Despite recent setbacks with p53-activating small molecules including the nutlins, the cancer target keeps drug hunters coming back for more. Could immuno-oncology combinations, stapled peptides and targeted degraders unleash the therapeutic potential of the ‘guardian of the genome’? Despite recent setbacks with p53-activating small molecules including the nutlins, the cancer target keeps drug hunters coming back for more. Could immuno-oncology combinations, stapled peptides and targeted degraders unleash the therapeutic potential of the ‘guardian of the genome’?