Friends icon's beloved cult comedy gets unexpected revival 20 years after debut

Friends star Lisa Kudrow will return to one of her most beloved roles - but it’s not Phoebe Buffay.

Best known for her 10-year stint on the beloved NBC sitcom as well as recent roles in Time Bandits and Netflix’s No Good Deed, Kudrow is reprising one of her first projects after Friends’ conclusion in 2004.

HBO has officially confirmed their hit comedy series The Comeback will return for a third and final season.

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In this sharp satirical look at the glitzy world of showbiz, Kudrow portrays Valerie Cherish, a B-list television actress who briefly found fame with her sitcom I'm It! in the late 80s and early 90s.

The Comeback originally aired in 2005 with its first season following Valerie after she’s cast in a new network sitcom called Room and Bored and agrees to record her return to acting in a companion documentary series.

Almost 10 years later, a second season aired in 2014 and featured Valerie’s career taking a darker turn.

This time, she’s cast as a fictionalised version of herself in Seeing Red, an HBO drama about the abuse she suffered from Room and Bored’s producer Paulie G (Lance Barber).

Seth Rogen portrays himself in the series as he’s cast as Mitch in Seeing Red, the character based on Paulie, and often comes to Valerie’s aid when the real Paulie shows his true colours.

A teaser trailer was released by HBO featuring Kudrow in character as Valerie confirming she’s returning for a new show, but maintains this will be “the last time”.

Created by Michael Patrick King, writer of Sex and the City and the creator of its sequel series And Just Like That…, The Comeback’s final season will head into production this summer for a 2026 release date on HBO and HBO Max.

Alongside Kudrow, season regulars Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, and Damian Young will also all return.

Other cast from the previous seasons include Robert Michael Morris, Malin Åkerman and Robert Bagnell, though they are not confirmed to be involved.

Executive Vice President of HBO & Max Comedy Programming, Amy Gravitt said in a statement: “No matter what the industry throws at her, Valerie Cherish is a survivor.

“On the 20th Anniversary of her debut, Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow have brilliantly scripted her return to HBO and we can’t wait to see that.”

And Kudrow and King added: “Valerie Cherish has found her way back to the current television landscape. Neither of us are surprised she did.”

The Comeback season 3 will premiere in 2026 on HBO and HBO Max.