“The Comeback” and “Friends” actress recalled her first brush with reality TV ahead of creating beloved character Valerie Cherish.

Lisa Kudrow calls Survivor winner ‘despicable,’ horrified by reality TV behavior: ‘The end of civilization’

"The Comeback" and "Friends" actress recalled her first brush with reality TV ahead of creating beloved character Valerie Cherish.

Joey Nolfi

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March 18, 2026 10:03 a.m. ET

Lisa Kudrow at 'The Comeback' season 3 premiere at SXSW. Credit:

Gary Miller/WireImage

When it comes to reality TV, after a long day at work, Lisa Kudrow doesn't "need to see that."

As the *Friends* icon readies to bring her beloved character Valerie Cherish back for a third and final season of *The Comeback* later this week, Kudrow opened up about rooting the show in her horrified reaction to early reality TV.

In a new *Hollywood Reporter* cover story, the actress' feelings on the inaugural seasons of *Survivor* and *The Amazing Race *are described as "obsessed and horrified in equal measure." Kudrow offered her own assessment on the shows that ultimately inspired her and *Sex and the City*'s Michael Patrick King to create Cherish, a washed-up sitcom star whose titular comeback is filmed for a reality show.**

Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish in 'The Comeback' season 1. Jessica Miglio/HBO

“I saw the very first season of *Survivor* and loved it. What a phenomenal show, but the guy who won was despicable,” she told the publication, referencing season 1 winner Richard Hatch. “How do people say that he played a better game worthy of $1 million? Why aren’t you rewarding the person who played a great game, didn’t stoop to his level and was a shining example of humanity? That person should get $1 million." (* *has reached out to a representative for Hatch for comment.)

Kudrow added that she remembered thinking at the time, "This is the end of civilization," as she watched divisive personalities succeed on television, and TV execs continue to fund the shows that launched them to stardom.

“Then I watched *Amazing Race *and saw people vomiting on TV in front of the entire nation, crying while their partners screamed, 'Keep going!' It was the most humiliating thing I’d ever seen, and people were signing up for that? How are they going to feel once they realize what they allowed to happen on camera?” Kudrow continued.**

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Those strong emotions, however, led her deeper into developing Cherish, and she and King eventually channeled those early feelings into* The Comeback'*s narrative.

In an exclusive preview of *The Comeback* season 3, King told EW that their approach to Cherish as a character preceded a cultural shift toward vapid celebrity culture spearheaded by stars like the Kardashians.

Richard Hatch on 'Survivor' season 1.

"Twenty years ago, Valerie Cherish was obsessed with how she looked on camera and how her life was coming across. And here we are 21 years later and everybody else is obsessed with how they look on camera and how their lives are coming across," King said.

He added, "I mean, is it possible that everybody turned into Valerie Cherish — curating their lives on camera for social media? What was then considered cringe or needy is now an everyday occurrence. How do I look? Which filter? Which version of my day do I put on? Valerie really was the beginning of that."

*The Comeback* season 3 premieres Sunday on HBO.

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