When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n Credit: CBS \/ HBO Max<\/p>\n Spoilers below for Season 4 of <\/strong>Hacks<\/strong> (available to stream now with an <\/strong>HBO Max subscription<\/strong><\/u><\/a>). If you are not caught up on the series, proceed at your own risk!<\/strong><\/p>\n Credit: hbo press<\/p>\n Truth is often stranger than fiction but when fiction mimics the real world in (more or less) real time, it feels far more surreal. Even if it wasn’t immediately obvious., TV viewers got a taste of just that after Hacks\u2019 Season 4 concluded, with Stephen Colbert’s surprising Late Night cancellation<\/a> somewhat mirroring fictional late night queen Deborah Vance\u2019s impromptu exit. Now, co-creator Paul W. Downs has weighed in on the wild coincidence.<\/p>\n The news broke in mid-July that CBS cancelled The Late Show in connection with getting Paramount\u2019s merger with Skydance finalized<\/a>, with a May 2026 end-date set for the late-night staple. Downs, who also plays Vance\u2019s manager Jimmy, explained in more detail the parallels between the two booted hosts with Deadline<\/a>. He expressed how odd the similarities are, given how things turned out for the fictitious comedian’s fate, and that Colbert having a similar shock not even two months later was just bizarre. The actor-writer stated:<\/p>\n What\u2019s happening in late-night happened on the show. Deborah left the show and in the world of Hacks, the franchise ended, so it\u2019s very weird that this is happening with Stephen Colbert right now because a lot of our season [four] was building up to that moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fictitious or not, lightning striking twice for late night in the course of one summer truly is wild. After a near perfect Season 4 premiere<\/a> of Hacks, the non-stop ups and downs of Ava and Deborah<\/a> (and head writer Ava’s fake firing) teed up Vance\u2019s late night climax perfectly. The 10-episode season led to the star\u2019s realization that she needed her head writer more than gimmicky bits (sorry to Dance Mom).<\/p>\n Reportedly, a major reasoning for Colbert\u2019s ending revolved around the show\u2019s financial failings<\/a>, at least from the network’s perspective, even as fellow late nighter Jimmy Kimmel called B.S. on that idea<\/a>. The outright parallel for the Hacks cast and crew is spooky, Downs shares. Along with his feelings, he teased that the coming season will be Deborah forging ahead and beyond the late night drama by saying:<\/p>\n [It\u2019s a] surreal moment for us, in light of what\u2019s going on. A lot of our Season 5 is going to be about her sort of reinventing herself and rewriting her legacy after she\u2019s been blamed for the death of late-night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Again, the coincidence is just so much to wrap your head around. It\u2019ll be interesting to see what lies ahead for Colbert and Vance. As for the fictitious celeb\u2019s future, I fully trust Downs, and his co-creators Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky\u2019s vision, and their witty writing, industry commentary<\/a>. As for the 61-year-old, he\u2019s been daydreaming of what’s next<\/a> after May 2026.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll just have to wait and see if the Hacks writer room will surprisingly mirror Stephen Colbert and CBS late night\u2019s brouhaha again in Season 5. Regardless of one’s own personal feelings, the whole thing has just been surreal to see play out. Fortunately, Colbert seems to be doing alright, viewer wise, in the wake of the news, since ratings are surging<\/a> even with a brief hiatus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: CBS \/ HBO Max Spoilers below for Season 4 of Hacks (available to stream now with an HBO Max subscription). If you are not caught up on the series, proceed at your own risk! 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