A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: Describing the HBO show "The Comeback" can be a little tricky. It's a show about a show and a reality series about the making of that show.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE COMEBACK")
LISA KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) This is my comeback. Jane, I'm sorry. The camera keeps moving in and out. Is that...
LAURA SILVERMAN: (As Jane) It's always going to be moving. Just keep going.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) Got it. OK. Here we go. This is my comeback.
MARTÍNEZ: The show stars Lisa Kudrow, who's best known as Phoebe Buffay on "Friends." In "The Comeback," Kudrow plays another sitcom actress named Valerie Cherish. In Season 1, she lands a new role years after her popular show went off the air.
KUDROW: She wanted to get back into the spotlight. Valerie's 40. And around then, it was, ooh, 40, that's the worst. That's when an actress is done and useless.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
KUDROW: And she really wanted to be relevant again.
MARTÍNEZ: Didn't mean to agree with her there, but Season 1 premiered in 2005. Season 2 didn't come out until 2014. It took another 11 years for Season 3 of "The Comeback." It premieres Sunday with Valerie getting a starring role in a new sitcom, but there's a catch.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE COMEBACK")
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) What's it about?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) I don't know.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) Oh, OK. What's the part?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) I don't know.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) What do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) It's being written by AI.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) Uh-huh. Now, is that allowed?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Well, it must be 'cause they're doing it.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, Valerie definitely wants to be cherished. So the character who wants to be loved is doing a show that her friends and her colleagues probably are going to hate. So I'm wondering how much concerns are there in the industry about AI?
KUDROW: Total. A lot. That's why this felt like the perfect vehicle for Valerie. She finally gets offered the lead in a multicamera sitcom, but it's written by AI. And there was a strike three years ago, where she says, you know, that was the villain for the writers.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
KUDROW: I can't do this. And then she's sort of given permission, which you'll see if you are brave enough to watch it, I guess.
MARTÍNEZ: Bravery is kind of required to watch "The Comeback." It's what you might call a cringe comedy. It spotlights the not-so-glamorous side of Hollywood. Here's a scene from Season 1, where a director played by James Burrows makes it clear that he's not thrilled about working with Valerie.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE COMEBACK")
JAMES BURROWS: (As James Burrows) You've got to trust me.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) Jimmy, I trust you. I trust you. It's just, look, and I'm it.
BURROWS: (As Jimmy Burrows) You know what? I hope this is better than I'm it.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) But all I'm saying is that, look, I'm always looser on the second, third take. You know, they gave me lots of takes on it.
BURROWS: (As Jimmy Burrows) Well, you know what? You're not it anymore.
MARTÍNEZ: Have you ever heard people just say about "The Comeback" that, oh, my gosh, I get so uncomfortable when I see Valerie in these situations?
KUDROW: Yeah. That first season, people were saying, I - if they could watch it at all, like my husband, for example. But they would watch it like...
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, no. Not your husband. Come on. Really?
KUDROW: Yeah. He still hasn't seen the full season of 1 or 2.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow.
KUDROW: So - but that's OK.
MARTÍNEZ: I love it, though. See, I love that stuff. You know, my wife can't watch stuff like that, but I love watching it because, I mean, sometimes life is a little cringey, and you just kind of have to laugh at it, I think.
KUDROW: Right. It lets you know also about who you are and what your deepest fears are.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you think sometimes an actor can be loved too much or maybe a performance can be loved too much? Because I always think about "Seinfeld," and I think about Jason Alexander. Jason Alexander is forever George Costanza to most people. But Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Elaine, Christine, Selina Meyer. She's gone on to do all kinds of great iconic characters. So why does that happen? Is it just because the audience can't separate the performance from the performer?
KUDROW: I don't know. I think if you're lucky enough to get another role that works, then, yeah, an audience does start seeing you a different way. Personally, I have no problem with people just knowing me as Phoebe.
MARTÍNEZ: Really?
KUDROW: And 'Friends" was the most, like, mass-loved thing, and I get it. I'm watching it now, and I'm laughing out loud, and it's really good. So why would I be upset about that ever? And it gave me, you know, the ability to do more niche things.
MARTÍNEZ: There's about a nine-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2, 11-year gap between Season 3. I'm sure that probably wasn't the plan for 'The Comeback," but why so long in between seasons?
KUDROW: Yeah. It wasn't the plan.
MARTÍNEZ: OK (laughter).
KUDROW: There was an idea for this time, and that was, you know, the AI. This felt like, OK, this is a vehicle. Valerie has to cope with getting her dream of being the lead in a sitcom, but it's written by AI. Those are treacherous waters to navigate.
MARTÍNEZ: How inevitable is artificial intelligence in Hollywood? I mean, it just seems like it's an inevitable thing that no one will be able to escape from, not even Hollywood, not even journalism at some point.
KUDROW: Well, I mean, it's already happening, and we'll see.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE COMEBACK")
BURROWS: (As Jimmy Burrows) Well, that's upsetting.
KUDROW: (As Valerie Cherish) A married couple working together.
BURROWS: (As Jimmy Burrows) Oh, not them. That machine wrote a pretty good scene in 10 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Actually, it was like 50 seconds, Mr. Burrows, but I held it back so it wouldn't look too fast.
KUDROW: Younger people can really identify AI - right?...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
KUDROW: ...On social media. I look at things, and I'm weeping. Look how beautiful this is. The dogs chose their people. And then it's like, nah, that's all AI. What? Oh, OK. I can't tell, but my son can easily tell.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
KUDROW: So, yay. Yay, young people.
MARTÍNEZ: Well, I guess that's the one thing I guess that worries people, like, especially maybe above 40, is that younger people will expect AI to be part of everything in their lives. That includes their films that they watch and the TV shows that they watch and that once they become of age...
KUDROW: But if they like it. But they're not liking it. They're saying, no, no, that's AI. So I won't go too deep into - then I get into a whole other discussion that's not lighthearted and fun. But (laughter)...
MARTÍNEZ: Right.
KUDROW: So...
MARTÍNEZ: I don't know, Lisa. I think you could make anything lighthearted and fun.
KUDROW: Well, hopefully we have...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
KUDROW: ...With this third and final season of "The Comeback."
MARTÍNEZ: Really, the final season? Really, third and final? Final, final?
KUDROW: Yeah. I think so. Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
KUDROW: Now it's a trilogy. It's a whole piece, you know, and it feels more intentional. It's 20 years of looking at the television landscape.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. That is Lisa Kudrow. "The Comeback" Season 3 premieres March 22. Lisa, thanks.
KUDROW: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE COMEBACK")
SHOUT OUT LOUDS: (Singing) Let's call this the comeback again. Let's call this the comeback. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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