Why “The Comeback” Season 3 Is Actually Happening on HBO
Oh, great—just what the TV landscape needed: another “vintage” revival. Look, I don’t want to be the one to say it, but here we are, gearing up for The Comeback Season 3 on HBO. According to an HBO press release and a Variety exclusive, the cult-favorite comedy starring Lisa Kudrow will return this summer after nearly a decade in the cold storage of cancelled pilots and lukewarm ratings.
If you’ve forgotten—though I doubt it—you first met Valerie Cherish (Kudrow) in 2005, dodging worse-than-awkward reality TV sabotage and fake friends. HBO gave the mockumentary a second chance in 2014 for eight more episodes, but enthusiasm flatlined faster than a deflated whoopee cushion. Deadline confirmed that showrunner Michael Patrick King quietly pitched a third round years ago; now, with streaming numbers being the sole metric for green lights, HBO finally coughed up the budget.
Sources say production kicks off in June in Los Angeles, with Kudrow on board not just as the star but also as an executive producer. And yes, that means more cringe-worthy confessionals, botched photo shoots, and Valerie’s misguided attempts to reclaim “it girl” status. Variety reports returning castmates Malin Åkerman, Damian Young, and Robert Michael Morris will reprise their roles, plus a few promising newcomers for fresh “insider” drama.
Plot details remain hush-hush, but insiders hint at a storyline where Valerie tries to navigate influencer culture—because nothing says “comeback” like sponsored posts and cringe filters. A source close to production told the New York Post that the scripts lean even harder into social-media satire, promising that Valerie’s meltdown at a livestreamed Q&A will be peak train wreck. I told you so: digital age makes everything infinitely more humiliating.
HBO hasn’t announced an exact premiere date, though early fall seems likely to capitalize on award-season chatter. The network also teased exclusive behind-the-scenes clips on HBO Max—because if there’s one thing we needed, it’s more footage of Kudrow rolling her eyes in a director’s chair.
So, did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so. The Comeback Season 3 is officially happening, and the only question is how quickly we’ll all start binging it just to mock Valerie’s latest blunder. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things—yet we’ll watch them anyway. What’s next? Stick around for those “exclusive” cast interviews to see if they can out-awkward the show itself.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and HBO press release, Variety, Deadline, New York Post
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
