Lisa Kudrow does not like the way sitcoms are done now, and she has got no problem being vocal about it. During the interview with fellow actress and comedian Lily Tomlin for the Spring 2026 Issue of Interview Magazine, Kudrow (best known for her portrayal of Phoebe Buffay in Friends) discussed comedy, her career and her opinions on the evolution of television.Sitcoms were brought up at the table that day, whether they are getting better or their quality is declining. Kudrow made some of her points quite clearly. She stated that she does not watch the newest multi-camera sitcoms because she does not consider them believable, and writers now have too many fears of hurting someone's feelings through their humor. She elaborated:"I wish they were evolving. ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’ were really funny and really well written."What did Lisa Kudrow say her problem is with modern sitcoms?Lisa Kudrow went on to say,"But I’m not drawn to new sitcoms that are multi-camera in front of an audience because I’m not buying it."Kudrow said that she is not sure if it is all the single-camera shows that she has watched over the years that make the traditional-format sitcom seem weird to her, or if it is actually the writing that is the issue. Along with that, she said,"I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve seen too many single-camera sitcoms—I think we need to get back to being able to tell jokes."She further said,"I feel like we’ve been too afraid to make jokes that might make people uncomfortable."Lisa Kudrow then explained what she thinks actually makes comedy work, and her answer was simple: surprise. Good comedy, she said, is about jokes that people did not see coming; the jokes that hit hardest are never the safe ones. They are the ones that push just a little past where you expected the show to go, and that element of surprise is exactly what she thinks is missing from a lot of what is being made right now. She said,"But the really good ones, they’re not tame jokes. They’re jokes that are kind of, ‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Comedy is about surprise. You need things you didn’t see coming."What did Lisa Kudrow say about Phoebe and how people saw her?The interview also talked about Lisa Kudrow's experiences playing Phoebe on Friends (the famous show that aired from 1994 to 2004 and is one of the most-watched comedies in the history of TV). She explained that when the show was at its peak and when people saw her on the street or wherever, all they kept saying was how "ditz" the character was, while they did love her.She replied that calling Phoebe a ditz is not accurate, to her own understanding of the term. She also used the word "ditz" to describe another meaning; in 1994, calling someone "ditzy" basically meant that a person did not follow rules or did not behave according to society's expectations. By that definition, sure, Phoebe was not conventional. But she was never stupid, and Kudrow made that very clear. "She wasn't stupid," she said.What has Lisa Kudrow been working on?Lisa Kudrow has made a name for herself during the past twenty years since her role as Phoebe Buffay on Friends, through participation in various projects, including the mockumentary The Comeback, which she created along with Michael Patrick King and wrote, and in which she portrayed the character Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom actress trying to stay relevant in a totally new television landscape.The show initially aired in 2005 and was then cancelled; however, it returned nearly ten years later for a second season and has just returned for a third season, which is going to be the final season (airing in 2026). The new season takes on artificial intelligence in Hollywood, with Valerie's new show being partly written by an AI, which feels very on the nose for where the entertainment industry actually is right now.The Comeback has earned Kudrow Emmy nominations across each of its seasons, and its final run has been received very warmly by critics. The Interview Magazine profile with Tomlin was in part a celebration of the show coming back one last time and of Lisa Kudrow's career more broadly, which has been defined by smart choices, sharp writing, and a clear sense of what makes comedy actually work, which she is clearly still thinking hard about even now.