‘Hacks’ Staged TV’s Riskiest Finale—and Nailed It

This Week:

• The sublime series finale of Hacks and its legacy.
• Céline Dion news that I don’t particularly luhrve.
• The new Paul Rudd/Nick Jonas movie!
• The new Allison Janney/Andrew Rannells movie!
• The clip that made me giggle the most this week.

Let’s Have an Emotional Check-In After Hacks

For fans of Hacks, watching the final episodes was an anxiety-inducing experience akin to watching a bomb’s countdown clock tick closer and closer to 0:00, frantically hoping someone would cut the right wire in time to stave off devastation: Was Deborah Vance going to die???

(Warning: Spoilers ahead for the series finale of Hacks.)

What had been hinted at with breadcrumbs over the previous few episodes came out fully baked early in the finale when Deborah (Jean Smart) revealed that her cancer had spread, she won’t be seeking treatment, and she has decided to end her life at an assisted suicide facility in Zurich, following what she hopes will be a lovely farewell vacation with her writer-turned-best-friend Ava (Hannah Einbinder).

Smart spoke about her reaction to this finale plot, specifically being taken aback by it, and my eyebrow initially raised in a similar way; in fact, it just about catapulted off my forehead and through the ceiling when I realized this hysterical comedy I’ve been adoring for five seasons was going in this direction for its conclusion. But what a fool I was to doubt, as the episode was as unique and funny and special and sneakily profound as anyone would expect from this show. It was a big emotional swing, but a confident one—and an ending that was absolutely earned.

This was a season about legacy, with Deborah desperate and, with Ava’s help, more motivated than ever to rewrite her obituary so she is remembered as she should be: a trailblazing, singular comedy legend. And despite every obstacle put in her way, she achieves that. “It’s not going to get any better than this,” she tells Ava. “I want to go out on top.”

This also was a season about true love. Deborah and Ava are soul mates. They’re not lovers, but they’re more than just friends. Maybe even more than family to each other.

This season, the pair were allowed to finally just be best friends. To know it. To treat each other as such. There wasn’t the will-they/won’t-they tension anymore. They finally understand what they mean to each other and, more than that, get to enjoy it. What a beautiful thing for us as an audience to watch in any series, let alone one that could have just been a showbiz comedy and leave it at that.

So, yes, Ava goes to Europe with Deborah, in spite of her objection to Deborah’s decision to end her life, and yes, they have a magical, romantic time. And those final moments? Just superb. The duo, as they often do, begin riffing jokes. This time, it’s gallows humor about dying. After all of Ava’s grand ovations attempting to convince Deborah to change her mind, it’s this simple act, their love language, that does it. “I may not have another 30 years. But I think I have another hour.” What an absolutely perfect line. My god.

What, then, is the legacy of Hacks? I think it’s laughably simple, but deceptively audacious: great art, really smart, well-produced television made with care and top talent, can still be a success.

So much content now is made to be consumed while you’re folding laundry or scrolling through Instagram. Pitching, greenlighting, and programming are all done by algorithm. Broadcast television has been just about taken over by spinoffs and shows based on existing IP. Hacks is part of a lineage of series like Veep, Fleabag, Succession, Baby Reindeer, and others that were completely original, meticulously crafted, and, as a result, widely acclaimed. I see germs of this in new shows like Widow’s Bay and Margo’s Got Money Troubles. I hope it sticks.

The series will also, I think, leave behind a legacy in its messaging. The show was never shy about its critiques of the changing entertainment industry, resulting in a thrilling bite-the-hand-that-feeds-it kind of comedy. There are the broad stands against agism and systemic misogyny throughout. The series also shot poison daggers at the industry’s increasingly absurd resistance to original ideas, the creative bankruptcy of studio executives, and even turned a David Zaslav-esque suit, played by Tony Goldwyn, into a villainous threat to free speech and culture as we know it.

This season took a strong stance against AI, all but exploding tech giants’ favorite “it’s an inevitability” argument, and, through the characters of Jimmy and Kayla (Paul W. Downs and Meg Stalter), championed the need for storytellers and the people who want to empower them.

In that regard, Hacks didn’t so much leave us with a punchline as it did a mission statement. Yes, the show must go on. But we need to do it the right way, before the right way goes extinct.

Shall We Go For It? Maybe Not…

There is a Céline Dion TV series in development, and I’m going to need all of French Canada to gather in a prayer circle with me so this isn’t a hot mess.

According to Deadline, Growing Up Dion (already cringing at this circa 2012 E! Reality series-a-- title) will chronicle the singer’s time growing up with 14 siblings (!!!) in Quebec, before becoming a massive superstar. Dion’s brother, Jacques, will be producing it.

I want all good things for Céline Dion, including, I guess, a TV show about her early life. The problem is, there isn’t a great track record when it comes to scripted dramatizations of Dion’s life.

In case you’ve safely stored it away as a trauma response in a corner of your brain where you never have to think about it again (so jealous), let me remind everyone of Áline, the unhinged unauthorized biopic in which the film’s 58-year-old writer-director portrayed Áline from ages 5 to 50. (Obviously, the film did not obtain Dion’s life rights, so the names were changed.)

We cannot possibly let that film and whatever this Keeping Up With the Dionses is to be the defining scripted works about this legend!

Paul Rudd Sings!

I have a soft spot for the films of John Carney. He’s the man behind the movies Once, Begin Again, and Sing Street, song-filled stories about connection that some might consider schmaltzy or saccharine, but my corny self absolutely adores. Rot my teeth, cinematically, John!

His latest film is Power Ballad, which stars Paul Rudd as Rick, a washed-up rock star stuck doing wedding-band gigs to support his family. At one such job, he encounters a pop star named Danny, played by Nick Jonas, a former boybander trying to shed that image and be taken seriously as a solo artist. They spend the night jamming, writing songs together, and having one of those electric nights of random connection that seem to only exist in movies like this.

What was destined to be a fond memory for Rick becomes a trauma when Danny releases a song that Rick wrote and played for him that night, without giving Rick songwriting credit. The single becomes a massive hit, and Rick is robbed of the millions he’s owed for it, sending him on a self-destructive spiral as he tries to prove to lawyers, Rick’s managers, and even his skeptical friends and family that he wrote the song.

The movie delivers exactly what you want from it. It’s got the John Carney, tug-at-the-heartstrings vibes. It’s got Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas singing, over and over again, a romantic pop ballad. It’s just, like, nice. Sometimes, that’s what you’re craving. Power Ballad delivers the fix.

Just a Really Lovely Little Movie

Andrew Rannells and Allison Janney, two of my favorite actors, are in a new HBO movie called Miss You, Love You, and it is so good. She plays Diane, whose second husband just died. In lieu of attending himself, her son sends his assistant, Jamie (Rannells), to help Diane get all the affairs in order for the funeral.

Understandably, this is quite awkward for both of them. Diane is resentful that her son doesn’t make the effort to be there for her and mourn his stepfather. Jamie is navigating emotional landmines as he tries to help her—and impress his boss, whom he’s possibly in love with—but his efforts seem to backfire. In this powder keg of a situation, they’re forced to bond, excavate secrets and shame for their pasts, and, somehow, find closure.

It’s an incredibly funny, but also relatably painful portrait of grief and regret, with Rannells and Janney just acting the hell out of it. Plus, Bonnie Hunt is in it! (Real ones will get excited as I do anytime I see Bonnie Hunt on screen.)

I interviewed Rannells about the movie (and so much more), and we unpacked some really fascinating insights. You can watch the interview here.

I Love You, Halle Berry

I watched this video of a hilarious, if unfortunate, misunderstanding like seven times in a row because it was making me giggle so much. During a Today show interview, Halle Berry mishears hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheneille Jones, leading all three of them to blush and meltdown in a fit of laughter.

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What to Watch This Week:

The Four Seasons: Obviously, it’s a delight anytime we get to see Tina Fey on screen. (Now on Netflix)

Backrooms: It’s a blast—and a miracle—any time something this original and cool gets made. (Now in theaters)

Star City: This spinoff of For All Mankind is a frightening, must-see alternate history. (Now on Apple TV)

What to Skip This Week:

The Breadwinner: Everything about this dated Nate Bargatze man-of-the-house comedy feels like a time machine to the early ’90s. (Now in theaters)