‘Hacks’ Season 3 Trailer: Jean Smart Soars as Iconic Stand-Up Comic Back on Top

Deborah Vance is back on top, baby.

Emmy winner Jean Smart’s “Hacks” character, stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, has finally returned to the top of her game in Season 3 of the hit Max series. Deborah’s former writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) sets out to confront her after learning Deborah hired new writers following the success of her special.

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The nine-episode Season 3 debuts with two episodes, followed by two new episodes each week, concluding with the season finale on May 30. The official logline reads: “A year after parting, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles.”

Lead actress Smart is an Emmy, SAG Award, and Critics Choice Award winner, with co-star Einbinder also an Emmy, SAG Award, and Critics Choice Award nominee. Former supporting stars Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter are now moved up to series regulars, with returning actors Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, and Lorenza Izzo back for a third season.

Guest stars include J. Smith-Cameron, Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Bucatinsky, George Wallace, Tony Goldwyn, and Aristotle Athari.

“Hacks” is created and showrun by Emmy winners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. The series is executive produced by Downs and Aniello via their Paulilu banner, Statsky via First Thought Productions, as well as Emmy winners Michael Schur via Fremulon, David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment and Morgan Sackett. The studio is Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Actress Smart said during SXSW 2023 that the relationship between her character Deborah and Einbinder’s Ava mirror their own off-screen dynamic, but that “they’re ratcheted up” onscreen.

Production of Season 3 of “Hacks” began in November 2022 and was briefly paused in February 2023 as lead star Smart underwent heart surgery. The second season debuted in May 2022.

Production for Season 3 was halted again due to the WGA strike in May 2023. The series now returns to Max exactly two years after Season 2.

“Hacks” Season 3 premieres May 2 on Max. Check out the trailer below.

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