Review: The Comeback, “Valerie Cherish” | Season 3, Episode 8

Hey free subscribers—as it concludes its increasingly unexpected third season, a preview of Ben's review of the final episode of The Comeback.

A few scenes into the series finale of The Comeback, Valerie Cherish meets with a trio of titans of the industry: screenwriters Jack Stevens (Bradley Whitford), Ben Morrow (Justin Theroux), and Matt Wright (Adam Scott). Thanks to the low drop-off in viewership between the first two aired episodes of How’s That?!, the show has been renewed for a second season—and the big three want Val to speak out against artificial intelligence during the press conference. Suddenly this hack sitcom stands for much more, as does its lead actress and executive producer. Val has become the “human face of AI,” an actress using her considerable talents to sell and normalize an unethically sourced product. If more studios follow NuNet’s lead, it could be an “extinction event” for TV writing. “My little show means the end of everything?” Val asks, unbelieving.

It’s the type of ethical dilemma teased back in the premiere, when Valerie participated in the SAG strike and directly heard from writers threatened by AI, and part of me wishes the show got to it sooner, perhaps before How’s That?! actually aired. Instead, Val has wrestled with her complex feelings about writers more privately throughout this season. By seeing the ways AI threatened to destroy her new series altogether, she has learned to celebrate the profession of writing. And she has managed to set aside her kneejerk skepticism based on negative prior experiences with writers—especially the chauvinistic Paulie G, who was responsible for her success in Seeing Red (and provided the launching pad for her documentary by hiring her for Room and Bored), yet seriously dehumanized her on two different collaborations in two different decades—in order to see them as a vital part of this industry.