I always thought I didn’t care for Lisa Kudrow. Turns out, I just didn’t like Phoebe Buffay.
My aversion to Phoebe on Friends kept me from trying out The Comeback on HBO Max/Disney+/Hulu. One day, I was rowing in the basement, and whatever it was I was watching ended before I my time was up, so I decided to give it a try. Well, I just finished season three, and I’m so sad that it’s the last season (maybe not?).
The most-amazing thing about The Comeback is that the three seasons were released in 2005, 2014, and 2026. I have to say after finding this out, I was interested to see how Kudrow aged over the years, and sadly, she has hardly aged at all.
Here’s the skinny on The Comeback: Lisa Kudrow plays a quasi-washed up sit-com actress named Valerie Cherish. She had a popular series in the 1990s called I’m It!
In season one (2005), it’s more than ten years after I’m It ended, and Cherish clings to the memory of how popular she once was. Nearly everyone else has forgotten. When she’s offered a role in a new comedy called Room and Bored, there are some strings attached, namely that she must agree to participate in a reality series called The Comeback, produced and directed by the flat-affect “Jane” (Laura Silverman), who doesn’t care for Valerie at all.
(Confused? Well, so was my husband, who caught a few episodes and said The Comeback seemed scripted. I had to explain to him that it was a mocumentary and that the main character was the fictional Valerie Cherish, not the real life Lisa Kudrow.)
Even though she’s contractually required to participate in an intrusive reality show (camera in the bedroom), Cherish is absolutely thrilled to be working again. She soon learns that she’s playing the aging Aunt Sassy and her main wardrobe piece is an unflattering pink track suit. This isn’t the only insult though. Her young, hot castmates take center stage as Valerie maneuvers her way toward relevance throughout the whole season. One of them, the sweet Juna (Malin Akerman), regards Cherish as her mentor.
The show co-creator, Pauly G. (Lance Barber), full of himself, is worse than the worst middle school jerk ever. Still, Cherish smiles on through the not-so-subtle insults and snide looks he sends her way. I wonder if her face hurt at the end of a day of filming.
The reality cam captures everything, including her bedroom discussions with Marky Mark, her husband (Damian Young), who increasingly feels that he’s not as important as Valerie’s career. The audience can feel her pain, as can her best friend and hair stylist, Mickey (Robert Michael Morris). The best description of Valerie Cherish is plucky and tenacious.
On to season two (2014). It’s been nearly ten years since both the reality show and the sitcom aired. Valerie Cherish pitches her own reality show to Andy Cohen and then finds out that Pauly G., from Room and Bored, is producing a sitcom about his drug-fogged career, called Seeing Red. Cherish recognizes that one of the characters is modeled after her and approaches Pauly G. about playing herself, which he agrees to. She’s also reviving her reality show with the help of Jane once again, who has by this time, won an Oscar, but to whom nothing matters anymore. As Cherish’s husband feels increasingly irrelevant, their marriage takes a hit. Through it all, though, best-friend Mickey is by her side. The season finale is hilarious and heartfelt at the same time.
This brings us to season three (2026). We feel the loss of Mickey, due to Robert Michael Morris’ passing in 2017. On the show, they make him a victim of Covid, which of course happened several years after Morris’ death, likely of cancer.
Season three is where we really witness Cherish’s character metamorphosis. She’s now starring on streaming service NuNet’s sitcom, How’s That? Cherish learns out that this series will be largely written by artificial intelligence software, which picks away at Cherish’s conscience, but she does it anyway. She also has revived her “documentary,” dragging a reluctant Jane out of retirement once again.
How’s That? is a hit, but the AI secret comes out and writers are fuming. During the taping of an episode, the AI program hits a paywall due to another of NuNet’s “blockbuster” productions grabbing all the resources. AI is no longer available to write 40 alternative jokes in seconds. Well, I won’t tell you what happens after this, but let’s just say, we see some real courage and strong character from Valerie.
If you watch, be sure to stay connected after the series finale credits, because you’ll see a conversation between Lisa Kudrow and co-creator, Michael Patrick King, about how the show began and developed over the years. You’ll see the real Kudrow here. She’s more sparing with her smiles in this conversation, and you’ll get a feel for her intelligence and insight.
