Hacks creator Paul W. Downs tells PEOPLE that the show's ending has been planned out since the early days of the series
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"A lot of things changed in terms of the order and certain characters in the ensemble, but what happens with Deborah Vance, we pitched, oh my God, seven years ago," he reveals
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The Hacks series finale airs Thursday, May 28, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO
Paul W. Downshas known howHacksends since the beginning.
The HBO series follows the story of the legendary, but aging, comedian Deborah Vance, played byJean Smart. Downs plays her agent, Jimmy, and also created the series, which debuted in 2021.
“We pitched the ending to almost every network when we were pitching the show," Downs, 43, tells PEOPLE at the American Music Awards on Sunday, May 24. "I mean, obviously, things change. Actually, a lot of things changed for Jimmy and Kayla, a lot of things changed. "A lot of things changed in terms of the order and certain characters in the ensemble, but what happens with Deborah Vance, we pitched, oh my God, seven years ago."
“It’s something that we pitched when we pitched the series," he says. "And the fact that we were able to do it is the proudest I've been about the show."
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The fact that he and his fellow creators were able to pull it off as they intended was not set in stone, even up until the final days.
“Honestly, the day after [wrapping] we all felt relief because we got it, because until the very end, we didn't know if we would actually get to shoot everything we wanted to shoot, so that felt really good, but it's so sad to say goodbye to these characters who became our friends,” Downs says.
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While Downs had the ending planned since the start, Smart, 74, didn't feel the same way.
“I don’t remember ever picturing or even imagining an ending,” she toldDeadline. “I knew that it was going to be pretty much five seasons from the beginning, but I didn’t ask. I just was like, I’ll be surprised."
When she found out how it ends, "I was shocked and unsure about how I felt, because it was not remotely anything I could have imagined," she admitted. “But then I realized, no, it’ll work because they’re writing it and they’re amazing. And so I went, ‘Okay.’”
Downs’s character, Jimmy, became a fan favorite over the course of the series, as did his co-worker and business partner Kayla Schaefer, played byMegan Stalter. Fans, they both admit, are clamoring for a spinoff based on their characters, something they’re not opposed to. “Meg’s always saying yes,” he says.
Stalter, who joined him on the red carpet at the awards show, tells PEOPLE, “I keep saying to people, yes, because I figure the more I say yes, the more people will ask, and I just feel like we really should.”
TheHacksseries finale airs on Thursday, May 28, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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