Coming back to The Comeback in 2026 feels kind of surreal, like opening an app you forgot you loved and realizing it still totally gets you. It just drops you back into Valerie Cherish’s world and lets the cringe slowly build until you’re fully locked in again.
Valerie trying to exist in this new version of Hollywood is immediately funny in that painfully real way the show has always nailed. Everything’s more digital, more artificial, more optimized, and of course she ends up involved in a project tied to AI. The concept alone is wild, but what makes it work is how seriously Valerie takes it. She’s trying so hard to stay relevant, and you can feel that mix of excitement and confusion in every scene.
Lisa Kudrow is still perfect here. She doesn’t overplay anything, Valerie is just as needy, hopeful, and unintentionally chaotic as ever, but there’s something a little more grounded about her now too. You can tell she’s been through it. She's lost Mickey, who was often there to back her up. That makes the awkward moments hit harder, because they’re not just funny, they’re a little sad in a way that sneaks up on you.
The vibe of the episode is definitely more setup than payoff. If you’re expecting nonstop jokes, it might feel a bit slow, but that’s kind of the point. It’s rebuilding Valerie’s world, showing how much things have changed while also reminding you that she hasn’t, not really. And honestly, that contrast is where a lot of the humor comes from.
What really lands is how relevant it all feels without trying too hard. The whole AI angle, the industry shifts, the constant pressure to reinvent yourself, it all feels very now, but still totally in the show’s voice. It’s not chasing trends, it’s poking at them.
By the end, it doesn’t feel like a huge episode, but it does feel like a promising start. You can tell it’s setting up bigger, messier, more uncomfortable things for Valerie down the line. And if there’s one thing The Comeback has always been good at, it’s making you laugh while also making you slightly stressed for her.
It’s a chill return, a little awkward, a little emotional, and very Valerie, which is exactly what we want.
The final season of The Comeback is airing Sundays on HBO.
