TVLine's Performers Of The Week: Jean Smart And Hannah Einbinder

THE PERFORMERS | Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder

THE SHOW | "Hacks"

THE EPISODE | "Hacks" (May 28, 2026)

THE PERFORMANCES | Over the course of five tightly penned seasons, HBO Max's comedy told the story of a female comedian who refused to quit, even when she was repeatedly punched down. But in the series finale of "Hacks," a far bigger story concluded: the story of two enemies-turned-friends whose love for each other blossomed through their work.

The swan song wasn't just punchlines and callbacks. Early in the episode, Deborah (Smart) revealed to Ava (Einbinder) that her cancer had come back and she was opting not to seek treatment. Instead, at the end of their European sashay, she would head to a Swiss facility for a physician-assisted suicide. The storyline gave Einbinder the stage she needed to unravel complicated emotions that ran the gamut as Ava attempted to convince her stubborn boss otherwise. From Einbinder's loving stares at Deborah while clubbing to so many bits of pained dialogue ("What am I going to do without you?"), the actress broke our hearts repeatedly as Ava's grief snowballed.

Riding shotgun to the women's joyous and gutting tête-à-têtes was a rollercoaster we didn't want to get off. Enter Smart, whose Deborah was as feisty as ever, despite her diagnosis. While she remained stalwart about her treatment decision, Smart softened her demeanor in key moments, holding space for Ava's pain. After Einbinder damn near killed us uttering, "Please don't leave me," Smart's watery eyes and shaky voice only exacerbated the hurt that both characters (and we) didn't want to feel. By the time Deborah sweetly called her writer a "big, brave girl" — a callback to a then-vicious moment from Season 4 — our hearts sank. As Ava refused to accept her friend's demise, their complex feelings transferred to us, because we, too, were preparing for our own goodbye.

But rather than leave us in devastation, the show gave us one last zippy riff between the two funny ladies, something we've come to cherish over these 47 episodes. As Deborah and Ava cracked pitch-black jokes about the worst parts of dying, Smart's stand-up comic had an epiphany. She had another hour in her after all. And after watching the women gallivant and crack wise all over Paris, seeing Deborah run after Ava to reveal her change of heart was the best kind of narrative whiplash.

"Hacks" has always been a well-honed comedy about comedy, with witty lines, tight scripts, and major drama to boot. But it was these two actresses who brought those pages to life, transforming their characters' tumultuous beginnings into a platonic love story for the ages. One could argue that this finale was Einbinder's time to shine, but there's no denying she had one hell of a veteran scene partner. And since the show didn't dare split them up, why would we? — Nick Caruso

Scroll down to see who got an Honorable Mention shout-out this week...

We want to honor the jolt of fresh energy that James Marsden has brought to "Your Friends & Neighbors" this season... especially since this might be our last chance to do so. As peppy billionaire Owen Ashe, Marsden has proven to be a formidable foil for Jon Hamm's Coop in Season 2, uttering thinly veiled threats with a smile, and he showed off his bouncy charms again this week as Ashe serenaded Sam with an impressive turn on the karaoke mike. (As Barney declared, "Ashe can sing.") But Marsden also let us see a vulnerable side to Ashe underneath all the bravado when Sam angrily told him to stop making all these grand romantic gestures. Then when Coop dared to walk away from Ashe's business deal, Marsden uncorked some seriously volcanic rage, with a drug-fueled Ashe ranting about disloyalty and recklessly waving a gun around. By episode's end, it sure looked like Ashe was dead, which is a real shame: We wouldn't want to get on his bad side, but we've definitely enjoyed the way Marsden has added a playful spin to his villainous character and taken the show to a whole new level in the process. — Dave Nemetz