‘Hacks’ Creators Talk Potentially Making History at the 2025 Emmys and “Stalking” Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cher For Roles

Hacks‘ Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky are on the verge of making Emmy history, and no one wants to see it happen for them more than co-creator Paul W. Downs.

Three weeks out from the 77th Emmy Awards, the trio spoke with DECIDER at the Television Academy’s inaugural Televerse Fest and chatted about the possibility of breaking a long-held record for women with the most writing wins. If Aniello and Statsky win the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series — they’re nominated alongside Downs for Season 4’s penultimate episode, “A Slippery Slope” — they will become the first women to win three writing statues for a single show. Currently, Aniello and Statsky are tied with other two-time winners Tina Fey for 30 Rock, Anne Flett-Giordano for Frasier, and Robin Green for The Sopranos.

The prospect of making history is not lost on the comedy writers, who won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024 and whose previous works include Broad City, Parks and Recreation, and The Other Two. Downs, who also plays Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava’s (Hannah Einbinder) manager in the show, says the momentous occasion speaks to the overall aims of the comedy.

“It’s shocking that no women have been recognized while there have been plenty of men who’ve been recognized more than twice for writing,” he explained. “I am so proud. My mind is blown that Jen and Lucia might be the first women to do that.”

“We think of it very much so in the context of the show. This is the story we’ve been telling,” added Statsky. “We always wanted to tell the story of a woman who didn’t get to tell her own story and there are so many women like that in the history of entertainment. So I think looking in the context of it, it’s both an incredible honor and privilege and mind-blowing, like Paul said.”

Even if the group does not pull off the win — competitors in the category include The Studio‘s “The Promotion” and The Rehearsal‘s “Pilot Code” — there is still so much to look forward to with a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series and several nods in the acting categories, as well as a Season 5 in the works at HBO Max. With Season 4’s shocking end seeing Ava and Deborah headed back to the U.S. after a wildly depressing stint in Singapore, everything is on the table for what’s ahead.

In Season 4, the series welcomed big names like Randy Newman, Kristen Bell, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Rogen, Carol Burnett, and more, each appearing as themself in scenes based around Deborah’s late-night talk show. While the talk show is no longer in production as Deborah resigned on-air in the now Emmy-nominated “A Slippery Slope,” the show’s creators say they still have a few people who they are hoping will swing by the set in a future season.

“We’re still Julia Louis-Dreyfus heads forever,” Aniello said of who is still on their bucket list. To that, Downs added of the 11-time Emmy Award-winning Veep star, “We’ve been stalking her.”

To hear about who else they’re hoping to coerce into a project, what’s in store for Ava and Deborah in Season 5, and why they are still holding a candle for Cher even after she told them she doesn’t “want to do it,” check out DECIDER’s full interview with the trio below.

DECIDER: I feel like you guys are about to make history. The first time in 78 years that a woman would win more than two Emmys for writing. What does that mean to you?

PAUL W. DOWNS: Should the man talk? [Laughs]. Actually, no, I have to say, it’s shocking that no women have been recognized while there are plenty of men who’ve been recognized more than twice for writing. You think about all the incredible women in comedy that have it, and that’s what the show is about. The show is about women who never got the same treatment or opportunities as their male counterparts. So I am so proud. My mind is blown that Jen and Lucia might be the first women to do that. That’s crazy.“

JEN STATSKY: Yeah, I think what Paul said is exactly right. We think of it very much so in the context of the show. This is the story we’ve been telling. We always wanted to tell the story of a woman who didn’t get to tell her own story and there are so many women like that in the history of entertainment. So I think looking in the context of it, it’s both an incredible honor and privilege and mind-blowing, like Paul said.

LUCIA ANIELLO: And we really try to include so many of those women in our writing staff and as consulting producers and as our cast as guest stars. I think that’s something that’s really important to us, is not just saying, “Oh, these women didn’t really get an opportunity,” but bringing them into the fold as part of the tapestry of our show.

You guys do such a great job of showing just how like [Deborah’s] pushing the boulder up the hill over and over again. Season 4 ends with her having to restart and kind of find her way back in. How did that set up and how did that set up Season 5 for you guys?

Aniello: I think for us, we always like having Deborah be an underdog, even though she has fame and status. She likes being an underdog. And so, for us, we ended Season 4 in a place where, when she was in Singapore, she’s really kind of lost her way. At the end of the season, to give her a new journey and something to be excited about is exciting. And I think it propels us into Season 5 in a way that we’re really excited about.

My personal favorite scene from Season 4 has to be Hannah’s reading of “branzino” and then her throwing it. Do you have a favorite line or moment from Season 4?

DOWNS: My favorite, I think, is in the ninth episode, in “A Slippery Slope,” Julianne Nicholson, who plays Dance Mom, is asking for her cocaine to be administered not orally. And so she says, “No, only Jimmy,” and it’s literally her doing an impression of our toddler.

ANIELLO: When he says, “No, only dada.”

DOWNS: It’s very funny to me every time I see that. And she was so funny, I mean, in all of the episodes, but that day in particular, she was on another level. She was channeling something. It was unbelievable.

That scene, and everything leading up to it, including the “Oh, Mary-Alice, what did you do?” So good and so funny. And you had some incredible guest stars this season, who is still on your bucket list to work with?

ANIELLO: In general? I mean, we’re still Julia Louis-Dreyfus heads forever.

DOWNS: Yeah, we’ve been stalking her.

STATSKY: We’re massive fans of hers, would love to have her on.

ANIELLO: We still want to have Conan [O’Brien] on the show.

DOWNS: We’d love to have Conan on. I would love for Cher to say no to us again.

ANIELLO: Yes, Cher, please turn us down.

STATSKY: I’d love for her to say yes and then not show up on the day.

ANIELLO AND DOWNS: That would be iconic.

STATSKY: That would be a good escalation of the bit.

DOWNS: That’s comedy.

ANIELLO: Drag us, girl.

The first four seasons of Hacks are currently streaming on HBO Max.

If you’re new to HBO Max, you can sign up for as low as $9.99/month with ads, but an ad-free subscription will cost $16.99/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the discounted Disney+ Bundles with Hulu and HBO Max. With ads, the bundle costs $16.99/month and without ads, $29.99/month.