Mar 22, 2026 7:30am PT

‘The Comeback’ Season 3 Is a Bittersweet Swan Song for Lisa Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish — and Hollywood as We Know It: TV Review

Alison Herman

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Alison Herman

TV Critic

aherman2006

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Courtesy of HBO

“The Comeback” is everywhere now. Once a pop cultural Cassandra doomed to swift cancellation after a single season on HBO in 2005, the brainchild of comic actor Lisa Kudrow and veteran TV writer Michael Patrick King (“Sex and the City”) has an influence, or perhaps predictive power, that grows more apparent with every passing year. The mockumentary centered on aging sitcom star Valerie Cherish’s attempted return to the spotlight presaged the format’s ubiquity in American comedy, from the American version of “The Office” to more recent applications like “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.” Valerie’s desperation and “The Comeback”’s biting cynicism can be found in subsequent showbiz satires like “BoJack Horseman” — in which Kudrow voiced one of the title character’s love interests — and “The Other Two.” And of course, the rise of social media means that all of us are essentially starring in our own versions of “The Comeback”: DIY reality shows that promise to exchange personal disclosure for a slim chance at fame.

'The Comeback' Season 3 Is a Bittersweet Swan Song for Lisa Kudrow's Valerie Cherish — and Hollywood as We Know It: TV Review