Lisa Kudrow Shares Her Thoughts on the Missing Spark in Today’s Multi-Cam Shows
Lisa Kudrow suggests that the era of shocking lines in multi-camera comedies may have come to an end.
While promoting the return of The Comeback, the former Friends actress expressed her growing disinterest in contemporary comedies, particularly those that lack innovation and take fewer risks.
“I wish they were evolving,” Kudrow shared during an interview with Lily Tomlin for Interview Magazine. This exchange followed Tomlin’s inquiry about the future of comedy.
Kudrow reflected on the humor found in classic series, stating, “30 Rock and Seinfeld and Friends were really funny and really well written. But I’m not drawn to new sitcoms that are multi-camera in front of an audience because I’m not buying it. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve seen too many single-camera sitcoms—I think we need to get back to being able to tell jokes. I feel like we’ve been too afraid to make jokes that might make people uncomfortable.”
When Tomlin suggested that current multi-camera shows are not lacking in humor, Kudrow countered that the jokes often lack a certain edge. “The really good ones, they’re not tame jokes,” she noted. “They’re jokes that are kind of, ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Comedy is about surprise. You need things you didn’t see coming.”
Kudrow returns in the third and final season of The Comeback, where her character Valerie takes on the lead role in a new sitcom titled How’s That?, which is secretly penned by an AI program. As reality show cameras document this new chapter in her career, she navigates the cultural complexities of Hollywood in 2026.
Initially premiering in 2005, The Comeback enjoyed a long-awaited second season in 2014. Season three debuted last month on HBO.
