By Jennifer Silverman Arguably, Lisa Kudrow has never been funnier than when she appears as Valerie Cherish on Hot Ones in the new season of The Comeback. Clueless to the format of the (very real) interview show (answering questions while eating ever-increasing spicy hot wings), Cherish’s exasperation, befuddlement, and visceral agony is a comic wonder to watch. It’s almost a throwaway gag — the scene literally runs behind the credits of a late-season episode — but proves that when Kudrow commits to the bit, she’s hard to match. That’s important to remember, because over its two decades, The Comeback hasn’t always been discussed as a pure comedy. Instead, the series receives well-deserved props for its prophetic critique of the television industry. As it follows Valerie, an aging, self-absorbed sitcom star struggling to stay employed and relevant, The Comeback also lays bare the larger problems facing the medium.…