Opening up about the period that saw her shoot to fame as part of the Friends cast, actress Lisa Kudrow has admitted she has mixed feelings about the resurgence of 1990s nostalgia.
Lisa Kudrow has mixed feelings about the resurgence of 1990s nostalgia.
The actress, 62, made the remark as she reflected on her time on Friends while promoting her latest project.
Speaking to PEOPLE during the premiere of The Comeback season three at SXSW, where she discussed renewed interest in the decade that helped define her career, Lisa said: “Oh, well, the first part, that younger people are interested, I mean it happens every 20 to 30 years anyway, so yeah, it’s time.
“But it also reminds me of the misinterpretation or the interpretation of history – it’s really, it’s not reliable reporting and I think should remind us unless you were there, you don’t, you don’t really know.”
Lisa rose to prominence playing Phoebe Buffay on Friends from 1994 to 2004 alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry.
The cast later reunited for Friends: The Reunion in 2021.
Lisa is now reprising her role as Valerie Cherish in The Comeback, which first aired in 2005, returned in 2014, and has now been revived again more than a decade later, with the third season set against the backdrop of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Lisa also considered where her Friends character might be now, saying Phoebe “is living in Connecticut with Mike (Paul Rudd) and their kids, and she’s in charge of the arts program for the school” and “the advocate for her kids because they’re different like she was”.
In The Comeback, Lisa returns as Valerie Cherish, navigating a modern entertainment industry shaped by new technology and social media.
The storyline includes references to the 2023 strikes, with then SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher telling members: “AI is coming after all of us.”
The series also features returning cast members Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, Damian Young and Tim Bagley, alongside new additions including Andrew Scott and Abbi Jacobson.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the show’s future, Lisa said: “We need to say ‘third and final’.
“I don’t know if I’ll want to do it again in 10 years, so let’s be done, that way no one is asking what’s next or whether we will even want to do more.
“The most respectful thing we can do for the audience and for the character is make it a three-part story. It’s a trilogy, and this is the end.”
Lisa Kudrow has mixed feelings about 1990s nostalgia
