When Hacks star Hannah Einbinder took the red carpet at this year’s Emmy Awards, she was talking about the end.

“It will feel different,” Einbinder told E! Entertainment. “We’re going to start [production] next week, and knowing it’s the last season is really bittersweet. But I think it’s right, you know? It’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done. Not overstay your welcome.”

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By the time Einbinder won her first Emmy for Supporting Comedy Actress, she was already walking some of that back. When speaking to the press backstage after her censored acceptance speech, she deferred to Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky about whether Season 5 would really be it for Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Einbinder).

So is this really the end? And who is The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Christopher Briney up to in that first look photo? Here’s everything you need to know about the fifth season of Hacks.

Is this the last season of Hacks?

Even though Einbinder was less certain of her red carpet assertions backstage, there is a reason she was speaking that way originally.

When Aniello, Downs, and Statsky pitched Hacks, the story had a definite end, encompassing what they saw as five seasons of television, and so far, they’ve kept to that plan.

The question that remains is whether the writers will be able to naturally hit that end point within the confines of this next set of episodes. “We are now breaking up Season 5, and we have to see how many episodes it will take us to get to where we know we’re going to go,” Downs told Variety. “The final scene of the final episode has been in our minds since 2015, and we’re excited to get there. But that may take more episodes than we can fit in the season. So the truth is that we don’t know.”

Who is Christopher Briney playing?

Another mystery. The Summer I Turned Pretty actor has joined the cast in a yet-to-be-revealed role. But from the first official of photo of him on set, his character seems pretty friendly with Deborah.

When will Hacks Season 5 premiere?

The comedy has stuck to a fairly regular release schedule, dropping at the end of May or start of June almost every year since its debut in 2021, so expect it around then.

What are its awards chances?

At this juncture, with Smart has gone 4-for-4 on Best Comedy Actress Emmys, it’s not a question of whether she’ll be nominated again, but whether she can go undefeated as Deborah Vance — if this ends up being the final season.

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