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QUESTION #1
Is there anyone that has been your inspiration in the development of Valerie's character?
Michael Patrick King
The first inspiration for me in writing Valerie Cherish was Lisa Kudrow "doing" Valerie Cherish at our first show discussion lunch. She became Valerie before my very eyes in an effort to show me what she was talking about. And then over our subsequent development meetings, I got more and more in touch with who Valerie might be. Lisa has such a vibrant and specific hold on who Valerie is heart and soul, so whenever I sit down to write Valerie, I have to go to that "Lisa" place.
QUESTION #2
What inspired you to create "The Comeback"?
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The first and most important part was finding the center. Valerie. Once we understood that we had a character who had a desperate need to be in the spotlight ... |
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Michael Patrick King
The Comeback spark of inspiration was trying to create a satiric look at ego and vulnerability laced through the landscape of television pop culture. The first and most important part was finding the center. Valerie. Once we understood that we had a character who had a desperate need to be in the spotlight, determined to present herself a certain way, I knew that that idea of "Reality TV" might be her undoing. At any rate, we knew it would be antagonistic and ripe for "funny." And once we settled on Reality TV, we wanted to take it to another level by showing the war between sitcoms and Reality TV, then open that up to the little wars between stars and writers, men and women, fame and "over," old and young... just everything that exists in that arena. We wanted to take this overused topic of Reality TV and show what a little bit of real reality TV might look like.
QUESTION #3
How did the character of Valerie Cherish evolve?
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Lisa brought us Valerie and the very clever writing staff brought Valerie situations that would show her many dimensions and sides. |
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Michael Patrick King
Lisa brought us Valerie and the very clever writing staff brought Valerie situations that would show her many dimensions and sides.
QUESTION #4
Was it difficult to create a new character for Lisa Kudrow in a way that people would see Valerie and not Phoebe?
Michael Patrick King
I never see Phoebe when Lisa is doing Valerie... Even more telling, I never see Lisa when Lisa is Valerie. So, no, it wasn't difficult, in fact it never entered our minds.
QUESTION #5
I find Valerie Cherish to be a lot like David Brent, was the BBC's "The Office" an inspiration?
Michael Patrick King
No. The idea of an anti-hero is an element that both shows have. The "outsider" who thinks they're an insider. But the shows are so different in fabric. The BBC Office examines the minutia of the mundane, brilliantly. I think our show examines television as an emotional battlefield.
QUESTION #6
I have quite a few favorite scenes, but what is probably my favorite is Valerie explaining to Shayne why she thinks Jesus Christ would approve of reality shows. Did you and Lisa Kudrow work out the dialogue to this scene? How did it come about?
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The writing process on The Comeback is that we work in the writing room to explore and dig for the most "Valerie" way to react to something. |
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Michael Patrick King
The writing process on The Comeback is that we work in the writing room to explore and dig for the most "Valerie" way to react to something. That scene is typical of the very unique way the writers, Lisa and I all worked on the scripts.
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Video
Watch the promos, trailers and interviews for the show.
 Watch preview
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