Deborah Sets Her Sights On Madison Square Garden

Deborah Vance is back from the dead. 

As we know, the queen of “Hacks” was never actually deceased. (Someone tell the Little Debbies!) That was just one big TMZ screw-up. To make matters worse, Deb and her team learn that Bob Lipka has been heading up a smear campaign in the press. But last season’s false obituary does have a silver lining. As Deborah faces the fallout from her late-night exit, she now knows she must revitalize her career… by rewriting her legacy. 

“I refuse to be remembered on other people’s terms,” she tells Ava. She isn’t trying to go down as a “hysterical woman” or “the person who killed late night.” Her plan? To be remembered for her accomplishments. So she decides (a bit haphazardly, one might say) that she’s going for the full EGOT! (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.) Luckily, she’s already halfway there, with a Daytime Emmy for hosting a game show, and a Tony for producing “Spamalot.” The problem, says Jimmy: He isn’t even sure what she can legally do, due to her contract issues.

Randi offers a glimpse of hope. Deborah can actually film a project, as long as it comes out after her non-compete ends. “I like this young man!” Deborah beams, accidentally misgendering Jimmy and Kayla’s new-ish assistant. (Isn’t Robby Hoffman a fantastic addition to this cast? If you haven’t seen Hoffman’s Netflix special “Wake Up,” I highly recommend it.) 

As Deborah begins work with Tony Kushner on her memoir (which will be turned into an audiobook and — voilá! — hopefully a Grammy), Jimmy and Kayla get to work on securing Deborah a role that could lead to an Academy Award. Randi suggests getting Deborah into the Fatty Arbuckle movie, but Jimmy isn’t keen on the idea at first. Until, that is, a supporting actress starts to bomb on set. Jimmy pitches a recast and the director surprisingly goes for Kayla’s Deborah Vance suggestion. This is moving right along, isn’t it?

But when Deb’s memoir doesn’t go as planned, she fires Kushner and instead sets her sights on the Grammy award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album Including Tejano — hey, it’s a weak year for the category! (Ava later tells her that this is proooobably not the way to go.) With the EGOT mission becoming more and more of a long shot — and after Lipka scrubs all of Deborah’s content off his company’s streamer — the comedian gets fired up and feisty once again. And that’s what springs the team into their next wild idea.

The following night, Deborah puts on a secret stand-up show where attendees’ phones are confiscated. (How nice was it to see Deb killing it on stage again, basking in the sunlight while an optimistic piano score plays? Bliss.) Of course, Deb is served papers for breaking her contract, and eventually goes to court. (Ava was the one who leaked the video in order to get eyes on her boss.) Standing at the steps of the courthouse with loads of cameras pointing at her, Deborah announces that the moment her contract expires, she’ll be shouting her truth from the stage of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. 

And when she sells it out, that will be her legacy. 

What did you think of the final season premiere of “Hacks”? Grade it below, then hit the comments!