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In The Comeback’s Return, Valerie Cherish Lands an HBO Show

When we last saw Valerie Cherish in 2005, being humiliated on reality TV — cupcake vomit! — had made her a hit on The Tonight Show. Nine years later, she’s primed for an upgrade. When The Comeback returns this November, we’ll find Val getting the the good news that she’s been cast on an HBO dramedy. Instead of reality TV cameras, she’ll be followed by a fancy behind-the-scenes crew. That’s a lot better than a flailing teen comedy like Room and Bored, but has Val changed? She certainly thinks so. “She’s spiritually evolved,” executive producer Michael Patrick King told reporters Thursday during HBO’s press tour session. “She’s figured out what happened to her and she’s come to a place where she’s okay with that.” Star/executive producer Lisa Kudrow chimed in, “The thing that I love that’s the same is [the dynamic] between who you are to yourself and who you are presenting to the world.”

Val’s fame-starved antics might not shock audiences now used to a steady diet of such Valerie Cherish descendants as The Real Housewives and the Kardashians, but King promised no shortage of cringe. When one journalist asked if The Comeback would address the idea that these days a lot of reality TV is scripted, King smiled and nodded. And of course, Val won’t be without troubles outside of self-sabotage. Her nemesis Paulie G will be back. Said Kudrow, “That felt like unfinished business to me. Like, what was that?!”

The Comeback’s Valerie Cherish Cast on HBO Show