SummaryLisa Kudrow is Valerie Cherish, a one-time sitcom star trying to revive her career. Kudrow and Michael Patrick King (executive producer of Sex and the City) co-wrote the pilot script and executive produced the series. Kudrow's producing partner Dan Bucatinsky executive produces through the duo's production company, Is or Isn't Entertainment.
Created By:Michael Patrick King
The Comeback
Season 1 Premiere:
Jun 5, 2005
Metascore
Generally Favorable
65
User score
Generally Favorable
7.8
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
60% Positive
32 Reviews
32 Reviews
30% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
9% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Mar 17, 2026
100
“The Comeback” works astoundingly well for a third time. .... She [Kudrow] is just extraordinary in this role, and this victory lap only solidifies Valerie is one of the greatest pieces of full-bodied comedy creation in TV history.
Mar 17, 2026
80
The show’s approach to AI is not only an excellent source of comedy, but it provokes an essential conversation about the future of television and media in general. It’s always wonderful to have Valerie Cherish make another comeback, but Season 3 makes for a great curtain call.
Nov 6, 2014
80
The first and second episodes drag a bit, taking a little too long to get to what The Comeback’s fans are here for--it’s more waiting on top of the nine years we’ve already waited. Soon enough, the show recaptures its old rhythm and we are rewarded.
Nov 6, 2014
70
Watching [Valerie’s entourage] fawn over stars, such as Seth Rogen playing himself, is still irresistibly painful, like pushing on a sore tooth. But watching Paulie G. puff with deceptive calm on his fat e-cigarette, we see through the smoke, and the laughs, the faint shape of a show going pleasantly darker.
Nov 12, 2014
50
The concept is interesting, but it would have been more fun to show Valerie in a less high-stakes setting.
Mar 14, 2014
42
Kudrow says she isn't a reality-TV fan and the humiliation of its participants, yet she plays her part as victim. So when she gets sucker-punched, we get sucker-punched. What's so funny about that? [4 June 2005, p.10]
Mar 16, 2014
25
Kudrow seems to be aiming for ``The Larry Sanders Show'' or ``Curb Your Enthusiasm'' territory but only gets as far as ``Reba'' with the f-word. [2 June 2005, p.47]
User score
Generally Favorable
81% Positive
68 Ratings
68 Ratings
5% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
14% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
Jul 26, 2019
7
Kudrow cherishes the character that is in its own jumbled way a part of every celebrity, she won't let anyone shuffle it. The Comeback The creators Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow is deriving from an already established formula few steps ahead only to not end up with a definite answer. This Eric Rohmer-ness part of the series is what I adore. The rickety chair that this world hinges upon is, against all odds, balanced. Not fair, not sugar-coated, nor surrounded in the pathology that its characters tries to suppress, it is an adequate justice sentenced. The mockumentary theme has been around for a while and reasoning its way in, to the window that is framed as a part of narrative has to be and is pragmatic in here. Addition to that, the writing, the conversations, the small talks, is something that swoops us from the very beginning of the show. It remains a reality show from head to toe for sure. Every last bit of its cookiness is sprinkled in the sneak peek of show business as an excuse of the character's nature and remains true to its tone throughout this exhaustive journey. It is exhausting, because it is intended to, plus following a character- literally- for this long ought to wear out the formulaic structure it bases the entire series upon. Enters Lisa Kudrow. Her overly hyped narcissistic version of attention seeking celebrity is a gold mine for any actor. And carving out this character herself, she lives up to the vision she and her co-workers have imagined exceedingly making her the best asset of this show. And if the first season suffered the cliched diseases of such genre, the second one is a polished reboot that overcomes the limitation by first and foremostly dividing the perspective of her journey. Where actually then, supporting characters come under the limelight they deserved completing the series in a whole; The Comeback title stays meta.
Jul 14, 2020
1
Boring, tired, regurgitated, awkward, and devoid of humor. The main character is unlikable and nearly impossible to watch. Another weak cash grab using the overused mocumentary style.
Production Company:
- Home Box Office (HBO)
- Is or Isn't Entertainment
- Warner Bros. Television
- Working Class Films (I)
Initial Release Date:Jun 5, 2005
Number of seasons:3 Seasons
Rating:TV-MA
Awards
Gold Derby Awards
• 6 Nominations
Online Film & Television Association
• 5 Nominations
International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations





























