As ‘The Comeback’ and ‘Hacks’ End, Valerie Cherish and Deborah Vance Are Emmy Competitors for the First and Last Time — SkimNews
SkimNews Take
Both series ending in the same Emmy cycle forecloses the chance for one to outlive the other, making this race the only verdict on which late-career model — the perpetual striver or the established icon — has lasting resonance.
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- "Hacks" Season 5 opens with Deborah Vance pursuing an EGOT, already holding a Daytime Emmy for hosting the 1992 game show "Begongle" and a Tony as a producer on the 2005 musical "Spamalot."
- Jean Smart has seven Emmys with comedy actress wins for "Hacks" in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025 — every year the show aired — and an eighth win is described as "very likely" this year.
- Lisa Kudrow earns her third lead actress nomination for "The Comeback" (after 2006 and 2015) and her first in outstanding comedy writing, shared with Michael Patrick King; her only real Emmy is the 1998 supporting comedy actress win for "Friends."
- Valerie Cherish — Kudrow's character — won a fictional outstanding comedy supporting actress Emmy at the end of "The Comeback" Season 2, for a gritty version of herself in the in-show "Seeing Red."
- With Smart at five wins as Deborah Vance, another victory would tie Don Knotts ("The Andy Griffith Show") and Candice Bergen ("Murphy Brown") for second place; a 2026 win would put her one behind Julia Louis-Dreyfus's six for "Veep."
- Approximately 22 EGOT holders exist currently, climbing to 28 with honorary awards; Steven Spielberg recently completed his EGOT via a previously undisclosed 2022 Tony and a recent Grammy.
- Both "Hacks" and "The Comeback" are ending their runs, making this the final Emmy matchup between Deborah Vance and Valerie Cherish.
Why it matters: Smart's seven Emmys and uninterrupted comedy actress streak make her the heavy favorite in what amounts to a farewell coronation, while Kudrow's single real Emmy makes her a long-shot spoiler. The real stakes are historical: Smart is now within one win of tying Julia Louis-Dreyfus for most wins playing the same character, and this marks the last Emmy cycle for two acclaimed comedies.
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