This article contains spoilers for Hacks Season 5 Episode 5.
HBO Max airs two episodes of Hacks on May 30. “D’Amazing Race” is the second of that release, and, as the title suggests, is the long-awaited episode set in the world of The Amazing Race. The idea was first referenced in Season 2, when Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) watch the show and note how well they would work as a team. Three seasons later, producer Lucia Aniello fulfils her longtime wish of having the comedian go on the show, as Deborah instead makes good on DJ’s (Kaitlin Olson) lifelong dream to compete.
Naturally, Deborah initially hesitates and tries to use her gag order to skirt DJ’s request. DJ, however, knows her mother and has already called her lawyer. Deborah is in the clear so long as the season airs when the non-compete expires. It does, and it matters to DJ. Deborah promised they would go on the show together if DJ got sober – and she did. Ava supports the idea, urging Deborah to promote her MSG show in a press release. There is something delightfully cringeworthy about watching Deborah promote her comeback show, standing among contestants competing for causes like Alzheimer’s. It’s quintessential Deborah, and a hilarious quip from writer Pat Regan.
The casting of Trisha Paytas, as herself, distracts from what would otherwise be an excellent storyline. Paytas seemingly represents everything Hacks is not, with a history of transphobia, homophobia, and racism, with lengthy threads and articles online calling her out for her behaviour. She also has well-documented support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine and recorded Zionist remarks, something cast members Einbinder, Poppy Liu, and Meg Stalter, in particular, oppose. While the cast presumably has little influence on guest stars, it is a baffling choice, even more so given that she is not an actress.
There is an overwhelming trend in television where influencers and social media personalities land guest roles as exaggerated versions of themselves – or generic influencer types – that add little to the plot. Hacks itself played with this in Season 4, when Julianne Nicholson appeared as Dance Mom, a dancing influencer later revealed not to have children at all – a performance that earned Nicholson an Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. With Season 5, the show’s last, it would have made more sense to bring back established guest stars who fall in line with the plot, rather than spend time on a cameo that offers so little.
It also carries little narrative weight. Deborah bristles at Paytas comparing herself to her as a comedian, dismissing her as an “online comedian.” She insists they need to beat her – unsurprisingly, they do not – but the plot goes nowhere. Perhaps that is intentional, given the episode’s focus on Deborah and DJ’s relationship, but it ultimately lands as a distracting cameo.
“D’Amazing Race” works best when it centres on Deborah and DJ. Their adventure is undeniably funny – Deborah’s quips remain relentless even as she worries about how reality television might portray DJ. Ironically, she seems to forget how her own overbearing tendencies could be edited. They race through airports, chase clues, take on challenges, and face roadblocks involving cheese wheels and milking goats.
More importantly, the experience offers the mother-daughter duo some much-needed bonding time. Smart and Olson excel here, offering laughs and heartfelt moments in equal measure. They are never better than when failing to nail a traditional dance in clown attire, though a moment in which they see eye to eye while waiting to head back to the States offers welcome development that will make your heart clench.
DJ believes they would have won if Deborah had taken on the roadblocks. Deborah counters that she has never been good at failing and moving on. She’s proud of DJ, who lets things roll off her back and throws herself into everything without worrying about appearances. In Deborah’s eyes, DJ is tougher and less concerned with what people think. What Bob Lipka is doing to her now, she argues, is exactly why she tried to protect DJ for so long. Maybe she did not allow her to try enough, but DJ could have handled it. It’s a beautifully written scene and the episode’s strongest, reminding us how effective Smart and Olson are together.
Despite focusing elsewhere, “D’Amazing Race” still gives Smart and Einbinder room to deliver strong work together. When Ava reveals she has figured out what to do with the blind script, she suggests pitching Who’s Making Dinner? for a reboot, with Deborah rewriting it. Deborah resists but ultimately encourages Ava to move forward, even as she continues with the MSG show. Ava knows how triggering it is when people rewrite Deborah’s story, but Deborah trusts her to handle it. Ava, in turn, will not let her down – something Deborah knows.
As for Einbinder, the episode continues to offer her standout work. Desperate to reboot Who’s Making Dinner?, Hacks brings Kathy (J. Smith Cameron) back into the fold. It is always delightful to watch Smart and Smith-Cameron hurl insults at each other, even more so when Smart shouts, “This woman is sick,” at the top of her lungs. Frank left the rights to the show to her, and Kathy refuses to give them to Ava unless Deborah gives her their mother’s salt and pepper shakers. Deborah refuses, seemingly putting an end to Ava’s reboot hopes.
That is, until Ava steals the shakers and takes them to T.L. Gurley’s (Jefferson Mays) antique store. Mays first featured in the second episode of Season 1, where Ava threatens to smash a vase to get him to sell to Deborah. It’s an excellent reference, one that reinforces how Hacks Season 5 is for the fans while further highlighting how out of place Paytas feels. Initially, Gurley refuses to help, but Ava comes in peace, offering Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins) as a customer in exchange for replicas of the shakers. She later gives them to Kathy, who is none the wiser, proclaiming she can feel her mother in the pepper shaker. Ava feels terrible, though Deborah finds the situation hilarious.
As Hacks nears its end, Ava rebooting the show that made Deborah a star, and simultaneously contributed to her trauma, feels fitting. While Deborah does not want to be involved, it’s hard to imagine that Ava’s idea will not succeed or help her in some way. “Who’s Making Dinner?” is a polarising episode, one that feels both devoted to and at odds with fans of Hacks. Still, strong turns from Smart, Olson, and Einbinder are enough to sustain it, reminding us why the series remains worth watching in its final farewell.
