Kitty Doris-Bates' The Comeback Mirrors Valerie Cherish

      The Comeback offers an insightful look at the current state of Hollywood. This satire, featuring Lisa Kudrow as actress Valerie Cherish, has seen one season released roughly every decade since it first launched in 2005, with Kitty Doris-Bates overseeing the production design throughout its run.

      However, the latest, third season of the show introduced new challenges: Valerie has moved into a new condo and is involved in a new multi-camera sitcom, How’s That, which is scripted by AI.

      The condo set was constructed at the same Warner Bros. Studio stage where the series' pilot was filmed back in 2004. The opulent condo design was inspired by the Sierra Towers in West Hollywood, where filming wasn’t feasible.

      The lobby of the new AI-written sitcom on The Comeback features a portrait reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s style. According to Doris-Bates, creating this artwork was quite the ordeal, leading the show to ultimately hire an artist to finish it.

      “They kept poking fun at me in the art department, referring to it as ‘The Mona Lisa’ because of how much time I spent on it,” Doris-Bates shares. “In this portrait, she greets you with the many aspects of being an actor. Having a personal portrait in her entryway conveys a message, but we aimed to avoid it looking cliché.”

      Doris-Bates describes Valerie’s dressing room as entirely “about her.”

      The design team aspired for the majority of the condo to feel spacious and bright, suggesting Valerie's openness and willingness to move forward. In contrast, the dressing room encapsulates her essence, resembling a museum dedicated to Valerie.

      Nodding to Kudrow’s past, the AI-generated sitcom How’s That is set in the old Friends studio on the Warner Bros. lot. The quaintness of the set stands in stark contrast to the impersonal nature of its writing.

      Doris-Bates relished the opportunity to decorate the space.

      “Mechanically, it’s a narrow stage and more of an elongated rectangle than a square,” she explains. “This presents a challenge due to the number of cameras we have and the width of the camera aisle. ... Additionally, we didn’t have the budget to furnish the stage as lavishly as typical sitcoms do.”

      Doris-Bates points out that the strong history of Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, who co-created the show, afforded The Comeback more access to the Warner Bros. lot than other productions might have. This contributes to the show’s authenticity.

      “The whole show is full of surprises,” she notes. “For something that appears as spontaneous as it does, there’s a considerable amount of effort involved in its orchestration.”

      The Comeback is currently available for streaming on HBO Max. More of our interviews with contenders for the 2026 Emmys can be found here.

      Main image: The entrance of Valerie Cherish’s condo on The Comeback. HBO