\n\tSaying goodbye is never easy, particularly if you\u2019ve played a character for over 20 years, however intermittently.<\/p>\n
\n\tLisa Kudrow knows this well, after her and Michael Patrick King, the co-creators of HBO<\/a>\u2019s The Comeback, said farewell to Valerie Cherish, a character that started at The Groundlings and was first turned into a comedy series in 2005.<\/p>\n \n\tThe show ended its third season with Cherish doing a piece to camera, helmed by Jane Benson, played by Laura Silverman. The shot fades from black-and-white to color with Jane applauding how she\u2019s fought for herself, against the big bad A.I. \u201cWhat an evolution you\u2019ve had,\u201d Benson says.<\/p>\n \n\tCherish does not agree with the premise. \u201cI think you have to agree to be humiliated, and I never signed up,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking with Deadline at Sublime Primetime<\/a>, an event hosted by the Writers Guild Foundation, Kudrow said she\u2019s had seasoned actors ask her how she\u2019s able to play such a character. \u201cValerie spun everything but believed it so it was pain-free and then realized that she does not accept humiliation. Oh my god, that\u2019s an option? It was so revelatory,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI also think Lisa wanted to make sure emotionally that we left Valerie with dignity,\u201d added King.<\/p>\n \n\tBut it wasn\u2019t easy to film. The pair shot the scene on the last day of production.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt was emotional,\u201d added Kudrow. \u201cWe were on the Friends stage where I said goodbye to the most important 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe thought it\u2019d be really great to film the last scene last on the last day, so that Friends and The Comeback is all ending on the exact same moment for Lisa, and then it\u2019s one take. We were nuts. It was really, really emotional,\u201d added King.<\/p>\n Lisa Kudrow, at last night\u2019s \u2018Sublime Primetime\u2019 event with @WGAWest<\/a> featuring the Emmy-nominated Drama & Comedy writers, on playing Valerie Cherish on \u2018The Comeback\u2019 and what Cherish thinks of \u2018Friends\u2019: \u201cShe\u2019s not impressed with the woman who played Phoebe\u201d\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/rzCeVue1b5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tThe pair were joined on stage by the creators of Hacks<\/a> \u2013 Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky \u2013 who also had an emotional reaction to their show ending after five seasons.<\/p>\n \n\tThe final season, which ended in May, sees Jean Smart\u2019s Deborah Vance, tell Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder, that she\u2019s got cancer and she\u2019s going to travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide. But first, she wants a trip and after riffing on jokes about dying, Vance changes her mind and asks Ava to help her write another hour.<\/p>\n \n\tDowns said that the group was \u201csad\u201d.<\/p>\n \n\tAniello said, \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve almost been not admitting this. Now, I really am to a whole room of people, but like I desperately miss the characters, in a way that feels kind of pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n