Lisa Kudrow returns as Valerie Cherish in the fifth episode of the final season, where a new showrunner creates complete disorder on set and Valerie’s calm demeanor gets pushed to its absolute limit. The episode, titled “Valerie Lights a Candle,” aired on HBO on April 19, 2026. Viewers watched Valerie struggle to keep her AI-written sitcom from falling apart while dealing with an unqualified new boss and suspicious actors.
The latest season of The Comeback has focused on Valerie’s decision to work on a show called “How’s That?!” where artificial intelligence does most of the script writing. Episode 4 ended with major problems after Valerie’s assistant Billy sent a private voice memo directly to the studio. This episode picks up right where the previous one left off, showing Valerie trying to fix everything while her patience runs out.
Brandon Fires the Writers and Brings in an Unqualified Showrunner
The episode begins with Valerie waiting for updates from Billy about the voice memo he sent to the studio. When she arrives at the filming location, she finds the set completely empty. Brandon from NuNet shows up and asks to speak with her privately. He tells Valerie that the writers Josh and Mary have been fired because of the voice memo she recorded. Brandon also says the studio paid the writers to keep quiet about the AI situation.
But the real shock comes when Brandon announces that Marco, a writer’s assistant, will now be the new showrunner. Marco does not have enough experience or qualifications for this job. Brandon believes the studio does not need a real showrunner because the AI tool called Allasist can handle everything. He tells Valerie not to share the full truth with the other actors, worried it will create panic.
Valerie Tries to Keep the Actors Calm but Fails
Valerie faces the difficult task of telling the other actors about the firing of the writers. She brings each cast member a special candle with different words like “Focus” and “Relax” written on them. One actor named Walter becomes suspicious right away. He notices that Marco went from being a writer’s assistant to showrunner overnight. He also finds it strange that a writer named “Al” nobody has ever seen does most of the writing.
Valerie tries to calm everyone down by saying “don’t panic,” but the damage is already done. The actors start questioning everything about the production. Jane, who has become Valerie’s closest ally on set, watches all of this happen and grows more worried about the show’s future.
The AI Writer Creates Impossible Amounts of Material
Marco asks the AI writer Al to create alternative jokes for every single line in the script. The AI produces 39 pages of new material, which is far more than any human writer could create in such a short time. The actors become even more suspicious when they see this massive amount of new writing appear out of nowhere.
Valerie tells Marco that no human could write that fast and that the situation looks suspicious. But Marco refuses to cut any of the new material. He also will not let the tech person named Evan highlight which jokes actually work. This creates even more tension between Valerie and the new showrunner.
Marco Casts His Roommates and Refuses to Fire Them
During rehearsals, two actors playing angry bed-and-breakfast guests keep whispering their lines instead of speaking loudly. The director Bryan tells them multiple times to stop whispering, but they just say “thank you” and continue the same behavior. Valerie discovers that these two actors, named Phillip and Kewpie, are actually Marco’s roommates.
When Valerie asks Marco to replace these actors because they are too young to play an older couple, Marco refuses. He says he will not fire his own roommates. Valerie has to go to Sharon, another producer, to get help. Sharon agrees to fire Marco’s roommates but only if Valerie protects Sharon’s job in case of backlash. The roommates get fired while another actor named P.D.P. complains that Valerie cut his jokes.
Paulie G Returns to Help Save the Show
After dealing with one problem after another, Valerie sends a text to Paulie G, the former showrunner from “Room and Bored” who treated her badly in the past. Paulie arrives on set making awkward jokes. Jane tells Valerie directly that bringing Paulie back is the worst decision she could make. But Valerie feels she has no other choice.
Paulie watches a taping of the new episode and quickly figures out that AI is writing the script. He sees that a scene where a man yells at a woman is not getting laughs. Paulie suggests replacing the male actor with a woman because audiences do not like watching men be mean to women they care about. This change works much better than the original version.
Paulie helps rewrite scenes on the spot, doing the kind of creative work the AI cannot handle. Evan admits he gave up on becoming a writer and got into coding because he saw where the entertainment industry was heading. Frank, another character, wonders why he keeps defending people who do not have his best interests in mind.
Paulie Shows Vulnerability but Old Patterns Return
After helping fix the episode, Paulie apologizes to Valerie for how he treated her during “Room and Bored.” He blames his bad behavior on the reality show she was filming at the same time. Paulie says he thought reality TV would destroy the industry, but now he finds AI much more frightening.
Jane notices that Paulie showed real vulnerability for the first time. Valerie responds by saying nothing is more dangerous than a scared animal because that is when they bite. Paulie then dismisses Valerie with a cold comment telling her to “make yourself useful,” showing his old patterns are still there.
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Marco Threatens to Expose the AI Secret
Marco confronts Valerie and asks if she plans to fire him. He hints that he might tell everyone about the AI writing if the studio lets him go. Valerie assures Marco she does not have the power to fire him and reminds him they are all working together as a team. She gives him a candle labeled “Success,” but whether this will actually help remains unclear.
The episode ends with the filming of the new episode finishing successfully. Paulie arrives with a pitch for the show and tells Valerie the AI needs proper guidance because Marco is not competent as a showrunner. Paulie asks Valerie to speak with Brandon about bringing him onto the show permanently. Mark, Valerie’s husband, tells her he is going to Burning Man and she is not invited, adding more personal stress to her already full plate.
Lisa Kudrow’s real-life son Julian Stern plays the character Evan in this episode. The series continues to blend real industry issues with comedy, showing how AI and streaming services have changed television production. The show airs weekly on HBO and streams on Max. New episodes come out every Sunday at 10:30 PM Eastern Time. The final season has eight episodes total, with the finale scheduled for May 10, 2026.
Also Read: The Comeback Season 3 Episode 6 Release Date, Time and Streaming Details
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