The Comeback

Name: The Comeback
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: June 5, 2005
Rating: 68

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Generally favorable reviews based on 71 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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The Comeback

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Series Details & Credits

HBO | Release Date: June 5, 2005

Summary: Lisa 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.

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama

Recent Episodes

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Jen Chaney

Mar 18, 2026

Season 3 Review: The mockumentary’s best. .... She [Kudrow] is, once again, fantastically layered in her portrayal of Valerie. .... Both she and this season of “The Comeback” are made for this moment. Read full review

Chris Vognar

Mar 18, 2026

Season 3 Review: The new season of “The Comeback” thrives largely on the very human art of casting. Kudrow, of course, is pitch-perfect, as are returning cast members including Damian Young as Valerie’s mopey husband, Mark, and Laura Silverman as her dogged documentarian, Jane. But the bit players are the scene stealers here. Read full review

Sid Smith

Mar 13, 2014

Season 1 Review: She's self-flagellating, but in a nuanced, funny-sad and heartbreaking way, mixing slapstick and pathos with intelligence and the sharpest of comic instincts. [4 June 2005, p.C25]

The Telegraph Benji Wilson

Mar 26, 2026

Season 3 Review: Series three of The Comeback is six crisp half-hours of brutal workplace satire, even darker perhaps than the preceding two outings as it gleefully predicts Hollywood’s impending, self-administered doom. Read full review

Matt Schimkowitz

Mar 23, 2026

Season 3 Review: Valerie is the same, but the show has drastically changed, trading its mockumentary perspective for a somewhat diminished Curb Your Enthusiasm-style meta comedy. Read full review

Sal Cinquemani

Mar 17, 2026

Season 3 Review: For better or worse, Val is no longer the subject of ritualistic humiliation, which leaves the final season feeling less sadistic but also less sharp. Read full review

Mark A. Perigard

Mar 16, 2014

Season 1 Review: 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]

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User Reviews

amheretojudge

Jul 26, 2019

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 definiteKudrow 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.… Expand

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ManDogBear

Jul 14, 2020

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.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Seasons & Episodes

68

Series Overview
Season 3

80
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: March 22, 2026
- No episode information is currently available for this season
Season 2

71
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: November 9, 2014
Season 1

58
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: June 5, 2005