Three and a half out of four stars.
In an age of revivals and reboots, it can be risky to bring back a character as beloved as The Comeback’s Valerie Cherish (a perfect Lisa Kudrow).
Valerie is a well-meaning but slightly clueless actress of a certain age who can’t get out of her own way enough to resuscitate her career. Audiences met her in Kudrow’s first post-Friends project for one brilliant but little-watched season back in 2005.
The comedy was first revived a decade later, and the long-awaited third season hits like a warm, fulfilling gab session with your much-missed bestie. The world — and the business — has changed a lot in 20 years, but Valerie is still a big-hearted Hollywood type we’ll never stop rooting for.
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This season’s plot is particularly timely: AI has come to Tinseltown, and with it, ethically murky questions about the role the new tech will have on our lives. Valerie is planning yet another comeback, this time working on an AI-written sitcom. The horror! There are plenty of insidery jokes about the prospect of machines taking over an industry as well as tongue-in-cheek (but true!) gags about the importance of writers.
Guest stars like Andrew Scott (as the CEO of an AI company) and John Early (as a fed-up showrunner) are perfect additions to Valerie’s wacky world, which also features returning favorites like Laura Silverman and Dan Bucatinsky as Valerie’s beleaguered producer and manager, respectively.
What makes the season work, as always, is Kudrow’s delicate balancing act between cringe and compassion. If you aren’t yet familiar, do yourself a favor and binge the whole series. Just be ready to laugh.
The Comeback airs on HBO Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET.
