Everything To Know About Hacks Season 3

If you can get enough of Hacks, you’re in luck. HBO Max officially renewed the Emmy Award-winning show for a third season after Season 2 made its big splash in June 2022, earning overwhelmingly glowing reviews that called it both “ambitious” and a “sincere story about cynical people” that isn’t content to just “follow the trajectory of other comedies.” The series charts the generational differences between Deborah (Jean Smart), an abrasive old-school comic, and Ava (Hannah Einbinder), the disgraced millennial TV writer she hires to punch up her jokes. While Season 1 explored their contentious meeting, Season 2 delved further into the messiness of their mentorship as they traveled across the country workshopping Deborah’s new stand-up act.

Co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky told Collider that they had been blown away by the fan reception, given that they “really made this show to make each other laugh,” Aniello said. Season 2 was inspired by a road trip they all took together. As for Season 3, they hinted that they already have many more ideas inspired by their own lives.

“Beyond [Season 2’s road trip], we know what we want to do,” Aniello said. “As we were writing Season 1, or even when we were writing Season 2, in the room, we would always be like, ‘That seems like a next season thing.’ We’ve already been through so many ideas when we start Day One, so that makes it a lot easier. If we were looking at a blank page, I would absolutely freak out and lose my mind with stress. Luckily, we already have so many ideas.” She added that they know “exactly how the show ends,” which she joked was “hopefully 20 or 30 years” from now.

Here’s everything else we know so far about Season 3.

Hacks Season 3 Potential Premiere Date

Both seasons of Hacks so far have premiered in May, after the first season was renewed in June 2021. However, according to Variety, Season 3 will premiere later this year. The show was filming during winter 2023, per the outlet, but production reportedly paused so Smart could recover from a heart procedure.

In a Feb. 23 Instagram post, Smart said it was a successful procedure. “I am fortunate to have excellent professional care and support from family and friends while I continue to recuperate,” she said. “Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor — I’m very glad I did!”

Hacks Season 3 Cast

Obviously, the show wouldn’t be Hacks without Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) returning. Supporting characters like Carl-Clemons Hopkins’ Marcus, Paul W. Downs’ Jimmy, Megan Statler’s Kayla, Rose Abdoo’s Josefina, Kaitlin Olson’s DJ Vance, and Lorenza Izzo’s Ruby are also likely to return. Season 2 also featured cameos from comedians like Margaret Cho, so we can expect to see more real-life comedians in the third season.

Hacks Season 3 Plot

The third season would likely continue exploring Deborah and Ava’s evolving relationship and their personal growth journeys. As Einbinder told Collider, Season 2 was all about forcing them out of their comfort zones. “When you’re on the road with someone, especially on a tour bus, and you’re sleeping on a bus with someone, the honeymoon phase is over,” she told Collider. But by the end of the season, Ava and Deborah are closer than ever. Deborah’s show was a success, and her fame is on the upswing, while Ava is fielding writing offers from executives impressed with her work on Deborah’s show. The season ends with Deborah suddenly firing Ava so that she’ll finally leave the nest and take advantage of all her opportunities. Their relationship is prickly to the end, but now there’s affection between them.

While it feels like a bittersweet but fitting place to end Hacks, “I think for us it doesn’t feel exactly like storylines are closed or wrapped up,” Jen Statsky told Decider. “It’s more just that the characters are growing and progressing, and we always said that we wanted this show to feel as real as possible and grounded. And we wanted to — especially with someone like Deborah, as she’s learning these things about herself in her act and her act is evolving and she’s learning to hold herself more accountable — we wanted those learnings to be reflected in her behavior as well.”

In June 2022, Downs spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the future of the series. “When we pitched the show, we actually pitched where the series would end, which is not what you saw in episode 8 of season 2,” he said, adding that while the ending of Season 2 could act as an ending point to the series, there’s still plenty more on the horizon. "We just wanted it to feel like there was resolution to this season, but also make it a cliffhanger in itself because it's sort of like: What does the future hold for these two women?"

This post will be updated as more information about Hacks Season 3 is available.