12 Best TV Shows Like Hacks

"Hacks" premiered as an HBO Max exclusive back in 2021 and became a critical darling pretty much right away, thanks in large part to the sharp, snappy writing — helmed by showrunners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky — and the two leads, Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart. Smart, a veteran of the small screen who rose to fame on "Designing Women," leads as Deborah Vance, a stand-up comedian relegated to playing a residency in Las Vegas. When she's at risk of losing said residency, she hires Ava Daniels (Einbinder), a recently semi-disgraced comedy writer, to help make her act more modern. Alongside Deborah's faithful agent Jimmy LuSaque Jr. (Downs, who also appears on the show) and his intrepid partner in crime Kayla Schaefer (a ridiculously great Meg Stalter), the two try and navigate the many ups and downs of Deborah's career.

Yes, the show is ostensibly about Deborah's career, but the most important throughline on the series is the relationship between Deborah and Ava, which is always at least a little bit contentious but loving underneath it all — so what other shows have this same sort of central relationship or just general energy? From other HBO shows about strong-willed women who, like Deborah, are capable of being extremely mean to a few other showbusiness comedies to another show that involves Downs, Aniello, and Statsky, here are some picks you should check out if you love "Hacks." (One quick honorable mention: Tony Goldwyn plays a pretty important role from season 3 on of "Hacks," so if you like his performance, check out his turn as United States president Fitzgerald Grant on "Scandal.")

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" might not have anything in common with "Hacks" at first glance, but there are actually two major connections between the two comedies. First of all, Kaitlin Olson, who's played Sweet Dee Reynolds on "Always Sunny" since the very beginning, plays Deborah "DJ" Vance Jr., Deborah's only child who has a seriously rocky (but ultimately loving) relationship with her mother. Second of all, everyone on both of these shows can be very mean and gross, but in the funniest way possible.

Back to "Always Sunny," which kicked off in 2005 and became one of the longer-running comedy shows of its ilk as it continued on and on — and which stars Olson alongside her real-life husband Rob McElhenney (as Ronald "Mac" McDonald), Glenn Howerton (as Dee's brother Dennis Reynolds), Charlie Day (as Charlie Kelly), and Danny DeVito (as Frank Reynolds, Dee and Dennis' father). To say that "Always Sunny" is politically incorrect is, frankly, the point; the show never tries to pretend to be inoffensive or anodyne, which is precisely why it's so funny ... and, most importantly, it mocks the core characters by turning its own hilarious cruelty inwards. "Hacks" can be a vicious and outlandish show, so it seems that Olson isn't the only thing it borrowed from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

If you love the frequent Hollywood in-jokes on "Hacks" and its sly, cynical view of what it takes to "make it" in show business, "The Other Two" should be right up your alley. The show, which began its life on Comedy Central before moving to HBO Max in 2021, stars Drew Tarver and Heléne Yorke as Cary and Brooke Dubek, a pair of radically unsuccessful siblings who are forced to contend with their younger brother Chase "Dreams" Dubek (Case Walker) and his overnight success. ("Chase Dreams," which is Chase's professional name, is pretty clearly based on singers like Justin Bieber, based on his floppy hairstyle and debut single "Marry U At Recess.") Chase, who's flanked by his overbearing but well-meaning stage mom Pat Dubek (Molly Shannon) and his entirely too eager manager Streeter Peter Peters (an always welcome Ken Marino), gets completely lost in all of the fanfare as he skyrockets to fame, leaving Cary and Brooke envious of their brother's success but protective of him all the same.

To be clear, "The Other Two" doesn't technically take place in the same universe as "Hacks," because it doesn't appear in a real universe; there's a running gag where Hollywood creeps sprout vampire fangs when they think about Chase turning eighteen, and after Brooke quits showbusiness to "do good," she becomes invisible to people in the industry. Still, "The Other Two" is a brilliant, hilarious series about the contradictions of the entertainment industry, so it's definitely a great companion to "Hacks."

An older woman who used to be a huge star trying to break back into the industry, with middling results until an incredible opportunity presents itself? Sure, that is the plot of "Hacks," but it's also the plot of the two-season HBO comedy "The Comeback." 

This version, which is just as funny and cutting as "Hacks," introduces us to Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow), a sitcom star who once led a series called "I'm In" in the late 1980s and early 1990s but whose career has fallen into disrepair. In the first season, which aired in 2005, Valerie tries to regain her fame by appearing on a new sitcom as the older character named Aunt Sassy called "Room and Bored," all while making a documentary called — you guessed it — "The Comeback" (the HBO series is a mockumentary). Valerie stumbles her way through "Room and Bored," and the whole thing goes about as well as you might think.

Season 2 of "The Comeback" aired in 2014, and in it, Valerie is leading a drama series called "Seeing Red," a lightly fictionalized retelling of her time on "Room and Bored" (written by Lance Barber's formerly vile writer Paulie G., who made her life hellish on the sitcom). Both seasons of "The Comeback" are well worth watching, especially if "Hacks" makes you seek out another story of an older woman battling Hollywood.

If Jimmy on "Hacks" looks sort of familiar, it's probably because you saw him on Comedy Central's buddy comedy "Broad City" as Trey Pucker, an overeager employee at a New York City Gym called Soulstice. That's right — Paul W. Downs and his wife Lucia Aniello were executive producers on "Broad City," and their fellow "Hacks" showrunner Jen Statsky worked on the series as a producer, writer, and consultant. 

As for "Broad City" itself, it stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer as Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler, two best friends trying to "make it" in a frequently heightened and absurd version of New York City. Across five seasons, Abbi and Ilana get into all sorts of scrapes and misadventures, from trying to pick up a lost package in the bowels of the city to an incident with a sex toy in a dishwasher.

"Broad City" is hysterically funny but also shockingly heartfelt, and it shares one big trait with "Hacks" besides Downs, Aniello, and Statsky; like "Hacks," it's an ode to close female friendship and the joy you can find in that specific bond. Some big differences, though? Well, Abbi and Ilana's existence is much more down-to-earth than Deborah's ... and it's very possible that Ilana and Ava Daniels would end up becoming each other's nemeses. Or maybe they'd fall in love! Impossible to say.

Let's put it this way: on the same week in 2025, "The Studio" and "Hacks" aired parallel plotlines where a character gets way too high and has to be paraded around a set like a gag from "Weekend at Bernie's" (and, point in fact, the same characters have illicit substances shoved up their nose to, uh, "help"). Even without that, "The Studio," Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's series — which they created with Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez — shares a lot of worthy DNA with "Hacks." 

As the series opens, Matt Remick (Rogen) takes over as head of Hollywood's stories Continental Studios, flanked by his assistant and aspiring producer Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders), his longtime friend Sal Saperstein (a perfectly deployed Ike Barinholtz), and Continental's flashy, often frantic marketing head Maya Mason (a transcendently great Kathryn Hahn). All Matt wants is to make real art, sort of like how Ava Daniels wants Deborah to tell better jokes; he's stuck making a "Kool-Aid movie" instead.

Both "Hacks" and "The Studio" explore the darker parts of Hollywood and, more than anything else, how lonely it can be when you finally "make it." Also, in the most flattering way possible, they sort of did the same storyline one time, so how could "The Studio" not make this list?

At first glance, "Somebody Somewhere" and "Hacks" don't have a lot in common; Bridget Everett's Sam and Jean Smart's Deborah are incredibly different at face value (Deborah lives in mansions in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and Sam lives in Manhattan, Kansas). Still, both shows offer up cutting, caustic comedy — if you've ever seen Everett's cabaret acts, you know the woman is bawdy as hell — and are shockingly emotional and heartfelt, focusing on meaningful relationships one can form at any point in life.

"Somebody Somewhere" begins in a pretty dark fashion: after Sam's sister passes away, she's left picking up the pieces in Kansas surrounded by friends like Joel (Jeff Hiller) and her other sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison). Though it's a smaller story than "Hacks" in scale — no late-night shows are on the line, and nobody is accruing millions of dollars through a QVC line — "Somebody Somewhere" is a riotously funny and incredibly kind show. It's got some similarities to "Hacks," but it also might just be a sweet pairing for when Deborah's attacks on Ava become a little too much.

While Deborah Vance represents an older generation on "Hacks" (though she'd definitely hate to hear it expressed that way), the millennial view is represented through Ava — which is why she'd probably be really into "Search Party." The series opens when Dory (Alia Shawkat) hyperfocuses on the disappearance of her friend from college, Chantal Witherbottom (who, when she appears on the show, is played by Clare McNulty), much to the chagrin of her boyfriend Drew (John Reynolds) and friends Elliott (John Early) and Portia (Meredith Hagner). 

Anyone who's getting ready to dive into "Search Party" for the very first time, though, should be aware that it's a very strange show (in a good way), and each season sort of radically shifts not just the focus of the series, but the style in which it's presented and performed. (Without spoiling anything directly, later seasons involve cults, murder trials, and attempts to create a pill that simulates a near-death experience.) Still, "Search Party" is well worth a watch; if Ava were real, she'd probably love it.

Deborah frequently faces ageism on "Hacks," and frankly, ageism is the inciting incident that sets all of "Younger" into action. After years away from the publishing industry, stay-at-home mom and new divorcée Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) needs a new job, but nobody wants to hire a 40-year-old who hasn't worked in a long time. With a little help from her longtime best friend Maggie Amato (Debi Mazar) and a fake ID and backstory, Liza pretends she's 26 ... and the ruse gets her a job at Empirical Press in New York City.

The age difference between Deborah and Ava on "Hacks" is bigger than really any of the age differences on "Younger," but again, there's a central friendship here ... between Liza and Empirical's star young editor Kelsey Peters (Hilary Duff), who is actually in her 20s. Like Deborah and Ava, Liza and Kelsey experience ups and downs and even bitter betrayals throughout their friendship, but they always come out on the other side and manage to score major professional gains together in the process. "Younger" is a frothy, fun delight with a deeper focus on female friendship, and one has to imagine that Deborah would actually really respect Liza's (frankly insane) gambit.

Are you looking for a story about faded stars attempting to mount a massive comeback, but you've already watched "Hacks" like, five times in a row? Please, for the love of all that is holy, go watch "Girls5Eva." 

Meredith Scardino's series, which began its life on Peacock before moving to Netflix (and, sadly, was canceled in 2024 despite ending its third and final season on a bit of a cliffhanger), focuses on four women who were once members of a popular girl group called, obviously, Girls5Eva. When a popular rapper named Lil Stinker (Jeremiah Craft) samples their song "Famous 5Eva," the group's four remaining members — Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Gloria (Paula Pell), Summer (Busy Philipps), and Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry) — decide to reunite and get their act back together. (There was a fifth member — Ashley, played by Ashley Park — but likely due to Park's commitments on "Emily in Paris," we learn that her character died in an accident involving magicians and an infinity pool, though we sometimes see her in flashbacks.)

Cut from the same cloth as "30 Rock" — Tina Fey and Robert Carlock serve as executive producers — "Girls5Eva" is lightning-fast, incredibly funny, and above all, a story about how powerful women can triumph over any obstacles life puts in their way. It's singing instead of standup, but "Girls5Eva" definitely shares a lot with "Hacks" too. (Also, the casting director who realized that, in addition to having powerhouse voices, both Bareilles and Goldsberry are extremely funny deserves some sort of special award or medal.)

Deborah does often succumb to her worst impulses on "Hacks," especially where her super-loyal counterpart Ava is concerned ... and if Deborah just let herself be completely horrible at all times, she'd basically become Selina Meyer from another cutting HBO comedy, "Veep." As played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus — who took home armloads of Emmys for the role — Selina is, to put it bluntly, a borderline sociopath. As she rises from the vice-presidency to the presidency throughout this Washington D.C. satire spearheaded by both Armando Ianucci and David Mandel, Selina gets worse and worse; in her case, it's true that power reveals precisely who you are.

Everyone in Selina's orbit suffers thanks to her presence and cutthroat cruelty, but nobody really suffers any more than her most loyal and faithful lieutenant, Gary Walsh (Tony Hale). Gary is nothing but supportive of Selina, no matter what — and without spoiling the very end of this genuinely magnificent and gloriously mean comedy, he pays the ultimate price so that Selina can remain on top. Do you ever wish Deborah Vance was a lot, lot worse? Try "Veep!" (Also, the one-liners on this show would make even Deborah laugh out loud.)

"Hacks" isn't the only show about a woman trying to make it in the world of standup comedy ... and the other big name in that (admittedly limited) genre is definitely "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." When we first meet Rachel Brosnahan's Midge Maisel in 1958, she's happily married to her husband Joel (Michael Zegen) and raising two children, only to see her world turned fully upside down when Joel reveals that he's leaving Midge for his secretary.

Drunk and disoriented, Midge finds her way to the Gaslight Cafe, where Joel used to "perform standup" (he actually recycled jokes from famous comedians instead of crafting his own) and performs an impromptu "tight five" that absolutely kills. Though she rips her top off and is arrested right away, she catches the attention of the cafe's manager Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein), and the two start working together to get Midge's comedy career off the ground.

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," which is spearheaded by "Gilmore Girls" creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, is a funny, heartfelt, and in-depth look at women's limited paths to success decades before Deborah Vance decides to hire a younger writer to help her work flourish. By surrounding Midge with a cast of increasingly colorful characters — including Luke Kirby's frankly brilliant take on real-life comic legend Lenny Bruce — and watching her rise and fall as a standup, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" still manages to do the same thing "Hacks" does so well: it centers the relationship between Susie and Midge above all else when all is said and done.

Finally, we've got one other show about female comedians trying to make it big — although this charming show unfortunately only ran for two short seasons. "I'm Dying Up Here" puts a spotlight on Golda "Goldie" Herschlag (Melissa Leo), who owns a Los Angeles comedy club filled with young comedians all trying to make it in the industry. Set in 1973, the show is led by Leo and Ari Graynor as Cassie Feder, a young aspiring comedian from Texas who moves out to the City of Angels to become famous.

Tempted by a potential guest spot on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," Cassie and other comics, including Ron Shack (Clark Duke), Billy Hobbs (Andrew Santino), Eddie Zeidel (Michael Angarano), and Nick Beverly (Jake Lacy), all struggle to win over Goldie, who can be incredibly tough on her protégés. Goldie might run a comedy club instead of performing herself like Deborah, but the two women would almost certainly bond ... and Deborah would probably think a lot of "I'm Dying Up Here" seems pretty familiar.