Comeback Comeback

The Sundance Channel is repeating The Comeback, an HBO comedy from 2005 starring Lisa Kudrow.  It wasn't popular in its original run and was canceled after one season.

I can see why.  Not that it's bad, it's just hard to watch.  The concept is we're watching a reality show about Valerie Cherish (Kudrow), a not particularly talented actress, trying to make a comeback.  Years before she starred in a minor sitcom and hasn't done much since.  She's too old now to play the young hottie, but manages to get a role on a new sitcom, even though the producers don't think much of her and the young cast mostly figures she's out of it.

Essentially, the show is about Cherish going from one horrible siutation to another, so the better it is, the harder it becomes to watch.  Kudrow is good at being vain and lacking self-awareness, and Lance Barber is even better as Paulie G., the show runner who can't stand Cherish.  Still, the whole point of the show is the humiliation of this character, so even though she keeps bouncing back (usually through self-delusion), it's hard to enjoy.