Sunday night’s Emmy Awards were a celebratory night for “Hacks,” with Hannah Einbinder winning her first Emmy and Jean Smart picking up her seventh career Emmy. But the evening was also marked by conversations about the series’ conclusion.

Speaking on the red carpet before the show, Einbinder told E! News that going into filming for Season 5 “knowing it’s the last season is really bittersweet.”

As emotional as it would be for her, Einbinder said she also felt like it was the right decision to end the show at that point. “It’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done,” she continued. “Not overstay your welcome. Rip it and do it and laugh and cry.”

Einbinder and Smart answered questions from reporters backstage together, and elaborated on the former’s comments on the red carpet about the comedy series.

“[Creators] Paul [W. Downs], Jen [Statsky] and Lucia [Aniello] are the arbiters of that being true, ultimately. But I think the original plan was that they saw a five-season arc in their initial pitch for the show. So obviously, there have been tons of shows that maybe go away, come back — I don’t really know,” Einbinder said before Smart added, “Cause we don’t know how it ends. We don’t ask. We like to be surprised.”

Einbinder said they’ll start shooting Season 5 in about a week, and then she and Smart speculated on what the plot could be. “I think I have a sex change operation and you ...” Smart said before her co-star jumped in with “... fall in love with you deeper? Probably.”

Representatives from HBO did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the series and when it’s ending, and there has been no official confirmation on whether Season 5 will be the last. But the creators’ original five-season plan has been widely publicized and many fans have speculated that the end is near.

Speaking with The Times in August, Einbinder got emotional thinking about her life after “Hacks”: “I grew up with these people,” she said. “We are in each other’s lives in a real way. So, yeah, it’s emotional.”

But she quickly brought back her signature humor, cracking a joke about what she hopes for her character, Ava. “I think she should cure her acne and grow her hair out,” she said. “That would be meaningful for her.”

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.