HBO Max’s Hacks Is The Perfect Curb Your Enthusiasm Replacement
HBO Max’s Emmy-winning series Hacks has been the perfect Curb Your Enthusiasm replacement since its premiere in 2021, but the show will sadly be ending after season 5. Over the course of its 25-year run, Curb Your Enthusiasm was one of the most popular and best comedy shows, evolving and maintaining its strong sardonic comedy throughout that time.
Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s 12 seasons were packed full of cringe-filled comedic moments, ridiculous misunderstandings, and Larry David’s frustrating but hilarious insistence on bizarre social cues. Likewise, Curb‘s best episodes sarcastically and dramatically spoofed the entertainment industry, pop culture, and David’s own life, giving it similarities to HBO Max’s current best comedy series.
Hacks Was HBO Max’s Best Curb Your Enthusiasm Replacement After Larry David’s Show Ended
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) smiling enthusiastically in Hacks Season 4 Ep 10
Image via Max
Following the 2024 ending of Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO’s Hacks is the perfect replacement show. Like Curb, Hacks presents a fictitious version of the entertainment industry through its main characters, stand-up comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder).
After decades in the industry, Hacks sees Deborah struggling to maintain a modern edge in her comedy shows, despite boasting an incredibly successful career. This leads to her unlikely partnership with 25-year-old writer Ava, who has a very different style. While the plot itself is more fictionalized than Curb, its humor often overlaps.
The main characters of the series can be grating at times, with both having clear moments of insensitivity, but their argumentative dynamic works incredibly well. Additionally, in the moments where Ava and Deborah do see eye to eye, their understanding of each other feels a bit more tender than anything in Curb, making the characters slightly more likable.
The two shows share the same type of self-reflexivity that uses a comedic lens to comment on the entertainment industry and its ups and downs. Likewise, while the main cast plays fictional characters, Hacks takes a similar approach to guest stars as Curb did, with several famous actors appearing as themselves.
Hacks Ending With Season 5 Sets Up Another Show To Take Its Place
Matt (Seth Rogen) whispering in Griffin Mill’s (Bryan Cranston) ear during the CinemaCon presentation in The Studio Season 1 Episode 10
Image via Apple TV+
Hacks fared well at the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Jean Smart taking home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Hannah Einbinder taking home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Sadly, though, Einbinder confirmed to Variety at the event that season 5 would be the last outing for the hit series.
While this may be disappointing for fans, Einbinder’s argument that it is better to go out strong than continue on with a weaker show is proof that Hacks‘ team is prioritizing a strong final season. At the same time, audiences should rest easy knowing that Apple TV+’s The Studio is already another perfect comedy option to take Hacks‘ place.
Like Hacks and Curb before it, The Studio is another self-reflexive comedy about Hollywood that is led by Seth Rogen. The Studio was a major winner at the Emmys this year, taking home 13 awards — including Outstanding Comedy Series — and it too features humor that relies on second-hand embarrassment and some great guest appearances by actors (and directors) playing themselves.
The Studio has already been renewed for season 2, and given how fruitful past shows centering on semi-fictionalized versions of Hollywood have been, it should have a bright future ahead of it. Thus, while Hacks is sure to go out strong in its final installment, The Studio is a worthwhile comedy successor.
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