Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Damian Young, Lance Barber, Laura Silverman, Lisa Kudrow, Robert Michael Morris
When talking about pioneers of the mockumentary format, people like Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Garry Shandling (The Larry Sanders Show), and Ricky Gervais (The Office) come to mind, but rarely do people bring up Lisa Kudrow, whose entry in cringe comedy is just as funny and prickly as the ones mentioned above. The Comeback, which she co-created and stars in, is peak awkward comedy. Kudrow plays Valerie with the same narcissism, desperation, and lack of self-awareness as your usual comedy anti-hero, but she also gives her character vulnerability and depth, making you want to protect and root for her even in the cringiest of moments. The show itself is also a piercing satire that knows, way before anyone else, exactly what to poke fun at. In 2005, when the show first aired, it critiqued the shallowness of reality TV and network sitcoms, as well as the blatant sexism that occurred not just onscreen but behind it as well. In fact, the darkest moment of the show happens in the writers’ room. And when it was resurrected in 2014 (to the shock of everyone) it satirized the bloat of prestige TV and how much it got away with under the guise of being edgy. Who knows if The Comeback will make another comeback, but best believe it will be ahead of its time and probably, unfortunately, fly under the radar once more.
