Comedy HBO eyes a comeback for 'The Comeback'

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/comeback-lisa-kudrow-series-season-2-hbo-plan/

HBO Eyes Return Of Michael Patrick King/Lisa Kudrow Comedy ‘The Comeback’
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

After Netflix resurrected Arrested Development, another cult 2000s comedy, HBO‘s The Comeback, is eyeing a comeback. I’ve learned that HBO is in discussions with the series creators/executive producers Michael Partick King, who also served as director, and Lisa Kudrow, who toplined the show, about doing a new installment almost a decade after the first season. I hear it is being envisioned as a limited/event series. Comeback, which debuted in June 2005, was a docu-style single-camera comedy starring Kudrow as washed-up sitcom actress Valerie Cherish, who gets a reality show documenting her attempt at a career comeback with a role on a new sitcom. The series, whose cast included Malin Akerman, didn’t go beyond the 13-episode first season, which earned three Emmy nominations, including a lead actress nom for Kudrow and a directing nom for King. Like Fox’s single-camera comedy Arrested Development, which aired at the same time, Comeback was considered to be ahead of its time. While it didn’t get a lot of traction during its original run, Comeback quickly achieved cult status, with fans still buzzing about it. The Comeback also has earned posthumous critical praise, landing on a number of lists of the best/most underrated comedy series of the last decade. Viewers are far more used to the style and pace of shows like The Comeback and Arrested Development now with a slew of series that also include another TV industry satire toplined by a former Friends star, Matt LeBlanc’s Showtime comedy Episodes.

Like the show’s fans, King and Kudrow — each busy with work (King is running his CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, Kudrow has her Showtime series Web Therapy and has been recurring on ABC’s Scandal) — too had not forgotten The Comeback, often discussing a possible new chapter. “Every time we get together for lunch, we’re talking about, ‘OK, so what would happen next?’,” Kudrow told Bravo talk show host Andy Cohen last summer. Where do they envision Valerie a decade later? “Taking classes at the Actor’s Studio. Just because,” Kudrow told Cohen. “We really want her to be on a Bravo show.” Wouldn’t she be perfect for the Real Housewives franchise!” At the time, Kudrow was asked about doing a Kickstarter campaign to bring back the show, the way Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell were able to resurrect their cult series with a feature. She didn’t rule out that route at the time. Now, a much better scenario is presenting itself if deals can be closed, with The Comeback making a comeback at the place where it started, HBO.

I've always heard good things about this, but I've never actually gotten around to watching it. But I love Lisa Kudrow, so I'd be up for it if this materializes.

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/the-comeback-returns-hbo-limited-series/

It’s Official: ‘The Comeback’ Returns To HBO For Six-Episode Run This Fall
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2014 – “B level” TV star Valerie Cherish was a pioneer of reality television. Now, it’s ten years later – there’s more TV than ever and she wants back in.

Lisa Kudrow (Emmy® winner for “Friends&#8221 stars as the embattled Valerie Cherish, a fading TV “It Girl” who was once so desperate to stay in the spotlight that she allowed cameras to follow her every move as she appeared on a new sitcom – with disastrous results.

When the comedy series THE COMEBACK returns as a new six-episode limited series this fall, exclusively on HBO, Valerie thinks she has it all figured out this time. She doesn’t. Scheduled to begin production in Los Angeles this month, the show was created by Michael Patrick King (Emmy® winner for HBO’s “Sex and the City&#8221 and Lisa Kudrow, who will serve as executive producers along with producing partner Dan Bucatinsky (Emmy® winner for “Scandal&#8221.

“THE COMEBACK holds a special place in the hearts of its many fans, including many of us here at HBO,” notes Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. “I can’t wait to find out what Valerie’s been up to since we last met.”

“I’m so excited to be working with Valerie Cherish again,” says Michael Patrick King. “It’s great to be able to continue her story and I’m thrilled to have THE COMEBACK come back to HBO, where it all started.”

“It was almost too fun play Valerie Cherish the first time around,” observes Lisa Kudrow. “I look forward to revisiting this resilient and ironically self-unaware character.”

The first season of THE COMEBACK, which debuted in 2005 on HBO, explored the madness of television, a Beverly Hills lifestyle, the dual roles of wife and stepmom, the trouble with growing older in Hollywood, and the bravery of a comic-tragic 40-year-old actress who was desperate to look like she was keeping her head above it all. The series was singled out by both TIME and Entertainment Weekly as one of the ten best shows of the decade. In the new episodes, Valerie continues her search to attain the spotlight, but this time around, it illuminates a whole new series of problems when she achieves the visibility she wants.

THE COMEBACK was created by Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow. This season will be written by Michael Patrick King, Lisa Kudrow, Amy B. Harris and John Riggi. In addition to Lisa Kudrow, the confirmed cast includes Lance Barber, Dan Bucatinsky, Robert Michael Morris, Laura Silverman and Damian Young.

 

[Sawyer]

[YT]sYKlsNB4lt4[/YT]
I Lisa Kudrow so much.

 

[Primal Slayer]

So the finale was utter perfection. Loved it. 99.9% sure it will be the series finale.

Kellan Lutz....opened my eyes to him again, totally forgot he existed.

 

[Pennywise]

‘The Comeback’ Revived By HBO For Third & Final Season

Valerie Cherish will be given another take as HBO has picked up The Comeback for a third and final season.

deadline.com

 

[Sawyer]

One season every decade. The Stranger Things crew must be seething with jealousy.