Hacks Season 4 Episode 5 recap: Deborah's show is struggling to find its soul

Season 4, Episode 5 of Hacks is titled Clickable Face and showcases the ongoing tension between Deborah Vance, played by Jean Smart, and Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder. The tension escalates as they grapple with the declining ratings of Deborah’s late-night show, which is now placing fourth after a good showing in its first two episodes.

The episode, directed by Paul W. Downs and written by Aisha Muharrar, dives into the clash between creative integrity and commercial demands. While Ava is depicted as a team player who believes in work-life balance, Deborah, being the most experienced one, understands the importance of ratings. Read on for the detailed recap of Hacks Season 4, Episode 5, which was released on May 1, 2025.

Here is the full recap of Hacks, season 4 episode 5

The official synopsis of the episode, as per IMDb, reads:

"After a focus group reveals a weak performance with women, Deborah does whatever it takes to connect with the coveted demo, while Kayla and Jimmy set out to book a suitable guest and Ava desperately tries to maintain the show's integrity."

When the ratings for Deborah’s show go down again in recent episodes, the network conducts research and gathers feedback from a focus group. Most of the comments seem vague and unhelpful.

“I like when she’s funny, but I don’t like when she’s trying to be funny, you know whaI t mean?”One of the feedback reads.

The feedback suggests that men like her, along with retired divorcees, Black business owners, and gay dads under 50. But she is underperforming with a crucial group: women between 25–45 years of age. Jimmy comments that this demographic’s opinion reflects the actual worth of the show, pointing to the power these women hold in the consumer world. According to the team’s report, it has become essential to attract these women; otherwise, Deborah’s show could fail commercially. When Deborah acts dismissive, it suggests her internalized misogyny.

Ava is trying desperately for the show to succeed and struggles with figuring out how to appeal to this demographic. This creates a creative burden on her. They’ve got talent, chemistry, and momentum—but no clear direction. She recalls how they failed to define what the show is during the writers’ retreat. Jimmy suggests that Deborah bring on her daughter, DJ, who is pregnant, as a way to appeal to mom viewers, but Deborah “refuses” to exploit her daughter.

They come up with some celebrity guests who could appeal to this demographic. They shortlist Jennifer Garner and Kristen Bell. Garner is busy with a shoot, while Kristen is unavailable due to a prior commitment to Jimmy Kimmel Live!. So Deborah resorts to old-school manipulation: staging a “chance” meeting at Kristen’s bougie grocery store. However, this leads to a clash between Jimmy and Deborah, as Kristen is supposed to be his guest.

Did the Doberah's show in Hacks get a TikTok Dance Mom to boost its ratings?

Meanwhile, Kayla finds a TikTok star named Dance Mom, played by Julianne Nicholson, who seems like a perfect fit for their target demo. While trying to find a creative solution to the problem, Deborah starts modifying trivial elements based on the data.

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The clash between Ava and Deborah escalates when Ava secretly replaces a cue card with another joke that Deborah had struggled to deliver effectively, and they end up fighting in front of the studio audience.

Despite objections, Dance Mom is brought on stage. Shockingly (or not), the audience loves her. The show questions this reaction, implying it is now pandering so hard it’s lost its soul.

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