Starring Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins, the series centers on the professional relationship between a young comedy writer and a legendary stand-up comedian.

The cast of The View (Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin) made cameo appearances in the season 3 episode "Join the Club".

[9] Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, actors held table reads over Zoom, there were no cast parties during production, and stars Smart and Clemons-Hopkins did not even meet each other in person until minutes before the pilot was filmed.

[10] In June 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season,[2] and the cast added Laurie Metcalf, Martha Kelly, and Ming-Na Wen in recurring roles and Margaret Cho as a guest star.

[12] Production began for the third season in November 2022, but paused near the end of February 2023 for a few weeks before resuming in March due to Smart recovering from a "successful heart procedure".

[16] In February 2024, it was announced Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Bucatinsky, George Wallace and Tony Goldwyn would guest star in the third season.

The website's critical consensus states, "A prickling debut that pulls few punches, Hacks deftly balances its sharp critiques of the comedy world with more intimate moments, all the while giving the incomparable Jean Smart a role worthy of her talents – and an excellent partner in Hannah Einbinder.

The website's critics consensus states, "Hacks hits the road, but Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder remain very much at home with each other in a sterling sophomore season that finds novel ways to deepen the central pair's lovable friendship.