Did you clock all the hot gay dancers on The Comeback season premiere?
A talented group of Broadway hunks welcomed the return of Valerie Cherish.
Mark
The world got a little brighter with the return of Lisa Kudrow’s The Comeback.
After nearly 12 years, the third and allegedly final season of the HBO cult favorite arrived on Sunday with Kudrow’s beloved character Valerie Cherish ready to razzle dazzle in Chicago on Broadway.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Things have changed since we last saw Cherish winning an Emmy way back in 2014. Instead of a reality show or documentary crew filming her every move, it’s Cherish’s Gen Z social media assistant Patience capturing all the “I don’t need to see that” cringe moments.
The opening scene is set during the 2023 writer’s strike as the latest in stunt casting (apologies to Lisa Rinna, Erika Jayne, Ariana Madix, et al.) finds Cherish set to take on the role of Roxie Hart.
Without spoiling what happens next, we’ll just say Cherish’s first audition of “We Both Reached For the Gun” while sitting on the lap of the actor playing Billy Flynn does not go as planned.
Besides the laughs, it’s that gorgeous actor (Timothy Hughes) that had us doing a double take. Who is that tall drink of water? More on him in a second.
On further inspection, the entire scene is filled with a slew of very talented Broadway performers and dancers, including seven out and very handsome gay men.
Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes…
In addition to Hughes, the episode featured Fire Island star Nick Adams, former NYC ballet principal dancer Robbie Fairchild, Ahmad Simmons, Brandon Leffler, Ricardo A. Zayas, and Vincent Noiseux.
Whether you watched the season 3 premiere of The Comeback or not, it is imperative that you know more about these red-hot queer thespians.
Timothy Hughes
In The Comeback, Hughes plays Stephen, an actor cast as Billy Flynn opposite Valerie Cherish’s Roxie Hart in Chicago.
The 6’7″ actor’s Broadway credits include Hadestown, the revival of Sweeney Todd, and Frozen. You’ve also seen him on the big screen in The Greatest Showman and as a hunky gladiator on …And Just Like That.
Hughes also does a lot of charity work for the Ali Forney Center in NYC and has appeared in the annual Broadway Cares burlesque benefit Broadway Bares.
In 2025, Hughes became engaged to his longtime partner Zachary Cohen.
Nick Adams
In The Comeback, Adams plays a dancer named Scott who gives Valerie Cherish some some hard truth.
In addition to his breakout film role in 2022’s Fire Island, Adams has a long list of Broadway credits, including: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the revival of A Chorus Line, Falsettos and La Cage Aux Folles.
Television roles include The Other Two, FBI: Most Wanted, New Girl and As the World Turns.
Adams most recently wrapped a critically-acclaimed performance starring in the Off-Broadway production of Drag: The Musical.
In November, Adams and his partner of more than 15 years, fellow Broadway actor Kyle Brown, got engaged under the Eiffel Tower.
Robbie Fairchild
In The Comeback, Fairchild plays Geoffrey, the director of Chicago that gets into it with Valerie Cherish.
After studying at the School of American Ballet, Fairchild rose to be a principal dancer at the NYC Ballet.
In 2015, he received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for An American in Paris. On the big screen, Fairchild appeared as the Jellicle feline Munkustrap in the 2019 film adaptation of Cats.
Most recently, he starred on the 2025 Amazon Prime ballet series Etoile.
Ahmad Simmons
On The Comeback, Simmons plays Stephen, a dancer that offers Valerie Cherish some kindness before it all goes up in flames.
Simmons’ Broadway credits include Cats, Carousel, Hadestown, West Side Story, and Illinoise.
In 2019, he starred as Ben Vereen in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon opposite Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams.
Simmons is currently in previews for the new Broadway production of Gotta Dance.
Brandon Leffler
In The Comeback, Leffler is one of the background Chicago dancers.
Currently based in Los Angeles, Leffler is a faculty member at the esteemed LA Dance Magic academy. Previous Broadway roles include On the Town, Wicked, and Cinderella.
Leffler’s television credits include Gossip Girl, Apple TV’s Physical, Dancing with the Stars, and Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales.
Most recently he appeared alongside Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in the Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Leffler shares a son with his husband, writer Danny Fernandez.
Ricardo A. Zayas
In The Comeback, Zayas is one of the background Chicago dancers.
The Puerto Rican actor and dancer’s Broadway credits include Hamilton, Head Over Heels, Moulin Rouge: The Musical!, and Buena Vista Social Club.
Zayas film roles include appearances in tick, tick… BOOM!, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. On the small screen, Zayas has starred on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Hawkeye and the Netflix miniseries Halston.
Most recently, Zayas appeared alongside Ashton Kutcher in Ryan Murphy’s The Beauty.
Vincent Noiseux
On The Comeback, Noiseux was one of the Chicago background dancers.
Originally from Montreal, Noiseux appeared on the Canadian versions of So You Think You Can Dance as well as America’s Best Dance Crew.
After moving to LA, he performed alongside major pop divas like Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Beyoncé. And in 2015, he was a part of Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Noiseux has appeared on Glee, Days of Our Lives, and The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman.
He’s currently a judge on the Canadian dance series Revolution.
New episodes of The Comeback stream Sundays at 10:30 pm on HBO Max.
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