LOS ANGELES, April 7 -- When the creators of the hit series "Hacks" explained their planned ending to star Jean Smart, the actress had her doubts, but she trusted the team's vision.

"I didn't really have an idea of how it would end. I wanted to be surprised," she told reporters ahead of the fifth and final season of the HBO smash that has earned her four Emmy Awards.

"I've loved being surprised every episode for all these years."

Smart said she was a little taken aback when she first learned how things would pan out for aging comic Deborah Vance and her mentee Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.

"I was not sure," she confessed. "But I said: 'Hey, I trust you guys. Always have, always turns out great.' And it did. And now I think ...