Pop Culture Happy Hour: "The Comeback" – Season 3 Review

NPR | April 1, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the long-awaited third and final season of The Comeback, Lisa Kudrow’s cult-favorite Hollywood satire. The Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts—Aisha Harris, Glenn Weldon, and a rotating cast of critics, joined today by music and culture journalist Rihanna Cruz—break down The Comeback’s evolution, its new focus on AI in entertainment, and the legacy of Valerie Cherish as an iconic comedic character. The panel explores both the laughter and the underlying melancholy, discussing the show’s commentary on celebrity, Hollywood, and aging, while reflecting on what makes The Comeback a unique classic.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

A. The Return of Valerie Cherish and Setting the Stage

• Aisha Harris introduces the premise (02:25): Lisa Kudrow reprises her role as Valerie Cherish—originally a ’90s sitcom star—navigating the fickle entertainment industry in a third season shaped by the rise of AI-generated television.
• Season 3 finds Valerie starring in “How’s That?”, a sitcom secretly written by AI, with human writers hired only to keep up the illusion. Notable returning and new cast members include Damien Young (Mark), Laura Silverman (Jane), Dan Bukatinsky (Billy), and newcomers Andrew Scott, John Early, and Abbi Jacobson.
  “Her newest gig is as the star of How’s That? … a multicam sitcom where she plays a single woman of a certain age running a bed and breakfast with her nephew.” (03:09 - 03:16)

B. The Show’s Comic and Dramatic Evolution

• Rihanna Cruz captures why the series is beloved and how the show’s style has shifted:
  • Season 1: Cementing the public persona of Valerie Cherish and parodying reality TV.
  • Season 2: Cracking away at Valerie’s facade and exploring psychological “short circuit”.
  • Season 3: Valerie rebuilding herself, with increased dramatic tension and hints of chaos reminiscent of “Uncut Gems.”
    “I see The Comeback as perhaps the greatest comedic character study of the 21st Century.” (04:21) “This season … there’s a couple moments where I felt like it was very Uncut Gems-coded, you know? People talking over each other … there’s so many issues at once.” (04:55)
• The show sometimes suffers from “tonal whiplash and conflicting messaging,” with certain plot points feeling inconsistent—attributed to co-creator Michael Patrick King—yet this unpredictability is accepted as part of the show’s charm.
• Glenn Weldon enthusiastically reaffirms the show’s importance, especially in queer pop culture.
  “A season of The Comeback is the Gay World Series … It always comes at a crossroads in the entertainment industry.” (06:44)

C. Thematic Focus: Aging, AI, and Hollywood Satire

• The series confronts issues of ageism, industry change, and the rise of AI, providing both satire and sincere reflection on the business:
  • Valerie is now a “woman of a certain age” asked to reinvent herself in a landscape increasingly dominated by technology and shifting power dynamics.
• Glenn Weldon highlights the evolution of Valerie’s character:
  “She was never obtuse … she’s always been aware of when she was being slighted … In this season, she is slightly foregrounding the self-awareness in a different way … she stands up for herself in ways that she never did before.” (12:48–14:49)
  • The comedic heart remains (“nodding like a bobblehead,” self-affirming phrases) but grows richer—Valerie wants not just to be seen, but also to be “heard and respected.”
• Aisha Harris discusses the uniquely hopeful quality of Valerie’s optimism:
  “There’s a version of Valerie that could be awful and horrific. Look, she’s had moments … but also the show has a sort of optimism and matter-of-fact way of approaching what it means to be someone working in the industry.” (17:12)
• The panel agrees: The Comeback’s mockumentary form is tweaked this season, alternating between single-camera comedy and documentary style, visually echoing Valerie’s shifting public/private persona.
  “The implementation of diegetic camera vs. removed camera showcases the distance that Val keeps between her public and private personas … you see Lisa Kudrow flip a switch.” – Rihanna Cruz (11:48)

D. Analysis of Supporting Characters and New Cast

• Andrew Scott plays the network executive, emblematic of the new, AI-focused Hollywood—delivering a chilling, vacant performance:
  “He’s doing that Ripley thing again, where he’s just kind of dead behind the eyes, and it works.” – Host (21:07)
• Abbi Jacobson and John Early play the show’s “cover” human writers—a married couple, humorously underwritten (17:27).
• The writers note some new and minor characters shine (e.g., Patience, the Gen Z social media manager constantly beset by mishaps), while others serve more as vehicles for social commentary than as fully fleshed-out personalities (17:51).

E. Sincerity and Layered Tone

• The hosts address how the show occasionally breaks from its usual irony:
  • Notable moments of “abject sincerity” include a Hollywood legend monologuing about AI’s inability to write good comedy and a returning character reassuring Valerie of her worth (18:38-20:12).
  • Glenn Weldon:
    “There’s no way this show would let the mask kind of slip like that ... But if this is the final season, those moments ... are a victory lap—the curtain call.”

F. Melancholy, Hope, and Social Satire

• Rihanna Cruz discusses the unexpectedly bleak mood of this season, shaped by the realities of modern Hollywood and AI’s encroachment:
  “Never before have I left a season … feeling weirdly hopeless … it reflects Hollywood right now, and things are not good.” (21:52)
• The show’s commentary still resonates by presenting multiple sides of the AI debate, not as strictly pro- or anti-technology, but highlighting generational and industry differences (22:57).
• The group reflects on the effect of long hiatuses (“Hiatus Brain”) for shows like this, noting The Comeback uniquely benefits from multi-year gaps, as it speaks to distinct moments and shifts in pop culture (09:10–10:46).

G. Legacy, Loss, and Final Thoughts

• The absence of Robert Michael Morris (Mickey, Valerie’s beloved hairdresser) is poignantly addressed:
  “If nobody’s there to advocate for her, she has to advocate for herself.” – Rihanna Cruz (26:00-26:09) “The show does a good job of both honoring his memory and also reminding us that Valerie … cared about the people who really, really rode for her and loved her.” – Host (25:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I see The Comeback as perhaps the greatest comedic character study of the 21st century.” – Rihanna Cruz (04:21)
• “A season of The Comeback is the Gay World Series …” – Glenn Weldon (06:44)
• “She was never obtuse … she’s always been aware of when she was being slighted …” – Glenn Weldon (12:48)
• “There’s so many issues at once. But it really leans into the dramedy aspects that I think the second season nailed …” – Rihanna Cruz (05:08)
• “If nobody’s there to advocate for her, she has to advocate for herself.” – Rihanna Cruz (26:00)
• “It’s like the Census. It’s always an appraisal, a taking of stock …” – Glenn Weldon (06:44)
• “She is always gonna find a way to make things better and see things as good as she can, because that’s all she has.” – Host (15:07)
• “Never before have I left a season of The Comeback feeling weirdly hopeless … it reflects Hollywood right now and things are not good.” – Rihanna Cruz (21:52)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:38–04:17: Show recap; series history and plot setup for season 3
• 04:17–06:44: Rihanna Cruz on The Comeback’s comedic legacy and character study
• 06:44–09:10: Glenn Weldon on queer pop culture and show’s cyclical nature
• 09:10–11:48: Host’s first time/“Hiatus Brain” and benefits of a decade-long gap
• 11:48–14:49: Camera style, performance analysis, and Valerie’s evolution
• 15:07–17:27: Optimism, character complexity, and reflection on industry realities
• 17:27–18:37: New supporting characters and their narrative impact
• 18:38–20:12: Sincerity vs. satire; breaking the fourth wall in “final season”
• 21:07–21:52: Andrew Scott’s chilling exec; the show’s new “bleak” tone
• 21:52–22:57: Hopelessness vs. resilience; cultural reflection on AI and Hollywood
• 25:12–26:09: Remembering Mickey, honoring legacy, lessons for Valerie

Conclusion

The hosts agree that The Comeback’s third and final season is both a loving coda and a sharp, self-aware critique of Hollywood’s current state. Lisa Kudrow’s performance as Valerie is celebrated for its deepening complexity, embodying both resilience in the face of irrelevance and a touching desire to be genuinely heard. The series remains uniquely timed, offering a portrait of show business that’s at once meta, melancholic, and riotously funny—a fitting end for a show that has always been ahead, and sometimes painfully inside, its time.

Panel: Aisha Harris, Glenn Weldon, Rihanna Cruz
Produced by: Hafsa Fatima & Mike Katsuff | Edited by Jessica Reedy

“How’s that?”