The latest two episodes of the HBO Max comedy’s final season dropped on May 7, 2026, bringing a tense debate about artificial intelligence in comedy and a surprising turn in Deborah and Ava’s relationship .
The fifth and final season of Hacks has been rolling out weekly on HBO Max, and the double release of episodes 6 and 7 has given viewers plenty to discuss. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder deliver some of their most powerful work yet as legendary comedian Deborah Vance and her writer Ava Daniels face threats from technology and finally address the emotional tension that has built between them over five seasons.
The episodes, titled “QuikScribbl” and “Montecito,” show Deborah at a creative and financial crossroads. She is preparing for her biggest show yet at Madison Square Garden while also trying to open The Diva, a Las Vegas casino and theater named after herself. The costs keep rising, and Deborah is feeling the pressure .
Episode 6: The AI Offer That Almost Broke Deborah
Episode 6 introduces Graham Sweeney, a Silicon Valley tech investor played by former Saturday Night Live cast member Alex Moffat. He wants Deborah to sell her entire comedy history to his AI company, QuikScribbl. The program would let regular people borrow Deborah’s voice, timing, and humor to sound funnier online .
The deal comes with a huge check that could solve Deborah’s money problems for The Diva. At first, Deborah sees the offer as flattering. Graham tells her they chose her because she is one of the funniest people alive. But Ava immediately understands the danger.
“Ava argues that AI is not some harmless shortcut — it eats creative labour, weakens the path for new writers, and pretends theft is innovation if someone puts a clean logo on it.”
Ava tries everything to stop Deborah from accepting the deal. She talks about the environmental damage caused by AI data centers. She warns that young writers will lose their shot at careers. But Deborah, always the businesswoman, keeps thinking about the money.
The argument gets personal. Ava threatens to sue Deborah if she sells any material that Ava helped write. The two women are deeply divided, and it looks like their partnership might finally fall apart.
Then Graham makes a mistake. During their final meeting, he casually mentions that soon Deborah will probably use QuikScribbl to write her own material too. He suggests that if she gets stuck on a punchline, the AI could help her finish it.
Deborah stops cold. She tells him, “There’s no shortcut.” She explains that failing, struggling, and rewriting is what makes comedy art. If she lets a machine do the hard part, it stops being hers.
Alex Moffat, who plays Graham, told Decider that he loved playing the villain in this story. “I thought, ‘Yep, timely, this seems right,’” Moffat said. He studied real tech CEOs to build the character, wanting to show someone who is “mathematical, cunning, a little too casual with the future of humanity and the meaning of art.”
The episode ends with Deborah not only rejecting the AI deal but also changing her plans for The Diva. Instead of building a giant monument to herself with a huge statue at the entrance, she decides to make it a smaller, more personal comedy club. Her new goal is to create a space where young comedians can fail, learn, and find their own voices.
Episode 7: The Fake Relationship That Got Very Real
The seventh episode, “Montecito,” shifts focus from business to something much more personal. Deborah and Ava travel to the wealthy coastal town of Montecito, California, to visit a famous older comedian named Kelly Kilpatrick, played by Cherry Jones. Deborah wants a specific vintage jumpsuit that Kelly owns for her Madison Square Garden show.
Kelly mistakes Ava for Deborah’s romantic partner. Rather than explain the truth, Deborah plays along because Kelly seems to like her more as a fellow lesbian. Kelly invites the “couple” to spend the weekend at her home with her wife, Monica, played by Leslie Bibb.
What starts as an awkward lie quickly becomes something much more complicated. The two women have to hold hands, share a bed, and act like they are deeply in love. For fans who have wanted Deborah and Ava to get together since the show began, this episode felt like a gift.
The fake relationship allows the writers to show what Deborah and Ava might look like as a couple without actually committing to it on a permanent basis. Ava is clingy and affectionate. Deborah is embarrassed by the public displays. Their fake pillow talk is both hilarious and strangely sweet.
Then the show takes a serious turn. Ava discovers that Deborah lied to her about going to a wellness retreat. In reality, Deborah had a medical procedure and hid it from everyone. She does not like people worrying about her, but Ava feels hurt and betrayed.
Sitting on the couch, Ava asks Deborah to kiss her. It feels like a challenge or an act of revenge at first. Deborah gives her a small kiss, and then a longer one. The moment is charged with years of complicated feelings.
After the kiss, Deborah finally tells Ava the truth about her health. The two women then come clean to Kelly and Monica about the fake relationship. But Kelly and Monica refuse to believe them. Kelly jokes that she will give Deborah the jumpsuit so “at least one thing is coming out of the closet this weekend.”
The episode ends with the fake relationship officially over, but the real one between Deborah and Ava feels different now. Something has shifted. They love each other deeply, but whether that love is romantic or something else remains unclear.
Screen Rant called this episode “one of the best Hacks episodes of all time” and compared it to “Ozymandias,” widely considered the greatest episode of Breaking Bad.
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Technical and Fan Reactions
The two episodes have sparked strong reactions online. Many fans praised the show for taking a clear stance against AI in creative fields. Jen Statsky, one of the show’s co-creators, made her directorial debut with “QuikScribbl.” She wrote on Instagram that making something great requires pushing through fear and self-doubt, and that trying to automate that process “robs us of the joy of finding the answers within ourselves.”
Paul W. Downs, another co-creator, told TheWrap that Deborah’s final rejection of AI comes from a very real place. “The work of writing a thank you letter is important,” he said. “AI is faster and cheaper — I don’t think it means it’s better or that it’s not beneficial for you to put in the work, because it is what makes you you.”
Fans on social media went wild for the kiss scene in episode seven. Many have shipped Deborah and Ava since season one, and seeing them finally kiss felt like a payoff years in the making. However, the show has not confirmed whether their relationship will become romantic before the series ends.
Cast and Episode Details
Episode 6 was written by Carolyn Lipka and Joe Mande and directed by Jen Statsky. Episode 7 was directed by Lucia Aniello. Both episodes are now streaming on HBO Max along with the first five episodes of the season.
The final season will have 10 episodes total. The remaining episodes will air weekly on Thursdays. Episode 8 arrives on May 14, 2026, followed by Episode 9 on May 21, 2026, and the series finale on May 28, 2026.
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