Episode notes
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the sixth episode of the final season. They share the long history of a certain King Tut joke, which full-circle moments move them, and how Kayla and Jimmy’s Sassafras outfits came to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Podcast
Hacks Podcast
This is the official podcast of the HBO Max series Hacks. Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky return to unpack every episode of the series’ final season. And they’ll be joined by some very special guests along the way to talk about the making of the show, sha
More from Hacks Podcast All episodes →
-
S5 · E10 · 29 May 2026 · 50 min
Ep. 10: “Hacks (Finale)” with Hannah Einbinder
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the series finale with the one and only Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava Daniels! Why did Hannah think she was fired from the show back in Season 2? Which international city almost was the backdrop of this episode? How far into the episode can you make it before you tear up? Listen and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E9 · 22 May 2026 · 29 min
Ep.9: “The Garden” with Jean Smart
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the ninth episode of the final season with the one and only Jean Smart, who plays Deborah Vance! Jean shares which actor from this episode is her actual beau, which cameo star she has plans to play blackjack with, and why Season 5 was the most fun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E8 · 15 May 2026 · 32 min
Ep.8: “The Cube” with Adam Bricker
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky are joined by cinematographer Adam Bricker! Adam shares behind-the-scenes details about the cube, what a DIT cart is, and how the show became a reference for itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E7 · 8 May 2026 · 29 min
Ep.7: “Montecito” with Bridget Parker
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the seventh episode of the final season with one of the writers of this episode, Bridget Parker! They share behind-the-scenes stories of filming in that house, a blooper reel of Jean Smart struggling to get a certain joke out without cracking up, an extended deleted scene starring Cherry Jones and Leslie Bibb, and details about that kiss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E5 · 1 May 2026 · 35 min
Ep.5: “D’Amazing Race” with Jeff Rosenberg
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the fifth episode of the final season with someone who’s been with them since day one, Assistant Director Jeff Rosenberg! Jeff shares why his job is like A Beautiful Mind, what it’s like directing a goat, and how he channeled his Amazing Race obsession into directing this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E4 · 1 May 2026 · 33 min
Ep.4: “Who’s Making Dinner”
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the fourth episode of the final season. They share how their Hacks pitch relates to Ava’s Mall Girl pitch, what inspired them to use flashbacks on the show for the first time, and which two characters Cole Escola ships. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E3 · 24 Apr 2026 · 32 min
Ep.3: “No New Tricks”
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the third episode of the final season. They share how cathartic it was to let Deborah and Ava get giddy about love interests, what making Hacks has in common with Dr. Frankenstein creating his monster, how they convinced 17-time Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren to write an original song for this episode, and, last but certainly not least, what Harry Styles sent Jean Smart in the mail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E2 · 17 Apr 2026 · 36 min
Ep.2: “Number One Fan”
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky dig into the second episode of the final season. They share memories of filming on the streets of New York, behind-the-scenes stories of the episode’s many cameos (Xena star Renee O’Connor! Soleil Moon Frye! Jesse McCartney! Ann Dowd as a very blue Star Trek Andorian!), and exclusive Little Debbie content that didn’t make the episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
S5 · E1 · 10 Apr 2026 · 31 min
Ep.1: “EGOT” with Jean Smart
Hacks creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky kick off the final season the only way that makes sense: with very special guest, Jean Smart, who plays Deborah Vance! Jean shares what it’s been like to say goodbye to Deborah, what she’ll miss most about working with Hannah Einbinder, and why this season is her favorite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
