Television Hacks ’ Finale Was Sublime. It Was Years in the Making. Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, two of the HBO Max show’s creators, on how it was always supposed to end that way. Photo illustration by Slate. Photograph by Courtesy of HBO Max. This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Hacks . It’s fitting, if still heartbreaking for fans, that on Thursday night HBO Max’s Hacks went out with an episode all about leaving the stage. Some people, like Kayla’s (Megan Stalter’s) talent-executive-boss father, refuse to quit unless pushed, creating resentment. But Deborah (Jean Smart) wants to call her own light—a reference to the signal comedians get when it’s time to leave. After a long and storied career—the last phase of which saw her reaching new heights alongside her much younger comedy partner, Ava ( Hannah Einbinder )—she’s ready to go, even if we don’t want her to.…