Jean Smart Sweeps 'Hacks' Emmys, Ties Acting Record — SkimNews
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- Jean Smart won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Deborah Vance in the fifth and final season of HBO Max's 'Hacks,' defeating Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Elle Fanning, and Lisa Kudrow.
- Smart becomes the first performer in TV history to win an Emmy for every existing season of a series, going five-for-five across all seasons of 'Hacks' (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, and the 2026 win).
- This is Smart's eighth acting Emmy overall, tying her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for the all-time record, following earlier wins for guest roles on 'Frasier' (2000, 2001) and 'Samantha Who?' (2008).
- 'Hacks' earned 24 nominations for its farewell season, setting a new single-season record for a comedy series, and previously won Outstanding Comedy Series for its third season in 2024.
- In Season 5, Deborah Vance embarks on a final campaign to control her legacy after being falsely reported dead, with Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, also nominated) at her side.
- Smart opened her acceptance speech with a joke — 'Just the men stay standing, the girls get to sit down' — and closed by calling her run on the show 'what a ride this has been.'
Why it matters: Smart's win closes out 'Hacks' with the rarest exit in TV history: a lead actress sweeping every season her show aired, while also tying the all-time acting Emmy record at eight wins. For HBO Max, the show's record 24 farewell-season nominations and its earlier Outstanding Comedy Series trophy mark one of the most decorated comedy finales ever recorded by the Television Academy.
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