Friends star Lisa Kudrow has returned with The Comeback Season 3. The critically acclaimed show last aired in 2014, with the latest installment arriving after a gap of over a decade. The new season revisits aging reality TV star Valerie Cherish, played by Kudrow, who finds herself starring in a sitcom written by artificial intelligence. In a recent interview, Kudrow addressed the buzz around the storyline, clarifying how AI is actually used within the mockumentary.
Lisa Kudrow says it was “fun to explore” the AI-themed third season
Lisa Kudrow is the co-creator of the show alongside Michael Patrick King. In the latest iteration of the show, they use AI as a plot device, a tool for commentary on the industry against the backdrop of AI encroachment.
The show is currently streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes releasing weekly, and the finale is expected to air around May 10.
Speaking to TheWrap, Kudrow addressed the show’s central theme, which has put many people in the industry on edge. She made it very clear that the show wasn’t written by AI. “Nothing was written by AI,” Kudrow said, adding that she is not going to reveal too much about the writing process of the show.
“I am not going to say too much. I don’t want to give away anything about how the writing is on this AI-written sitcom, which was not written by AI,” she stated. However, as a co-creator, she really wanted to delve into the hypothetical of an AI-dominated industry. “It was really fun just to explore, like, what would happen? What if? What would that be like? And just play with that.”
The AI storyline gains significance in light of post-strike fears about writers being replaced, and the industry’s growing reliance on LLM models. Safe to say, the AI elements exist only within the story, with the creative license and the story narrative firmly in the hands of the writers.
Now, it remains to be seen how Valerie Cherish’s struggle to stay relevant in the ruthless industry gets a new twist in the era of deepfakes and generative AI in the new season. Are you excited to watch The Comeback season 3? Let us know in the comments section below.
