The Comeback is officially returning for season 3 — but is Malin Åkerman reprising her role as Juna Milken?
“That is what I’m hoping for,” Åkerman, 47, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her Netflix series The Hunting Wives. “I’ve been texting with Lisa [Kudrow] since I found out the news was official.”
Åkerman said she was just as surprised as fans were about The Comeback filming more episodes, adding, “There were rumblings about it that I heard. Then it finally came out. That announcement video, it was the first time I saw it along with everyone else.”
HBO confirmed the news in June that the upcoming season, which begins production this summer, will be the last. Kudrow, 61, and creator Michael Patrick King shared their excitement over the news via a joint statement, saying, “Valerie Cherish has found her way back to the current television landscape. Neither of us are surprised she did.”
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The announcement revealed that The Comeback will return to HBO and HBO Max in 2026.
“I know that Lisa and Michael Patrick King are deep in the writing process right now so I am hoping,” Åkerman shared with Us. “Lisa said, ‘We’d love for that to happen and for your character to come back for an episode or two.’ But we’ll just have to see where the stories go on the show.”
Season 1 of the hit HBO mockumentary aired in 2005 before being canceled. Nearly a decade later, The Comeback was revived for season 2, consisting of eight episodes that aired in 2014. The first season followed Kudrow’s Valerie as she filmed a reality show called The Comeback, which chronicled her journey on a new sitcom with young costars as she tried to resuscitate her Hollywood career. Season 2 picked up 10 years later as Valerie attempted to produce a reality TV pilot for Andy Cohen while appearing in a documentary film about her career.
“[For season 3], they have to follow the story line. If it makes sense, then yes I would come back but if it doesn’t then I’ll just go to set and cry and just go for a visit,” Åkerman joked. “But I love that show so much. So I was equally as excited that it came back. But I don’t have any more information than you do really, unfortunately. I’m dying and I’m chomping at the bit [for more information]. Hopefully in a couple months, I’ll know more.”
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Åkerman played a musician who — in her first-ever acting role — was cast as the lead character and niece of Aunt Sassy on Room and Bored. For now, Åkerman is focused on her upcoming Netflix series, which premieres on Monday, July 21 and takes inspiration from May Cobb’s The Hunting Wives novel.
“That was the role that I was offered. What that says about me, I don’t know. I’d read all eight episodes and loved it and I was the first person to get cast on this show. They just said, ‘We can’t see anyone else but you in this role.’ But they were so gracious and so wonderful and it definitely is a dynamic role,” Åkerman teased. “It has many layers and it is all the juicy stuff that you want in a role.”
She continued: “I was privy to all eight episodes, which is really helpful. Because a lot of times when you are on the journey of getting a TV show made you usually just get the pilot episode, That doesn’t give you the character arc and it doesn’t give you the real detail into who this person is that you’re going to be playing.”
The Hunting Wives premieres on Netflix Monday, July 21.
