Loved ‘The Comeback’? Stream these Hollywood comedies next
Loved ‘The Comeback’? Stream these Hollywood comedies next
Valerie Cherish is gone again, but these shows keep the cringe-comedy chaos going.
“The Comeback” just wrapped its third and final season on HBO Max, and Tara and I had a lot of fun watching Valerie Cherish get one last spin through the Hollywood humiliation machine. I’ll be honest, I don’t think the final season hit the same emotional high that Season 2 did, but I still really liked where it landed. And I loved that it took on AI head-on because, yeah, as writers, a lot of us are sitting around wondering exactly how scared we should be right now.
That’s what has always made “The Comeback” so good. It’s not just funny — it’s weirdly prescient. First, it was reality TV, then prestige TV, now AI-written sitcoms. Somehow, Valerie keeps getting dragged into whatever the industry is most anxious about, and she keeps smiling through the pain as she can still control the edit. So if you finished the finale and want more Hollywood comedies about fame, career panic, public embarrassment, industry nonsense, and people trying way too hard to stay relevant, these are the shows I’d watch next.
The Comeback
For Valerie Cherish, no price is too high to pay for clinging to the spotlight. Desperate to revive her career, she agrees to star in a reality TV series, allowing cameras to follow her every move as she lands a part on a new network sitcom.
Loved ‘The Comeback’? Watch: ‘The Studio’
This was my favorite show of last year, and it hits a lot of the same things that make “The Comeback” work so well. Both shows are about Hollywood turning people who genuinely love the business into complete freaks. In “The Studio,” Seth Rogen plays Matt Remick, the new head of Continental Studios, and watching him try to protect movies while also pleasing actors, directors, executives, marketers, and his own ego is exactly the kind of industry panic “The Comeback” fans will appreciate.
It’s Hollywood panic and insecurity from the executive side instead of the actor side, but the feeling is very familiar. Valerie is trying to prove she still deserves to be on camera. Matt is trying to prove he deserves to be behind the curtain, making the big calls. Both of them love the work, and both of them keep letting the business grind their dignity into paste. Now, the big difference is style — “The Comeback” is mockumentary, with a lot of cheeky, awkward looks to the camera. “The Studio” is glossier, faster, and more ensemble-driven, with this big, choreographed-chaos energy (and plenty of impressive oners). But if you want another comedy where show business turns smart people into desperate, lovable clowns, this is the one.
The Studio
Desperate for celebrity approval, the newly appointed head of a movie studio and his executive team at Continental Studios must juggle corporate demands with creative ambitions as they try to keep movies alive and relevant.
Check out: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is the pick if the thing you loved most about “The Comeback” was the squirming. Larry David is not trying to relaunch his career like Valerie Cherish. He’s not begging Hollywood to love him. He’s mostly just wandering through life, turning tiny social disagreements into full-on disasters because he cannot let anything go. A dinner invite, a parking spot, a casual comment, a buffet line — somehow, all of it becomes war.
The connection is the cringe engine. Valerie tries to win people over, while Larry tries to just win by proving he’s right. Both think they can still finesse the room, and both are usually wrong. The difference is that “The Comeback” has this wounded, showbiz-specific ache underneath it, while “Curb” is drier, meaner, looser, and way more obsessed with etiquette and petty grievances. But both shows get their laughs from the same basic move: taking one awkward moment and making it worse, then worse, then somehow even worse.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The off-kilter, unscripted comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can’t seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.
Watch next: ‘Hacks’
If what stuck with you after “The Comeback” was the sadness underneath the jokes, “Hacks” is the strongest emotional follow-up. Jean Smart plays Deborah Vance, a legendary comedian who is still powerful, still funny, and still fighting to control how the world sees her. Then Ava, a younger comedy writer played by Hannah Einbinder, crashes into her life, and the whole thing becomes this sharp, funny, messy battle over jokes, power, ego, legacy, and who gets to decide when a woman’s career is “over.”
That’s the part that makes it such a good companion to “The Comeback.” Valerie and Deborah are very different women — Valerie is exposed, eager, and constantly trying to charm people who underestimate her. Deborah is armored, rich, and terrifyingly good at protecting herself. But both shows understand the same ugly industry truth: women in entertainment are expected to stay likable while fighting for real power. “Hacks” is smoother and more emotional than “The Comeback,” and it doesn’t have the same mockumentary cruelty. But if “The Comeback” is about being seen incorrectly, “Hacks” is about forcing the room to see you on your own terms.
Hacks
Explore a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old (Hannah Einbinder).
Wildcard pick: ‘Bait’
“Bait” is the biggest swing here, but it absolutely belongs if you loved watching a performer turn one career opportunity into a full public meltdown. Riz Ahmed plays Shah Latif, a British-Pakistani rapper-turned-actor whose life goes sideways when he auditions to play the new James Bond, which is already a hilarious premise. But then the audition becomes a media storm, and Shah has to deal with racist backlash, community expectations, family pressure, old relationships, and the fact that he may not be nearly as cool about all this as he thinks he is.
That’s where it connects to “The Comeback.” Valerie wants another shot, while Shah wants a shot that could change how the industry sees him entirely. Both are performers chasing validation, both are way too good at humiliating themselves, and both shows understand that show business can turn one promise into a personal crisis. The difference is the lens — “The Comeback” is about ageism, sexism, fame decay, and Hollywood image control. “Bait” brings race, identity, family, and representation into the mess. It’s warmer and more community-driven than “The Comeback,” but it has that same great mix of ambition, vanity, cringe, and heart. Very much worth the leap.
Bait
Shah Latif is a struggling actor on the cusp of landing the role of a lifetime, only to find himself thrust into a full blown existential crisis and trippy conspiracy thriller all at the same time.
More to watch after finishing ‘The Comeback’:
‘Girls5eva’ | Peacock
Girls5eva
When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the ’90s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot. They may be grown women balancing spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents and shoulder pain, but can’t they also be Girls5Eva?
‘Party Down’ | STARZ
Party Down
A group of struggling actors and dysfunctional dreamers wait for their big break while they are stuck serving hors d’oeurves for a Hollywood catering company ‘Party Down.’
Canceled too soon, this workplace comedy features a stellar cast (Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Ken Marino, and Martin Starr) with a different guest star each episode. Cameos include Kevin Hart, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Bell, Jennifer Coolidge, Matt Walsh, Patrick Duffy, Josh Gad, George Takei, Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Steve Guttenberg, Steven Weber, Rick Fox, Enrico Colantoni, Ed Begley Jr., and Ken Jeong. It’s rare you’ll see a show where every actor is having this much fun.
‘Call My Agent!’ | Netflix
Call My Agent!
At a top Paris talent firm, agents scramble to keep their star clients happy—and their business afloat—after an unexpected crisis.
‘The Larry Sanders Show’ | HBO Max
The Larry Sanders Show
Comic Garry Shandling draws upon his own talk show experiences to create the character of Larry Sanders, a paranoid, insecure host of a late night talk show. Larry, along with his obsequious TV sidekick Hank Kingsley and his fiercely protective producer Artie, allows Garry Shandling and his talented writers to look behind the scenes and to show us a convincing slice of behind the camera life.