9 Shows Like ‘Hacks’ to Watch While You Wait for Season 4
“Hacks” is over for now, but fans of the Emmy-winning Max series can rest assured knowing that the show has been renewed for a fourth season and will indeed continue. But waiting to see what’s next for Ava and Deborah can be a drag, so we’ve put together a list of some great shows with similar sensibilities to tide you over until “Hacks” Season 4 arrives. All of these shows are ostensibly about comedy but vary wildly in tone, POV and ultimately what they have to say about the business of being funny.
Here are some shows like “Hacks” to watch next.
Crashing
This HBO series set in the world of stand-up comedy is based on the life of star and creator Pete Holmes, who was spurred to make a go at being a comic after he caught his wife cheating on him. Each episode of “Crashing” finds Holmes staying with a different comedian in New York City as he struggles to find a foothold, with a revolving door of great comedians like Hannibal Burress, Sarah Silverman, Dave Attell, Bill Burr, Ray Romano, Seth Meyers and more appearing on the show. What makes “Crashing” special is how personal the show gets as it digs into Holmes’ Christian faith and his struggle to marry his genteel demeanor with his comedy routine. – Adam Chitwood
Where to Stream It: Max
I’m Dying Up Here
“I’m Dying Up Here” follows a group of regular performers at a 1970s comedy club all enjoying varying levels of success and failures. If the somewhat inside-baseball nature of the comedy world tickled your fancy in “Hacks” you’ll find it in spades here. And if any part of you considered a prequel series about what Deborah Vance’s early career was like you could almost see what that would entail by watching this Showtime series. – Jacob Bryant
Where to Stream It: Paramount+, Fubo
Flight of the Conchords
An OG HBO comedy series, “Flight of the Conchords” is the brainchild of New Zealand natives Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie as they play a struggling two-man band trying to make it in New York City. They combine music with comedy in their act, and the catchy songs are reason enough to check this one out. – AC
Where to Stream It: Max
Baby Reindeer
2024 has been consumed by talk about “Baby Reindeer,” and for good reason because it’s great. It’s the true story about a struggling comedian – played by series creator and subject material Richard Gadd – slowly realizing he’s made a connection with a woman who is a known stalker. That alone would be quite a hook for a series but being stalked opens the door for Gadd’s character to grapple with some past trauma he’d been trying to stifle for years to the detriment of a number of relationships. The Netflix series weaves series drama with a dry wit and the result is something not to be missed. – JB
Where to Stream It: Netflix
BoJack Horseman
Deborah Vance starts “Hacks” as a once-great celeb stuck in a rut and the Netflix animated series “BoJack Horseman” is that concept on steroids. The series follows a washed up actor who was huge in the ‘90s but now spends most of his day drinking in his Hollywoo home with his roommate. Eventually he tries to make a comeback to relevancy but can never seem to get out of his own self-destructive ways. If you wish Deborah was around 10 times the mess she is then “BoJack Horseman” is the show for you. – JB
Where to Stream It: Netflix
Barry
A much darker take on Hollywood, “Barry” is Bill Hader’s brilliant HBO series about a hitman who decides he wants to change course and make it as an actor. He joins an improv class headed up by a kind but conceited struggling actor (Henry Winkler), but can he really escape his murderous ways for good? Throughout four seasons, “Barry” explored the central idea of whether humans can change their nature. There are laughs aplenty, but the dramatic tension is just as taught and a real highlight is watching Hader flex as a filmmaker in the 18 episodes he directed himself. It barrels towards one of the best series finales in recent memory. – AC
Where to Stream It: Max
The Other Two
If a hilarious show that dives deep into the minutiae of show business is what you want, then “The Other Two” stands shoulder to shoulder with “Hacks.” The series follows a pair of siblings grappling with the fact that their younger brother – and later even their mother played by Molly Shannon – are overshadowing them with fame. Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Helene Yorke) try and try again to climb higher up the fame ladder to personally disastrous results. Add in that if you love Jimmy in “Hacks” you can get an inverse in Ken Marino’s hilariously schlubby agent Streeter. – JB
Where to Stream It: Max
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Standup comedy nerds will find plenty to love in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Prime Video’s prestige, 1950s-set series about a homemaker who decides to make a run as a standup comic. Rachel Brosnahan is impeccable as the titular Mrs. Maisel and the breadth of story, character and time that the show tackles is wildly impressive. The rat-a-tat dialogue can be make-or-break for some, but those who loved Amy Sherman-Palladino’s “Gilmore Girls” will find plenty to adore in this five-season series. Plus if you’re looking for something a bit meatier, “Maisel” episodes are hourlong affairs. – AC
Where to Stream It: Prime Video
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Here’s a nonfiction offering for the real comedy fans. Jerry Seinfeld started “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” in 2012 with a simple conceit – each episode finds Seinfeld and another comedian riding in a classic car and going out for coffee, talking about comedy along the way. Over 84 episodes Seinfeld secured every must-have guest, from late night greats like David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers to “SNL” stalwarts like Tina Fey and Will Ferrell. Not only is it funny, but it’s a wonderful little historical document as well that charts the nature, evolution and central tenets of comedy itself. – AC
Where to Stream It: Netflix
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