Lisa Kudrow is extraordinary. That’s what I kept telling myself as I watched season three of The Comeback. She’s just extraordinary. The journey she – and co-creator Michael Patrick King – have taken the washed-up (but always hustling) Valerie Cherish on over the course of twenty years is nothing short of extraordinary. And while season three didn’t turn out to be my favorite of the show’s run (that would be the exquisite second season, which has – for my money – one of the best final sequences of any television season, ever), it’s still a sunning achievement in writing, acting, and production that manages to satirize Hollywood (take notes, The Studio) while also showing us the often hidden humanity within people we might write off as vapid and spoiled.
At the top of the “vapid and spoiled” list would, of course, be Valerie Cherish (Kudrow, in a hell of a performance that I hope gets remembered during Emmy season). In season one, Valerie was desperate for success, willing to whatever it takes, even if it meant embarrassing herself for laughs. In season two, she was willing to throw away her personal life for the chance to be taken seriously as an actress – only to pull back at the last minute and decide to put her loved ones first. And in season three? Well, Valerie and Mark (Damian Young, given his own mini-arc this time out) are together, successful, and neither really need to work again if they don’t want to. But when Valerie is offered the lead in a new multi-cam sitcom from a hot new streaming service, well, she’s intrigued. Only, thanks to a slip by her manager, Billy (Dan Bucatinsky, who gives a manic but hilarious performance this season), it turns out that the series is going to be written mostly by AI. You know, one of the major issues for the last Writers’ Guild strike. Oh, and the studio (the studio head is played by Andrew Scott with perfect smarmy charm) needs her to keep the AI angle a secret from, well, everyone.
Of course, this is Valerie, so we know that’s not going to happen. After all, she’s enlisted Jane (the great Laura Silverman) to make a documentary about her starring in the first AI-written sitcom. But as the show starts production, Kudrow and King start sliding in all the issues that AI brings with it – it might be able to throw out alternative jokes in seconds, but what does one do with 53 alts and a couple minutes to pick one – amidst the interpersonal drama and comedy at hand. The new show is more or less the same sitcom Valerie has starred on multiple times throughout her career (a riff on Newhart – the AI can’t even create a wholly original idea), so she’s able to plow through it with ease. It’s the rest of the production process that gets the focus of The Comeback, forcing actor Valerie to take a backseat to Executive Producer Valerie Cherish and try to keep the show on the rails while it threatens to fly right off – without letting anyone know about that AI ticking time bomb, of course.
The overall plot is smart, funny, and topical. But what really made me excited to keep watching was Kudrow’s performance as Valerie. If you’ve watched the first two seasons, you’ve seen how Valerie has grown from a true self-centered monster into someone who, as she was about to get the one thing she’s wanted her entire career, was willing to rush to the bedside of her close friend, Mickey.* The question after season two was would that empathy stick, or would Valerie revert back to the woman who was more than happy to push her husband and friends to the periphery if it meant she achieved her goals? Well, I’m happy to report that this Valerie is changed. Sure, she’s still chasing stardom, but she’s much less willing to step on others to achieve it. She’s content with where she is. She has principles. She understands how to play the Hollywood game but she’s not willing to do whatever it takes to win anymore – and she’s much more of a team player with her cast and crew than she was in the past. Yes, she presents as the same Valerie we know and love on the outside – the too large smile, the perky voice, the ability to turn a setback into a win just by talking about it like it didn’t phase her – but there’s a depth to the character that wasn’t there in the first two seasons from the jump. She’s learned, she’s grown, and she understands who she is, how the business sees her, and has made some level of peace with it.
*Robert Michael Morris who played Mickey passed away in 2017 and the character’s loss is acknowledged beautifully within the season.
Of course, Valerie still has her edge. She still puts her foot in her mouth – constantly. And she still lets her ego get the best of her when she really should know better. But that’s what makes her a compelling character. She’s very flawed, but now she knows it and acknowledges it. And she doesn’t have blinders on as to how her actions impact those around her in her professional and personal life. She still orders Jane around (as well as her sardonic, but funny assistance Patience – played by Ella Stiller) constantly. But it’s less militant and more “This is for the best for both of us.” I still wouldn’t want to be friends with Valerie, but I can see that she’s absolutely done some work in the twelve years since season two aired.
If you’ve somehow missed The Comeback, well, I would urge you to fire it up on your HBOMax and give it a look. It was ahead of its time in 2005 when the first season aired. It was perfectly placed in 2014 when season two dropped. And now? Well, it’s speaking of a very real fear for most industries – the rise of AI – and breaks that fear into a smart, scathing satire with one of the best performances on television at its center. If you’ve been a fan these last twenty years, you’ll love season three. As I said, Lisa Kudrow is just extraordinary. And, you know what? So is Valerie Cherish.
The Comeback’s third season premieres on March 22 on HBO. All eight episodes were provided for review.
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