The Comeback 

An ex A-list celebrity attempts to rekindle the flame of her once prominent acting career with nothing but a camera crew and some determination.

Creators:

Michael Patrick King, Lisa Kudrow

Stars:

Lisa Kudrow, Lance Barber, Robert Michael Morris

Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Lisa Kudrow	...	Valerie Cherish 21 episodes, 2005-2014
Lance Barber	...	Paulie G. 21 episodes, 2005-2014
Robert Michael Morris	...	Mickey Deane 21 episodes, 2005-2014
Laura Silverman	...	Jane Benson 21 episodes, 2005-2014
Damian Young	...	Mark Berman 21 episodes, 2005-2014
Malin Akerman	...	Juna Millken 15 episodes, 2005-2014
Robert Bagnell	...	Tom Peterman 14 episodes, 2005-2014
Kellan Lutz	...	Chris MacNess 15 episodes, 2005-2014
Jason Olive	...	Jesse Wood 13 episodes, 2005
Kimberly Jeppson	...	Shayne Thomas 13 episodes, 2005
Vanessa Marano	...	Franchesca 12 episodes, 2005
Lillian Hurst	...	Esperanza 11 episodes, 2005-2014
Dan Bucatinsky	...	Billy Stanton 9 episodes, 2005-2014
Bayne Gibby	...	Gigi 9 episodes, 2005-2014

Storyline

Valerie Cherish is a D list actress who was an A lister back in the early 90s. Now, she has become unemployed, married, and has a much harder time getting recognized in the Hollywood scene. Valerie is now embarking on making a comeback with a camera crew documenting her trials and triumphs of her journey on doing so.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | camera | actress | acting | tv studio | 

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Taglines:

A star is reborn.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michele Weinberger (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)), Phoebe Buffay (Friends (1994)), Valerie Cherish (The Comeback (2005)) and Fiona Wallice (Web Therapy (2008)) are Lisa Kudrow's most famous characters to date, and all of them have a lot in common. They all share a tragic past that has isolated them from the others, making them create and live in their own particular world, as a self defense sense, to avoid and surpass the suffering, causing the fake impression that they have a shallow or ignorant personality, when in fact, they are just in conflict with the ordinary social understanding of living. Although each one of them goes through very humiliating moments, they do not have a mean or disrespectful nature with the others (not even Fiona, whose personality is inclined to take advantage of the situations). They also share self-unawareness, but ironically they have overwhelming self esteem and confidence. All of the performances had been used in the past somehow, and she later brought each one back, to become the characters that people now know. Lisa has already stated on Kevin Pollack's Chat Show, that she likes to make humor with the "slice of life" kind of thing. Michael Patrick King defined, during their Writers Guild Foundation interview, that she first deconstructed a character from the inside out, to later build it all over again. Lisa also stated, that she doesn't like her characters to be mean, or to deliver degrading situations, because it's not her style, and the audience does not deserve that kind of disrespect.

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Quotes

Valerie Cherish: Well, this is it, this is my It-wall. Used to be bigger, but then I got married and you know, you have to share. So... Um, let me show you this. *This* here is my people's choice award, that I got for I'm It. And it means a lot to me because it's from the people. So... and right here is my Leno. There it is.
Jane: Talk more about that.
Valerie Cherish: What is there to say? There was a monkey on my head and he pooed! You know - it was a real water cooler moment, you know, the whole next day everyone was... you know. ...

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Connections

Featured in Needs More Gay: The Comeback Needs More Gay (2014)

User Reviews

A brilliant comedy with incisive touches

I ran into this one on my HBO on demand last Sunday. For the first time I can remember, I was riveted to my TV. I watched all six or so (the total taped) episodes in one sitting.

The show is an interesting mix of TV-land looking at, and poking fun at itself. Keep in mind that this is a show within a show. We are supposed be be watching the outtakes from a reality show where the reality is a washed up, over aged (by TV standard) actress gets the nod to first star in, and then have a bit role in a new TV show. The show within the show is an updated version of Three's Company.

We get to watch the Kudrow character's attempt at being the center of attraction until she wises up that she's not the center of this universe as she was on her show of 20 years ago. The catch is watching this actress play an actress who evolves and adapts quickly to her new situation. She absorbs a lot of ridicule along the way - more than most folks could take. Rather than lash out and risk her gig, she smiles, pretends to go along with the gags where she is the butt of the joke and then makes minor adjustments based on her new perception of her role in this new world where she is no longer the star, but the comedic relief.

Like a Woody Allen movie, Kudrow's place both as the star and producer of the show give her too much time to make a lot of noise and too much screen time emoting monologues. However, even at her worst, she's not the ego maniac that Allen is so at worst, it's a bit too much, but still tolerable.

Whatever the outcome of this show, I think Kudrow has proved that she has range and talent well beyond what most folks thought she had.

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Comeback

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Is or Isn't Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1