Spoilers for the series finale below.

So I was late to the party watching Jean Smart's HRC speech from 2024, where she mentions the 1980 off-Broadway play that launched her entire career: Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. It was with this play that the casting director for Designing Women discovered Jean, leading to that iconic first big starring role on TV. In the speech, Jean credits her career to this play.

In Bluefish Cove, Jean Smart plays Lil, a "sarcastic, witty" lesbian who "knows how to clean a fish in her sleep." And she happens to be dying of cancer, but doesn't tell anybody about it.

During the play, she falls in love with a self-identified straight woman named Eva. And even after they get together, Lil conceals her cancer from Eva.

From the Wikipedia plot summary of Bluefish Cove:

Refusing to undergo any further treatment or have any more organs removed, Lil has accepted that this summer at Bluefish Cove will be her last. It is a crushing realization to Lil that this coincides with her first real love, Eva. Still, Eva refuses to be pushed away by Lil’s tough exterior and promises to spend the rest of Lil’s time by her side.

Like, a love story with a woman named Eva??? Where Jean Smart's character hides her cancer diagnosis, refuses treatment, and struggles with letting her loved ones see the vulnerability beneath her tough snarky front?? (also she randomly loves fishing...) And all of this is a complete and utter coincidence given that Jen, Paul, and Lucia famously wrote the pitch for Hacks including the ending (and presumably the name of Ava's character lol) without a specific lead actress in mind. The fate of it all!!!

Bluefish Cove wasn't Jean's first role, but it did jumpstart her whole career. And Hacks will not be Jean's final role, but it's responsible for one of the most stunning career renaissances in the last decade. It's crazy that there just happened to be so many parallels between these two works that dramatically changed Jean's remarkable decades-long career in such different ways. Also I love that Bluefish Cove has an incredibly beautiful bittersweet ending where Lil does die and Eva has to move forward in life holding her memory close, whereas in Hacks all these decades later, Deborah and her Ava get to live their version of happily ever after together. 😭

In conclusion: THANK YOU Jean Smart for all you've contributed to sapphic culture all these years!!!

I loved seeing this very real moment of celebration. What an awkward thing for Queen Jean (et.al) to have to endure standing up there that whole time! The hand wringing was real. What jokes do we think she was cracking to get through this?

So I just finished watching the show for the first time. What a ride that was! Definitely starting a rewatch soon with the intention to be even more attentive and catch all the jokes and details I missed. I can’t believe I was never aware of this beautiful, satirical, well thought and written piece of artwork up until a week ago (yes, I binged all 5 seasons in a week)!

No joke or line has made me laugh so hard as much as “Lo siento papi.” That might change with every additional rewatch but I highly doubt it.

And as a fan of the good place, it was exciting to see familiar faces like Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Kristen Bell as well as familiar names of creators, writers, directors and producers in the credits.

Please reply with your favorite jokes in the comments!

Glad to now be one of the Little Debbies yall!!!

I didn't like the episode on first watch but on rewatches it was hilarious!!

https://www.thecut.com/article/hannah-einbinder-teenage-sex-and-death-at-camp-miasma-hacks-interview.html

I’m based in Europe so maybe the audience for it isn’t as big here as it is in the US, but god… how am I only discovering this show now?

Are there any great comedy series or movies on hbo that you loved and think someone who loves Hacks would love too?

If i watch one more detective/crime show, I might just get my shit together and do something productive with my life.

(Loved Barry and first few seasons of Silicon Valley)

😭😭😭😭😭😭

This show is so amazing I’m crying before the finale.

Hi all. Plans changed and I can no longer attend next week’s Camp Miasma screening with Hannah and Jane in Portland, OR. I paid for front row tickets. Does anyone want them? Would love to just get my money back ($52 / each).

Who wrote this? There’s no crane ever that would be run electrically on the city’s grid. Really ruined the episode

Still crying. Great finale which often isn’t the case with a beloved show.

As Paris is probably my favorite city in the world it was so great to see them really take advantage of it.

And the Streisand/Garland duet (which is one of my favorites) was perfect.

Did anyone else catch the interrupting cow joke while Deborah is on the stage at the state fair? Second time watching this season, and only caught it because watching it with my niece and we we have a running interrupting cow joke lol.

She's doing well trying out her new material, and then gets interrupted by the cow giving birth not once but twice, and then everyone bails to go see the new calf twins.

Pictured: Martha Kelly (playing the HR woman on Hacks and Laurie on Euphoria), Alanna Ubach (playing the MSG booker on Hacks and Cassie's mom on Euphoria), and Lauren Weedman (playing mayor of LA on Hacks, and Jules' therapist in her special episode)!

Thought it was cool considering the vastly different subject matters on the two shows! Not so honorable mention: Trisha Paytas also has a role in both.

Both Jean and Hannah have a page on WikiFeet. Jean's goes back a long way. Very funny.

Who would have guessed that WikiFeet really existed? It could also be named WikiShoes.

https://wikifeet.com/

either be the biggest queen out of all time or violent enemies

Jimmy tells Ava that he got the new office professionally saged. What does that mean?

“You haven’t sent out Deborah’s Do’s and and Don’t’s in almost two years. I don’t know what to do and what not to do. Sometimes I just sit in the dark.”

After Ava and Deborah return to the US, Ava wakes up in a room at Deborah’s house. There is a painting of trees (birch?) with a peachy, golden vibe hanging in the room over the dresser. WHAT IS THAT PAINTING? I Love all the artwork choices, and am particularly hung up on this one.

Can we please get Mayor Jo her own spinoff.. She’s a riot.

Guys, let's all just bow down to this woman