Several familiar faces appeared in the penultimate episode of Hacks, including two of NBC‘s biggest stars.
The Thursday, May 21, episode of the HBO Max comedy saw Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her team pivot after her comeback show at Madison Square Garden was sabotaged by Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn). The network executive purchased every ticket to Vance’s performance, forcing her to go to unique lengths to promote her new show in Central Park.
“And those northern lights will be visible for the next week. So, Al, maybe we’ll get something of a show,” Savannah Guthrie said in the episode during a fake Today broadcast. Al Roker added, “Weather’s looking pretty darn good…”
Roker was interrupted by Deborah and Damien (Mark Indelicato) knocking on the Studio 1A windows and holding a sign which read, “Can I come in? I have news!”
“Is that Deborah Vance?” Roker questioned. Guthrie stated, “Should we let her in?” Roker agreed and waved for the pair to go to the studio entrance. The footage then cut to Deborah, at the anchor desk, explaining the sabotage of her show.
“So, basically, Deborah, he Ja Rule-d you,” Roker stated, referring to when 50 Cent bought several front row tickets to one of Ja Rule’s shows in 2018, just to leave them empty. “Exactly. Exactly. What 50 Cent did to Ja Rule, Bob Lipka did to me,” Deborah replied.
HBO Max
Roker went on to remark, “Yeah, men are dogs,” while Guthrie stated, “It’s despicable.” Deborah noted that she was “reclaiming [her] time” and pleaded with fans to come to her new show. The Today cameo ended with Guthrie telling viewers, “If you are in the tri-state area, get out to Central Park. See Deborah Vance, the one and only.”
Guthrie and Roker got a head start on the Memorial Day holiday weekend by skipping the Friday, May 22, episode of Today. However, hosts Craig Melvin, Dylan Dreyer, and Laura Jarrett shared their reactions to the cameo during the episode’s “Pop Start” segment.
“I mean, they really went all-in. They were really selling that line,” Dreyer quipped, while Melvin joked, “Who told Al who Ja Rule was? That’s what I wanna know. Who told him who Ja Rule was? But, OK!”
Dreyer revealed that Guthrie and Roker filmed the cameo in the Today studio in September 2025. The cameo was filmed before some major updates at Today, including Sheinelle Jones becoming Jenna Bush Hager‘s new fourth hour of Today co-host, Peter Alexander‘s Weekend Today exit, and Savannah’s two-month-long break from Today following the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, in February.
Today, Weekdays, 7am, NBC
Hacks, Series Finale, Thursday, May 28, 9/8c, HBO Max
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