A ‘Friends’ Star Is Making One Last Comeback

Lisa Kudrow can’t escape comedy.

The “Friends” star is returning to a show that may not be as popular but is definitely loved by the fans who have tuned in.

Get ready to return to the world of Valerie Cherish, a woman whose career you will cherish by the end of the show’s latest and final run.

This is My Comeback!

“The Comeback” is not “Friends” nor does it need to be. It’s as cutting as it needs to be and as heartfelt as it can be. 

Starring Kudrow as Valerie Cherish, the show follows a sitcom actress who could never escape her past. Her return to network TV is in a bad sitcom. To make matters worse, she’s starring in a reality show called “The Comeback” that is chronicling her return to TV. 

Season two follows Cherish’s second attempt at a career resurgence with help from Andy Cohen. She’s cast as a fictionalized version of herself on a separate show, which sparks interest in who she is. A new documentary is made that follows Cherish personally at the cost of losing her real life relationships. 

Although co-star Robert Michael Morris passed away in 2017, Kudrow is set to be joined by other cast members including Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, and Damian Young.

I Don’t Want to See That!

The first season of “The Comeback” arrived in 2005. It was mostly panned by critics at the time. However, the show found a fandom big enough to warrant a second, eight episode season in 2014.

In a press release, creator Michael Patrick King and Kudrow said of the return “Valerie Cherish has found her way back to the current television landscape. Neither of us are surprised she did.”

Executive Vice President of HBO & Max Comedy Programming, Amy Gravitt, commented on the ability of Cherish to survive in an industry that keeps punishing her. 

“No matter what the industry throws at her, Valerie Cherish is a survivor, Gravitt said. “On the 20th Anniversary of her debut, Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow have brilliantly scripted her return to HBO and we can’t wait to see that.”

Season three of “The Comeback” will debut on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2026.