HBO’s Funniest, Darkest Sitcom Is a 10/10 Binge Before It Returns for Season 3

What distinguishes HBO’s comedies from other premium networks is their self-awareness and ability to direct ruthless satire back at Hollywood. Although the notion of presenting fictional characters alongside real celebrities originated with The Larry Sanders Show, The Comeback takes meta comedy to a new level with its scathing look at the industry’s treatment of women. It’s a hilarious show that gives Lisa Kudrow her best role outside of Friends, but it also hits so close to the truth that it can be painful to watch. None of the artificiality often present in Hollywood satires applies to The Comeback, which is equally abrasive to people in different positions within the industry. Although it is highly critical of the very notion of celebrity, The Comeback does not deny the allure of famous people.

What Is ‘The Comeback’ About?

While HBO is known for inserting dark protagonists into its shows, Kudrow’s performance in The Comeback is no less monumental than that of James Gandolfini in The Sopranos or Idris Elba in The Wire. Kudrow stars as Valerie Cherish, a sitcom actress who has feared fading into obscurity. To gain momentum for what she predicts will be a return to prominence, Valerie hires a camera crew to document her every move, resulting in a mockumentary style for the series. This intimate look at the private lives of famous people was groundbreaking when The Comeback debuted in 2005, but it now feels like an accepted part of the media landscape.

What’s most brilliant about The Comeback is that the series presents a character in a sympathetic situation, even thoughshe is completely narcissistic. The unfortunate reality that the show recognized early on, and continues to retain, is that women are held to different standards in the industry, particularly when it comes to age. Valerie had never earned her “big break” when she was younger, and the only way for her to be part of a new sitcom is to accept the degrading role of “Aunt Sassy,” a highly quirky role that doesn’t have any nuance. The Comeback frequently exposes the sexist rhetoric that Valerie faces about her viability as a star, but the show doesn’t go as far as to suggest that she is a victim. Valerie feels entitled to the perks of being a celebrity and believes her life is worthy of documentation; as a result, the show isn’t exploitative because Valerie has control over how her story is broadcast.

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The Comeback is clever because it presents a character who somewhat mirrors Kudrow herself. Kudrow has obviously had more success than Valerie ever did because Friends was such a phenomenon, but they both face the risk of being defined by a single role. The difference is that Valerie is trying to take an old-school approach to becoming a sitcom breakout star in a generation where television culture is completely different because of the different routes of distribution; comparatively, Kudrow was able to earn an actual “comeback” because The Comeback itself is something daring and experimental, and only could have been done on HBO. Even though Valerie is disruptive and often causes incidents, Kudrow is so inherently charismatic that it’s hard not to root for her; at the same time, it’s inevitable that Valerie won’t be content with any success that comes her way, as she is always striving for more.

HBO’s ‘The Comeback’ Has a Unique Release Strategy

Given that Kudrow is also one of the show’s creators, it is impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. That said, The Comeback deserves more credit for its amazing supporting cast, especially since it includes both fictional characters and celebrities who appear as exaggerated versions of themselves. Damian Young’s performance as Valerie’s husband, Mark Berman, offers the perspective of a non-celebrity who expresses discomfort with the invasive presence of camera crews in their daily lives. Although the banter between Mark and Valerie exists to represent the realistic struggles of a Hollywood power couple, it does not toothlessly retain the status quo; the end of the second season, in which Mark realizes Valerie has been documenting some of their most serious marital quarrels, is the type of daring comedy that is as cringe-inducing as it is hilarious.

What’s most unique about The Comeback is that the series has taken extended breaks between seasons, allowing it to acknowledge the rapidly changing ways Hollywood has changed overits run. The first season was cancelled after thirteen episodes in 2005, but returned nine years later for a revival in which Valerie attempted to produce her own reality pilot. The third and final season is set in contemporary times, where artificial intelligence threatens to dismantle the entire creative process. It’s a snapshot of the different tools used to tackle emerging trends, and it continues to age well because it shows how out-of-fashion those trends become after a short time. The Comeback doesn’t always present a particularly flattering portrayal of the entertainment industry, but the fact that it can mine such fruitful comedy while being brutally honest is a testament to the uniqueness of what it’s already achieved.