Lisa Kudrow Watches Friends to Fall Asleep; Talks Conan O’Brien Friendship and The Comeback

0:01 -Our first guest tonight is an Emmy Award winning actress,

0:03 you know from her iconic roles in "Friends"

0:05 and "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."

0:06 In addition to her work in "Web Therapy,"

0:09 "Easy A," and "Analyze This," she's the co-creator,

0:12 executive producer, and star of "The Comeback."

0:14 The series finale premieres Sunday, May 10th on HBO and HBO Max.

0:16 Please welcome back to the show, Lisa Kudrow, everybody.

0:20 Cheers and applause]♪♪♪♪ -Hello, Lisa.

0:37 I'm so happy you're back.

0:38 -Hi!

0:38 Yeah, me too.

0:39 Thanks.

0:40 -This is, uh, I want to talk

0:42 about "The Comeback," but I heard something recently,

0:44 which is you like to go to bed watching a sitcom?

0:46 -Yes.

0:46 I want to laugh before I go to bed.

0:48 -Yes.

0:48 That's very nice.

0:49 I think some people like to, like, you know,

0:51 bring down their energy, but you like to...

0:53 -just enjoy, have a part— -Oh, no.

0:54 That calms me down.

0:55 -That helps calm you down.

0:56 -Yeah.

0:56 But you recently started watching a sitcom to put yourself to bed at night?

1:01 -Yeah.

1:01 That's right.

1:01 -And what— what are you— what have you moved on to?

1:04 -I finally...well, I finally finished "Friends."-[ Laughs] Okay.

1:07 Audience cheers] So had you...

1:09 Audience cheers louder] Had you ever watched it?

1:12 Did you watch it when it was airing?

1:13 -Well, the first couple seasons, yeah.

1:16 -Okay, gotcha.

1:17 -Then you're busy.

1:18 -Gotcha.

1:18 -And then— and then, you know, by the end,

1:20 I don't even know what the other scenes were.

1:22 Laughs] Right.

1:23 -You know?

1:23 And so there, it felt like there were episodes I didn't see.

1:27 -That's really amazing.

1:29 And you said you finished it, which is great.

1:30 That means you enjoyed it?

1:31 -Oh yeah.

1:32 No, I did.

1:32 Chuckles] -Well, again, you're the one who's saying, like,

1:36 after two seasons, I stopped watching when you were making it.

1:39 -You're right.

1:40 Yeah.

1:40 Yeah.

1:41 -But I like, I mean, again, I think it's I mean,

1:43 it holds up so well to the point that I was telling— I remember,

1:46 um, we were on a flight, my wife and I,

1:48 and she was watching old "Friends" and I was like watching a movie.

1:52 And I realized at one point, like, she's like,

1:54 "If you want to watch 'Friends,' just watch

1:55 it." because I was just watching without sound.

1:58 I was watching "Friends" without sound, and it was just still funny to me.

2:02 Like how just you guys were all so in the pocket.

2:05 -Yeah.

2:05 It's true.

2:06 That's me too, watching it.

2:08 Just absolutely everyone is making my la— making me laugh my head off, yeah.

2:13 -Also, it's really funny to watch without

2:14 sound because like there's a long I mean,

2:16 the audience reacts so hard to certain jokes

2:18 that you guys are just fully just like standing,

2:20 waiting to— until you can talk again.

2:23 -Trying to live a life in the sea.

2:26 Laughs] Yeah.

2:26 -Right.

2:27 -It must have made it very hard.

2:28 -Freeze.

2:29 Laughs]-[ Audience laughs] -Yeah.

2:31 -Um, now, "Friends" was the show where you worked very hard.

2:35 -Yes.

2:35 -It came out— One season would come out a year.

2:38 And then later, now you're doing "The Comeback" and you're like,

2:41 we're just going to do one every ten years.

2:43 Laughs] -You're like, I don't want that pace anymore.

2:45 This is one of the craziest shows.

2:47 We had your co-star Dan on.

2:48 Like, so this is a show that you have done— this is

2:51 the third season and it has been 20 years since the premiere.

2:54 -It's really, like— -More than 20.

2:56 -It's unbelievable.

2:57 -I know.

2:58 -But this is a character, Valerie Cherish,

2:59 which in, I guess 2005 when it premiered.

3:01 Is that right?

3:02 Am I getting the year right?

3:02 -Yes, it did.

3:03 2005.

3:04 -So this is about like a former star who was joining the cast of a reality show.

3:08 -And the observation was— -A cast of a sitcom.

3:11 -Right, that they were making a reality show.

3:12 -Right.

3:13 She had an audition for a sitcom, and she was doing this reality show,

3:16 and she didn't realize that if you don't get this sitcom,

3:19 you don't get the reality show.

3:21 Laughs] -It's a companion thing.

3:22 -But you guys at the time, in 2005,

3:24 made the observation that, like reality shows,

3:26 was what everybody was worried about.

3:28 -Well, yes.

3:29 And then you could also see,

3:30 I don't know if you remember or were out of college in 2005.

3:36 Audience laughs] -I was, I was.

3:37 -Okay.

3:37 -Thank you.

3:38 -But a lot of, you know, they weren't doing as many overall deals for writers.

3:43 And there were fewer sitcoms starting to...

3:46 you know what I mean?

3:47 -Yes, it was the sort of the decline of like that big pilot

3:49 season where they were— everybody was trying to make 20 shows a year.

3:52 -Yes.

3:52 -And because— And there— 2004, it was the wild Wild West with reality shows.

3:57 And there were no Housewives yet.

3:59 -Right.

4:00 -But...

4:01 Audience laughs] -There was a time when there were no Housewives.

4:06 -For young people it's haunting to know.

4:08 -I know.

4:09 -There was a period of time in American

4:10 history -where we did not have— -It's true.

4:12 -Don't ask how we got along.

4:13 Laughs] -You know.

4:15 -We managed.

4:16 -May have been listening to radio,-[ Laughs] -But may have been.

4:20 May as well have been.

4:21 God damn it.

4:23 Laughter] -Take two.

4:24 -Socia media you...

4:25 -We'll rerecord.

4:26 -You can, yeah you can rerecord.

4:27 Anyway, so mad at myself.

4:30 -Yeah.

4:30 For your grammar?

4:31 -Yeah.

4:32 Laughter] -Valerie Cherish,

4:33 I did not know was originally a character you developed at The Groundlings.

4:37 It was that kind of actor.

4:39 -No.

4:39 It was, yeah.

4:40 Very self-important.

4:41 -Phony.

4:42 -Yeah.

4:43 -You know, it was called your favorite actress on a talk show.

4:46 -And what— -That's how I did it.

4:48 -What was the observation?

4:49 What would your favorite actress on a talk

4:50 show do that you had observed as being phony?

4:52 -Well, there are different things,

4:54 but one of them that just made me laugh hard was her plea to the audience.

4:59 -Okay.

4:59 -You know?

5:00 Just, you know, because, you know,

5:01 what's really important to me now is saving the planet.

5:05 You know, please, please, please save the planet people.

5:11 Laughter] As a favor to me.

5:13 I'll love you for it, I really will.

5:16 You know, as if.

5:17 Yeah.

5:18 -And then, um, Valerie Cherish, like she became this, like, uh, you know,

5:21 and again, like, reality was the observation now and then in this season,

5:25 like it's AI, which is— people are talking about AI, you know,

5:28 in our industry, I think in the same way they talked about reality television.

5:32 -An extinction event potentially.

5:34 -But did you know when you realize like, "Oh,

5:36 AI." Were you— did you at least observe like,

5:39 "Oh, this is a reason to bring Valerie back and have something new to say?

5:42 -Yeah, exactly.

5:42 Michael Patrick King, we had talked about different things and he said, "Okay,

5:47 she's on— she's finally offered the lead in a multi-camera sitcom,

5:53 but it's the first one written by AI." -Right.

5:55 -And I went, "Yes." Of course she would throw herself into that.

6:00 -She's been a fantastic vessel to show us the changes in our industry.

6:04 -Yeah, the show has.

6:05 -It's really amazing.

6:06 -Because we got canceled.

6:07 -Yeah.

6:08 -All those years ago.

6:09 -That's amazing.

6:10 -Invited back for one season.

6:11 -Yes.

6:12 -Ten years later.

6:13 I like— it takes you guys like ten years to percolate the perfect idea.

6:15 But you've done it again.

6:17 -We did.

6:17 But this is the last time now.

6:19 -Well, you say that.

6:20 -I say it and I mean it.

6:22 -Well.

6:22 Laughter] I will write that down on a piece of paper and...

6:26 -And I'll sign it.

6:26 -...see you in ten years.

6:28 I have more to ask you.

6:29 We'll be right back.

6:30 -Val, I'm so, so sorry I broke your Emmy.

6:32 Oh, my God!

6:34 -Oh, my God!

6:35 -All right.

6:36 -I wish I was dead, I wish I was dead.

6:37 -I should be [bleep] -No, no, no.

6:39 -I should be dead like my brother!

6:41 -Hey!

6:41 -I should be dead!

6:42 -Look at me, look at me.

6:43 Look at me.

6:44 Okay.

6:44 Shh.

6:46 All right.

6:47 Now, it broke.

6:48 It's fine.

6:49 Okay?

6:50 -It's not.

6:50 -It's just— it's just a talisman.

6:52 Okay?

6:53 And it served its purpose.

6:55 The night I won that, my husband and I got back together.

7:00 Okay?

7:01 We both showed up for a dear friend in the hospital,

7:05 and it taught me what's really important.

7:08 And that's relationships.

7:10 -I found someone who can fix it.

7:12 -Someone can fix it?

7:13 Okay.

7:13 It's getting fixed.

7:14 So.

7:15 Laughs] -Welcome back, we're here with Lisa Kudrow.

7:19 That was a clip from "The Comeback."[ Cheers and applause] -Um.

7:22 Fantastic cast.

7:23 -Yeah.

7:24 -Fantastic group of actors.

7:25 -That was Matt Cook.

7:26 -He's so good.

7:27 -He's very funny.

7:28 Um, your, uh, your son also, uh, was in the show this year.

7:32 -Yes!

7:32 -Julian.

7:33 Here he is.

7:34 He plays somebody on the tech— the tech side.

7:36 -Evan the AI tech support guy.

7:38 -And, um, how was it?

7:39 I mean, do you have to kind of separate yourself from like, I mean,

7:42 assuming the mother-son relationship is not a healthy one to have on set.

7:45 You have to be two actors.

7:46 -No, no, I was pretty great at that because he was— well, he was really good.

7:50 -It was Evan.

7:51 -Yeah.

7:52 -Except there was one time where I was just really tired.

7:55 I mean, Valerie is in every scene.

7:57 -Yeah.

7:57 Of course.

7:58 -Big mistake.

7:58 -Total mistake.

8:00 -And so I was just really tired and walked into the cast— you know,

8:03 there's cast waiting rooms now.

8:05 And on the couch I saw my son and just went, "Oh, yeah.

8:09 Oh, family.

8:09 That's great.

8:10 I mean, oh, thank"— and just sort of walked over

8:12 and crawled on him on the couch and just went,

8:17 "awww." I hadn't told anyone that my son...

8:22 Laughter] ...was on the show.

8:25 So a couple of these actors that I'd

8:28 been working with and knew definitely went...

8:31 "What's happening?" -Yeah.

8:35 -Like, I hope she doesn't come over to me.

8:37 -Yeah.

8:37 -Probably I would imagine.

8:39 -I mean, like, then you're like, I mean, you hope they don't go straight to HR.

8:42 -and be like...

8:43 -Yeah, no, no.

8:44 -Yeah, yeah.

8:44 Nobody was like, boundaries were crossed.

8:46 -Someone snitched, "Yeah, that's her son." "Oh,

8:48 that's your son." And my son was like, "Okay.

8:50 All right, mom."[ Laughter] You all right?

8:55 Yeah.

8:55 -Uh, we mentioned, um, The Groundlings, which is incredible,

8:59 you know, sketch improv theater in L.A.

9:00 You were pointed to The Groundlings, uh, by the great Jon Lovitz.

9:04 -Yes, my brother's best friend.

9:06 So growing up, Jon Lovitz was always there.

9:09 -And so did he sort of know that it was something you wanted to do?

9:12 And he said, "Oh, you should go check out

9:13 The Groundlings?" -Kind— I wanted to when I was a kid.

9:15 -Yeah.

9:17 -And in junior high and I wrote sketches and stuff,

9:18 and then I threw it all, set it aside.

9:21 -Yeah.

9:22 -But then after college, I decided, okay.

9:24 And I called Jon and I said, I want to be an actor.

9:26 And he went, "Great." Isn't that nice?

9:28 -Yes.

9:29 -"Oh, great.

9:30 Okay.

9:30 Well, listen, okay, I took a lot of crappy acting classes and stuff,

9:35 so go to The Groundlings, all right?

9:37 The Groundlings, you got to learn improv,

9:39 and that's where you got to go." -Yeah.

9:41 -That's fantastic.

9:42 -It was really great, yeah.

9:43 -You also, as a young actor, met Conan O'Brien.

9:46 -Oh, right.

9:47 Because I called The Groundlings and they said,

9:50 "Yeah, well, sure, you can take classes here.

9:53 When's the last time you performed?" -And I said, "Junior high." -"Great.

9:56 We're going to send you to...

9:57 this again," it's somewhere else.

9:59 -Oh, so they— they were like, "We're going to make you wait.

10:01 We would like you to do some,

10:02 like preparatory classes." -And that's where you met Conan?

10:05 -Yeah.

10:06 The second class, because I went to the first class

10:08 and was so mortified at what it was and thought,

10:12 "Oh, no, maybe I can't be an actor." -Yeah.

10:16 -Because, you know, they do like spaceball

10:18 and then "be angry" and everyone's, you know,

10:21 just going, "Arrrg!" And I went, "No,

10:24 I can't do that, I don't think."-[ Laughs] -And so.

10:27 -Because again, you're a college graduate.

10:28 You had studied biology at Vassar.

10:31 So, like, you had a degree for like

10:33 another thing and now you're playing invisible catch.

10:35 -Right.

10:36 -Yeah.

10:37 -That's what I'm saying.

10:38 -I could get you saying, like,

10:39 "I think this might not be the best use of my biology degree." -No.

10:43 Well...

10:43 -Yeah.

10:44 -No.

10:44 -Yeah.

10:45 -I wasn't.

10:46 -Eventually it turned out to be.

10:47 -It turned out to be.

10:48 But I mean, I was just so embarrassed

10:50 for everybody and myself and Cynthia Szigeti— great teacher,

10:57 kept yelling "Commit, commit!" And I don't know.

11:00 I'm here.

11:00 Aren't I committed?

11:01 I don't know what that means.

11:03 And so second class, I dragged myself,

11:06 I almost didn't go and I just got there late and just watched and "Oh,

11:11 there's a new guy there." He's like, you know, six, five.

11:15 Whatever.

11:15 He has red hair and he's doing lift a disc and the emotional adjustments.

11:21 But he's not embarrassing.

11:23 He's just being whatever, like, a little angry or like, and he was good.

11:30 And I and— and she said, "Great commitment,

11:32 Conan, great commitment." And I went, okay,

11:35 "Well, I don't know what name she just said because I've never heard it before.

11:39 But yes, that's what it is." And I just made a beeline for him and went,

11:43 "Hi, I'm Lisa." -It's incredible to see somebody.

11:45 Yeah, who can do it and then make you believe you can do it too.

11:48 He also, um, this is his audition

11:51 for when he auditioned for "Late Night." -Right.

11:53 -And, uh.

11:54 Legend has it you helped him pick out his jacket.

11:58 -I went shopping with him.

11:59 -Wow.

12:00 Yeah.

12:00 We were close friends.

12:01 -And so you both— you both were like, "This one."[ Laughter] -Yeah.

12:07 Laughs] It'll stand out.

12:09 Never seen anyone...

12:10 -By the way, that paid off as well.

12:12 -...with a white jacket.

12:13 I also knew, it won't matter what you wear.

12:15 -Yeah.

12:15 You're totally right.

12:16 -Because you're going to do this.

12:18 -Yeah, well, you were right.

12:19 And I'm glad— Jon Lovitz was right as well.

12:22 And I'm so glad you got pointed to The Groundlings.

12:24 And I'm so glad you're here today.

12:25 It's so wonderful to see you again.

12:26 -Me too.

12:27 See?

12:27 -You guys, Lisa Kudrow everybody.

12:28 The series finale of "The Comeback," although I don't really buy it,

12:32 premieres Sunday, May 10th on HBO and HBO Max.

12:34 We'll be right back with Nicholas Braun.