The Comeback

In 2023, when rehearsals for her Broadway debut in Chicago go sideways, Valerie retreats to LA and joins the picket line during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike. Three years later, with her career plateaued, Billy comes to Valerie with an exciting offer: the new steaming service NuNet wants her to star in their upcoming multi-cam. The catch? The show is going to be written by AI.

After a successful meeting with the NuNet team, Val accepts the offer to star in How's That?! - a new sitcom they're creating for her - but the president of the network tells her that the AI angle is a secret. Then, after meeting the married showrunners at the production meeting, Val woos a legendary pilot director by sharing the secret.

On the first day of How's That rehearsals, Valerie bonds with her new castmates, clashes with her new costume designer, and discovers that the showrunner Josh feels threatened by AI. Then, Valerie's new hairdresser Tommy stirs up her unresolved feelings over her former hairdresser Mickey's death.

After taping the pilot, Valerie welcomes a new director but is forced to do damage control when the AI writing program delivers an unusable script for the second episode. Reluctantly leaning into her executive producer role, Valerie appeals to the showrunner Mary and a very distracted Billy to get the studio involved.

Faced with a new and unqualified showrunner, Valerie does everything she can to save the day and keep her show afloat - even if it means making a deal with a very familiar devil from her showbiz past… all to Jane's disapproval.

As Mark heads off to Burning Man, Valerie finds herself alone amid a media meltdown after news of her AI-written show is somehow leaked to the public. Later, Val is further shocked to discover that a member of her team has not signed the studio's NDA

Valerie tries to repair the damage caused by all the negative AI press, which is pitting her against her TV crew and threatening to hurt the launch of her new show. With all that on her plate, Val agrees to help save Mark's reality show job by making an appearance on Finance Dudes

After a successful premiere, Valerie is whisked to an impromptu meeting with three TV heavyweights - who urge her to come out against AI at an upcoming press conference. Later, Billy shares his own exciting opportunity, and Val learns the shocking truth behind NuNet's strategy for How's That?! - causing her to make some choices about her career and life.