Beloved Friends star Lisa Kudrow is gearing up to close the chapter on the popular mockumentary series The Comeback after the show’s third season. Lisa plays Valerie Cherish, a veteran actress attempting to resurrect her acting career after a prolonged hiatus. The show helped her earn two Emmy nominations and will air its third season this week.
Lisa Kudrow spoke to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the show’s much-anticipated return for its third season. The 62-year-old actress revealed that she has been living in the shadow of Phoebe Buffay, the popular and whimsical character from Friends. However, the character of Valerie marks a full-circle moment for her, as it holds a special place in her heart. Despite Valerie being dressed down at times in the show, Kudrow feels the character has her own charm.
‘The Comeback’ Season 3 Review: Lisa Kudrow’s Brilliant Satire Confronts Hollywood’s Collapse with a Smile https://t.co/J8TytLBbdh
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) March 17, 2026
“It’s fun to be Valerie. As many times as people would say to me, ‘It must be so hard to play those situations where everyone is so tough on her. Isn’t that grueling?’ I would just stare back, like, blink, blink, blink. Grueling? Not at all. What’s wrong with me?”
She added, “It wasn’t grueling at all. I didn’t feel bad for one second. Valerie creates her own reality. Yeah, she’s a little delusional, but that’s one of the sources of comedy. It’s so obvious to us that people want her to stop talking or that they don’t want her there, but she can’t help it.”
Lisa Kudrow also commented on how she feels about continuing the show beyond its third season. According to the actress, the show has covered what needed to be covered and should be wrapped up.
She said, “We need to say ‘third and final.’ I don’t know if I’ll want to do it again in 10 years.”
It’s been over a decade since Lisa Kudrow last summoned Valerie Cherish. “But she’s the same,” she said. “Maybe not as desperate. I feel like every ten years she’s kind of becoming more of an intact grownup.” https://t.co/q3FyVANkaP pic.twitter.com/RbjoHEJt80
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 19, 2026
The actress continued, “So let’s be done; that way no one is asking what’s next or whether we will even want to do more. The most respectful thing we can do for the audience and for the character is make it a three-part story. It’s a trilogy, and this is the end.”
Kudrow also reminisced that following the premiere of the first season in 2005, Michael Patrick King called her to say that the show might be canceled. She revealed that she didn’t feel bad because she knew everyone had done their best.
“I felt really great about what we had done and knew that we couldn’t have done better. Someone is making a mistake, and I knew it wasn’t ours. I just thought, ‘Well, I’ll do other things, and maybe someday they’ll change their mind.’ Ten years later, they did.”
Lisa Kudrow’s Friends co-stars Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston have only good things to say about the star’s performance in The Comeback. Courteney feels, “Lisa Kudrow as Valerie is so funny because she is so earnest.” Aniston also agrees. She praised the reliability of the character of Valerie and how Lisa brought her to life, “She breaks my heart. She also makes me laugh. She is relatable, lovable, and adored.”
The third season of The Comeback is set to premiere on March 22, 2026, on HBO Max.
