The third and final season of HBO’s “The Comeback,” starring Lisa Kudrow, will premiere in March 2026, more than a decade after its last season aired. Series co-creator Michael Patrick King shared exclusive new details, praising Kudrow’s return to her iconic role as the perpetually struggling actress Valerie Cherish, who this time finds herself starring in a sitcom written by artificial intelligence.
The announcement and first-look images were confirmed by HBO and its executives during a recent programming presentation. King told Entertainment Weekly that bringing Valerie into the modern era of AI-driven entertainment felt like the perfect, timely challenge for the character.
“The Comeback” has always moved at its own unique pace. The series first premiered on HBO in 2005, following Lisa Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish as she agreed to have a reality TV crew document her return to acting on a new sitcom. Despite earning Kudrow an Emmy nomination, the show was not renewed for a second season at the time.
A full decade later, in 2014, Valerie Cherish made her own comeback. The show was revived for an eight-episode second season that tackled the rise of prestige TV and streaming. Now, after another 11-year gap, the show is returning for one last run. Co-creator Michael Patrick King noted that he and Kudrow would often meet over the years to brainstorm ideas, waiting for the right cultural moment to bring Valerie back.
“Then we came upon the idea of looking at where the television business is right now,” King said in his interview with Entertainment Weekly. “And it’s very much like the Wild West… Here we are now, and everybody’s, maybe more than ever, in a panicked state about what’s coming next: AI.”
The central story for Season 3 finds Valerie Cherish booking the lead role in a new sitcom titled “How’s That?!”. The twist, which forms the season’s major conflict, is that the show is the first sitcom ever written by artificial intelligence.
For a character like Valerie, who has historically struggled with technology and the writers in her life, this presents a unique dilemma. King explained that the season will explore serious questions about creativity and the entertainment industry through Valerie’s comically human perspective.
“The most fun thing about Valerie in AI is all her drama has been with writers. And now what will her drama be if there are no writers?” King asked.
He also clarified that the show aims to move beyond a simple “AI is bad” message. The goal is to examine a rapidly changing business and what it means for actors, writers, and the shows audiences watch. HBO’s chief content officer, Casey Bloys, encouraged King and Kudrow to develop the season quickly to stay ahead of the fast-moving conversation about AI in entertainment.
Lisa Kudrow leads the returning cast, which includes several fan-favorite actors from the show’s history.
The new season also adds a significant number of guest stars and new characters. Most notably, Andrew Scott (known for “Fleabag” and “Ripley”) has joined the cast to play a studio head. Other new cast members include Abbi Jacobson and John Early, who will play a married couple on the writing staff of the AI-generated sitcom.
The production holds special meaning for Kudrow. She revealed that parts of the new season were filmed on the same sound stage where “Friends” was shot, which was an emotional experience for her.
In his conversations about the new season, Michael Patrick King highlighted how “The Comeback” has repeatedly arrived just as television culture was undergoing a major shift. The first season dealt with the early boom of reality TV. The second season tackled the rise of streaming and “dark comedy” dramedies.
King believes Valerie Cherish, a character obsessed with her image and how she is perceived, was ahead of her time.
“Twenty years ago, Valerie Cherish was obsessed with how she looked on camera and how her life was coming across. And here we are 21 years later and everybody else is obsessed with how they look on camera and how their lives are coming across,” King told Entertainment Weekly. “I mean, is it possible that everybody turned into Valerie Cherish?”
Season 3 will continue this tradition by placing Valerie in the middle of today’s debates about social media influence and artificial intelligence.
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“The Comeback” Season 3 is scheduled to premiere in March 2026 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max in the United States. An exact premiere date will be announced later. The season is confirmed to be the show’s last.
For viewers new to the series or wishing to revisit Valerie’s earlier adventures, the first two seasons of “The Comeback” are currently available to stream on Max.
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