Hannah Einbinder in a brown dress holds a mic onstage beside Paul W. Downs in a navy suit who holds both a mic and a phone to his ear.
Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
TV + Movies

Hannah Einbinder and Paul W. Downs Both Want Mayor Jo to Lead the First ‘Hacks’ Spinoff

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Both stars agree on which side character deserves her own show, and their pick is the small-town mayor. Einbinder wants to see her go full villain, calling it a “Better Call Saul” situation with Mayor Jo as “an absolute criminal.”

Paul W. Downs, Hannah Einbinder, and Megan Stalter posing together at the 2026 Las Culturistas Culture Awards
At The United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles, the 2026 Las Culturistas Culture Awards on May 30 brought out (L-R) Paul W. Downs, Hannah Einbinder, and Megan Stalter. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images.

Mayor Jo, the local politician orbiting the world of “Hacks,” is the character Hannah Einbinder and Paul W. Downs both want to see carry a spinoff first.

Downs floated the idea of a whole “Hacks” universe on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I want to see Mayor Jo in her first election. I want to see Marty coming to Vegas in the ’70s,” he said.

Lauren Weedman in a navy blazer, pink and black top, and leather skirt at the Hacks HBO Max premiere red carpet in Los Angeles.
Lauren Weedman poses at the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of HBO Max’s ‘Hacks’ on April 8, 2026, wearing a navy blazer and leather skirt. Photo by Araya Doheny / Getty Images.

Einbinder immediately signed on for the Mayor Jo version, imagining it with the moral slide of a crime drama. “Her just being a fucking absolute criminal. Are you kidding? I’m in the freaking seats with the popcorn on that one,” she said.

Hannah Einbinder in a purple satin dress with floral lace bodice at the HBO Hacks Season 5 premiere in Los Angeles.
At the Los Angeles premiere of HBO’s ‘Hacks’ Season 5 on April 8, 2026, Hannah Einbinder stepped out in a lavender satin gown featuring intricate floral lace detailing. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.

Downs isn’t sold on more for his own character, though. He and Megan Stalter play Jimmy and Kayla, and despite fan appetite for a spinoff, he’d rather let the finale stand. “I don’t want anything else to come after. I want that to be the last thing people remember,” he said, adding that any future project would “have to be something different.”

Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs standing together at a Max Original 'Hacks' premiere event backdrop.
Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs pose together at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Hacks’ Season 5 on April 8, 2026. Photo by Amy Sussman / Getty Images.

He, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky already have several in development, including a limited series for HBO and a project with Kaley Cuoco. Einbinder wants in on all of it: “I told Paul, Jen and Lucia that I want to be their non-problematic Rob Schneider. I just want to pop up in everything they do forever.”

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