / month max via prime video

These For Your Consideration panels...

Hollywood seems to always take that cliché “write what you know” to heart when it comes to producing scripts about Hollywood. I enjoy those tales, of course, but that’s because my chosen profession is to report on this fascinating business. There’s clearly enough money, creativity, mystery, farce, scandal, glamour and spectacle for us to cover every single day at Variety. And all of the stuff that makes for good copy also makes for entertaining TV and film plot lines.

So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that three of this year’s biggest Emmy comedy contenders play in that space: “Hacks,” “The Studio” and “Only Murders in the Building.” All three have quite a bit of fun with industry tropes, and come a little too close for comfort with some of its satire. And they even crash into each other: “Hacks” creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs...

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky are well-known to HBO fans as the creators and showrunners of Hacks. The acclaimed comedy stars Jean Smart as Deborah, an aging stand-up comic forced to partner with young writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) to try to get back to the top. The series has been a huge hit with Smart winning just about every Leading Actress in a Comedy award there is for her role.

Season 4 ended a rollercoaster ride for fans, with Deborah and Ava fighting to free Deborah from her talk show contract so she could get back on the road. The finale aired just hours after HBO gave the show a fifth-season renewal.

Speaking to Deadline, the trio did share a lot of details on season 4’s finale and what may come in season 5. They also teased the idea of a spinoff about agent Jimmy (Downs) and his goofball assistant Kayla (Megan Stalter). However,...

While Hacksprimarily focuses on the love-hate relationship between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), there's another complicated relationship going on in the background. Fans have latched on to the complicated back-and-forth between Deborah and Ava's manager, Jimmy (Paul W. Downs), and his assistant-turned-business partner, Kayla (Megan Stalter). Downs and Stalter recently talked to Variety about their characters, and if they could ever embark on a romance.

Stalter is aware that, much like Deborah and Ava, Hacks fans "ship" her with Jimmy: "There have been a lot of romantic fan edits of them. People are really romanticizing. Their bond is so strong. I mean, I don’t see them as a couple, but I understand why their relationship is so romantic." She's dubious that they'll end up together on the show: "I don’t think they'll be a couple, but that would be so funny next season, we...

The fourth season of “Hacks,” went out with a bang on May 29, hot on the heels of HBO Max renewing the series for Season 5. Cast and creatives are already teasing what might be in store for Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and the gang for the next outing.

On Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Megan Stalter said that she has pitched a life-giving story for Kayla, who has risen from a confidently befuddled assistant to hilariously competent talent manager since the show launched in 2021.

“I really, really want Kayla to be pregnant,” Stalter said. “She doesn’t really know who the father is. It’s not Jimmy, but Jimmy steps up as the father.”

Jimmy, Kayla’s partner in the talent management sphere, happens to be played by “Hacks” co-creator Paul W. Downs.

“I love it,” Downs said of the idea. “I am a father figure.”

The writer-actor...

One of the stars from Hacksis sharing her feelings about the plot twist established in the fourth season of the series. Hannah Einbinder, who portrays Ava Daniels in the Max smash hit, was eager to talk about how unexpected it was when Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) quit her job as a late-night host instead of firing her head writer. The comedian had dreamed about hosting her own program her entire life. Here's what Hannah Einbinder had to say about the shocking Hacks plot twist:

"There are a series of photos of me crying that I sent to could come up with a logical solution to this situation.

While Hacks mostly focuses on what happens to both Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels over the course of their careers in the entertainment industry, there are several secondary characters who steal the spotlight in the show. Kayla (Megan Stalter) is trying to build...

HBO Max picked up a fifth season of the Emmy-winning Hacks, one day before the season 4 finale. But could this be the last we see of Deborah and Ava? Well, the showrunners have been tight-lipped about the future of the acclaimed comedy, but the writers have previously insisted that the comedy would end after five seasons.

Recently, Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs addressed the future of the hit comedy during a Variety round table. Downs revealed the writers were currently working on the fifth season and waiting to see how many more episodes they needed to tell their story.

“The final scene of the final episode has been in our minds since 2015, and we’re excited to get there. But that may take more episodes than we can fit in the season. So the truth is that we don’t know,” Downs admitted.

Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder...

“Hacks” Season 4 may have been about Deborah Vance’s groundbreaking ascent into late night TV, but she was joined by a real-life late night pioneer on-screen in co-star Merrill Markoe.

After being a consultant on the Max comedy series for years, the Emmy-winning writer effectively plays herself in the show within the show’s writers’ room, bringing with her more than 40 years’ worth of industry knowledge.

“I wanted to write on Season 4. I just thought, ‘Wow, I really relate to the tension between the head writer and the star.’ It’s great to have it be two women. I relate to that and it would be really fun to add my perspective to that. So I tried to talk [Paul W. Downs] into it, and he said, ‘Well, we’ve already written all of the season,’” Markoe told TheWrap ahead of the Season 4 finale, which premiered Thursday. “This was after I consulted first,...

Warning: The following story contains spoilers about the Season 4 finale of Hacks, "Heaven."

The reports of Deborah Vance's death are greatly exaggerated.

Season 4 of Hacks concluded Thursday with a prematurely published obituary for Deborah (Jean Smart), but a fake death was exactly what she needed to feel alive again. "Heaven" begins with Deborah mourning not only the end of her late-night show but her career for the time being due to the 18-month-long non-compete clause in her network contract. Marty (Christopher McDonald) tells her to enjoy not working for the first time in her life and decompress at his resort in Hawaii. She invites Ava (Hannah Einbinder), but it's clear Deborah has something else up her sleeve.

They land in Singapore, where Deborah has booked dates at a casino, because she has figured out a loophole: She is not violating her contract if her material is translated into non-English...

Spoiler Alert: The following story contains details from Hacks‘ Season 4 finale.

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) goes to hell and back in the Season 4 finale of Hacks, which aired on HBO Max tonight.

After blowing up her late-night dreams, she finds herself under a network non-compete in Episode 10, “Heaven,” which states that she can’t perform as a comedian for 18 months. Ava (Hannah Einbinder) encourages her to make the most of her mandated time away from the spotlight, in the writing of a new act, but Deborah instead sets out to find a legal loophole that will allow her to skirt the agreement.

At loose ends for perhaps the first time in her life, Deborah pays a visit to former manager Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), trying to convince him to come back to work alongside her — though he’s now content to oversee a warehouse producing solar panel materials.

Marty (Christopher McDonald...

The following contains spoilers for the Season 4 finale of Hacks.

Late Night With Deborah Vance may be no more, but Hacks’ leading lady isn’t ready to lay down and die — no matter what that TMZ obituary says!

More from TVLineYour Friends & Neighbors Finale Reveals Who Killed Paul - Will You Come Back for Season 2?What to Watch in June: Your Guide to 110+ Premieres Across Broadcast, Cable and StreamingYvonne Strahovski Makes Us Wonder: Did The Handmaid's Tale Finale Hint at a Pairing That Was There All Along?

In the season finale of Hacks, Deborah searched for a loophole that might...

This story contains spoilers from “Hacks” Season 4, Episode 10.

The Season 4 finale of “Hacks” wasn’t just 10 episodes in the making. It was the payoff of four stressful and comedy-obsessed seasons.

“It’s only after all that they’ve been through in Season 4 that Deborah’s able to make that choice,” series co-creator and executive producer Paul W. Downs told TheWrap.

After Ava’s old show learns the network encouraged “Late Night with Deborah Vance” to bury a thorny interview with an actor who’d been accused of sexual harassment, the penultimate episode of “Hacks” Season 4 forces Deborah (Jean Smart) to make a nearly impossible decision. Either she throws her head writer and creative collaborator Ava (Hannah Einbinder) under the bus, or she tanks her own career as well as the show she’s spent her entire career trying to host. Initially, “A Slippery Slope” makes the audience believe Deborah’s...

“Hacks” went abroad for its Season 4 finale.

The critically acclaimed Max series traveled to Singapore for the final episode of the fourth season, with Max and Universal Television partnering with The Infocomm Media Development Authority (Imda) Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board (Stb). The episode was supported by the Singapore On-Screen Fund, a joint initiative by Imda and Stb. The fund supports global film and television productions that spotlight Singapore as a tourism and filmmaking destination, providing opportunities for local talent and workforce development.

“This exciting partnership with Max and Universal Studio Group for the ‘Hacks’ season four finale is a great example of how Singapore can support global media productions – with skilled talent, reliable infrastructure, and creative capabilities,” said Yvonne Tang, Assistant Chief Executive of Media Industry Group, Imda. “The Singapore On-Screen Fund puts our local media industry and artists on the global map by giving them the opportunity to...

Ahead of tonight's fourth season finale, the team behind last year's Best Comedy series winner Hacks has revealed its submissions for Emmy nominations, and Gold Derby has confirmed the list.

Out in front is Deborah Vance herself, Jean Smart, who has won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for each of the three previous seasons, giving her six wins overall. She's currently the odds-on favorite to win again, according to Gold Derby's combined predictions. Her fellow cast members Hannah Einbinder, Megan Stalter, Paul W. Downs, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins have all also been submitted in their respective Supporting categories.

Behind the scenes, the show's trio of showrunners — Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky — are being submitted for writing the fourth season's penultimate episode, "A Slippery Slope." A win for the writing team would mark their third Emmy in the category. Max additionally put Downs down for his directing duty on the same episode.

Deborah Vance might sometimes be down, but she's never out! The fictional comedian's reign of hilarity will continue as HBO Max has officially renewed Hacks season 5. The pickup for a fifth season was announced on May 28, one day before the season 4 finale on May 29. While fans would have loved season 5 to be confirmed sooner, we don't have to worry about the show's fate anymore.

Hacks season 5 marks an oddly shocking milestone for HBO Max, one that might not seem impressive compared to the longevity of other shows. With the season 5 renewal, Hacks certifies itself as the longest-running scripted original series on HBO Max. Very few of the streamer's originals have made it past two seasons, much less three or four. Hacks has set the bar very high.

It's a history-making renewal that speaks volumes of Hacks' quality and staying power. But the series could easily be surpassed by another HBO...

Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter have been reading your “Hacks” Jimmy and Kayla fan fiction. And they get it — there’s no doubt this is a love story. But it’s an unconventional one.

“There have been a lot of romantic fan edits of them,” Stalter says. “People are really romanticizing. Their bond is so strong. I mean, I don’t see them as a couple, but I understand why their relationship is so romantic. Not all relationships that are romantic, are sexual. By the way, keep the fan edits coming. I don’t think be a couple, but that would be so funny next season, we open up they’re on in the same apartment.”

Adds Downs: “Only time will tell. Or they’re in Santorini putting suntan lotion on each other.”

Stalter has said in the past that she’s convinced Kayla would go on a rampage...

On June 5, the IndieWire Honors Spring 2025 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for some of the most impressive and engaging work of this TV season. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the creators, artisans, and performers behind television well worth toasting. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.

In the second episode of “Hacks” Season 4, the audience is introduced to Randi, the new assistant of dysfunctional managing duo Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) and Kayla (Meg Stalter). Even by the standards of the acclaimed Max sitcom, which lightly skewers the egos and neuroses of the Hollywood set, Randi is a capital “C” Character: a Brooklyn-accented former Hasidic-Jew-turned-lesbian-atheist who had never even seen a movie before she arrives at the offices of LuSaque & Schaefer.

It’s a part that could only be played by Robby Hoffman,...

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in ‘Hacks’ season 4 (Photograph by Courtesy of Max)

Was there ever any doubt that Max would renew Hacks for season five as long as Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder were game? Max (soon to be HBO Max again) made it official, confirming the critically acclaimed, award-winning series will be returning for a fifth season. The announcement came just one day prior to season four’s finale.

“Like Deborah Vance herself, Hacks only gets bolder, sharper, and more iconic with time. We’re beyond thrilled to keep the laughter rolling with Jen, Paul, Lucia, our extraordinary cast and crew, and our partners at Max,” stated Erin Underhill, President of Universal Television.

Six-time Emmy winner Jean Smart stars as Deborah Vance and Critics Choice Award winner Hannah Einbinder stars as Ava. The season four cast also includes Emmy winner Paul W. Downs, SAG Award nominee Megan Stalter,...