Lisa Kudrow’s Emmy ‘Comeback’: Third Nomination 20 Years After Her First For HBO Comedy

Don’t call it a comeback — just consistency. Lisa Kudrow this morning earned her third consecutive Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nomination for playing sitcom actress Valerie Cherish on HBO‘s The Comeback.

While the nominations are indeed consecutive — one for each season of the showbiz satire — they came with large gaps between them matching the show’s unique release pattern: an original one-season run followed by two one-season revivals more than a decade apart.

Kudrow was nominated for Season 1 in 2006, for Season 2 in 2015 and for the third and final season in 2026.

While these are the longest spans between three acting nominations for the same role on the same show, this is not the largest gap between two consecutive noms.

Laurie Metcalf earned a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nomination for ABC’s Roseanne each year from 1992-1995, winning the first three times. Metcalf’s fifth nomination in the category for her role as Jackie came 23 years after the third for the Roseanne revival.

Jason Bateman got a Lead Actor In a Comedy Series nomination for Fox’s Arrested Development in 2005 and a second nomination for the character in the same category eight years later when the show was revived by Netflix.

(If happens) The Comeback‘s strong Emmy showing today was capped by an Outstanding Comedy Series nomination — the show’s first, setting a record for the longest period for a series to land a nomination in the top Emmy category after its debut — 21 years.

Kudrow, a nine-time Emmy nominee and a winner for her other signature role, as Phoebe on NBC’s Friends, is seeking her first trophy for The Comeback, whose third season featured Valerie starring in the first TV sitcom written by AI.