Lisa Kudrow to star in HBO sitcom

LOS ANGELES  — Lisa Kudrow isn’t waiting for “Friends” to become a distant memory — she’s already signed on for a new sitcom that sounds tailor made for her.

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Kudrow will star in and executive produce “The Comeback,” which has received a 14-episode order from HBO, the premium cable channel said Tuesday.

She plays a former sitcom star trying to revive her career. Kudrow co-wrote the pilot episode with Michael Patrick King, who also is serving as an executive producer. An air date was not announced.

King was executive producer for HBO’s “Sex and the City.” “The Comeback” is the first sitcom picked up by HBO since “Sex and the City” ended its six-year run last spring, leaving a void at the channel.

Kudrow played ditsy Phoebe Buffay in NBC’s hit sitcom “Friends,” which ended in May after 10 years. Her film roles include “Analyze This,” its sequel “Analyze That” and “The Opposite of Sex.”

Former stars of “Seinfeld” have mostly found that success hard to top. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander each had a flop after the show ended. Alexander is trying again with the freshman series “Listen Up” on CBS.