Lisa Kudrow's The Comeback

According to the timeline of television history, the first official reality show started in 1948, with Candid Camera. Reality television started for me in 1992, when Real World first debuted. Younger me was excited about this new way to look at the outside world, and it gave me perspective on the possibilities that were previously beyond my scope. The first season, held in New York, featured female cast mates who were active in social causes, who had creative passions, and who had fiercely independent personalities. In the brilliant reality satire The Comeback, Lisa Kudrow’s character Valerie Cherish has a scene in a bubble bath confessional. She is softly lit by candlelight, and she is covered by an excess of bubbles that expertly frame her face. When her husband comes into the scene, he gets excited by the sensual picture, only to find that she is wearing her swimsuit under the bubbles. The

Kennedy Jr.’s cousin. Instead of focusing on the fact that this woman has three Emmys and a Peabody, the show highlights her as a lonely widow with only her books to hold on to. Radziwill is a New York Times bestseller and she has over a decade of experience with ABC News under her belt, yet the portrait RHONY paints is a Carrie Bradshaw doppelganger who lacks focus. Bethenny Frankel joined the cast again this year after being away for a few seasons, building a multi-media empire. Viewers don’t get an in-depth look behind the genius that spawned her own signature cocktail line that netted her an estimated $100 million dollars, but they do get to see Frankel go through an emotional rollercoaster after a failed marriage. We don’t get to see what drives this fiercely independent woman to create endless products or witness her creative process, but we do get to see her dissect her damaged history with her