9 Clips to Remind You Why Kristen Johnston Is One of the Greatest Living Comedic Actors
Tomorrow, Netflix is premiering Leanne, a new sitcom. Some will think of this as a vehicle for stand-up comic Leanne Morgan, which is fair: It is her name in the title, she’s credited as a co-creator and the show revolves around her character, also named Leanne, navigating a midlife split from her longtime husband Bill (Ryan Stiles). Some will categorize it among the many multicam sitcoms for which its co-creator, Chuck Lorre, is known, including Two and A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Dharma & Greg. But discerning viewers will have marked “New Kristen Johnston show” on their calendars as soon as Morgan, during her guest co-host stint, threw to a preview clip on Today’s fourth hour.
For any who doubt whether Johnston should always be considered a headliner — including in Leanne, where Johnston’s character Carol is undeniably the sidekick to her sister, the show’s eponymous protagonist — here are nine bite-sized glimpses at her genius. And if you scroll all the way down, you’ll also find links to three more full episodes the internet’s lazy fans failed to clip.
3rd Rock From the Sun
Johnston had been moderately busy as a guest star in mostly forgotten sitcoms like The 5 Mrs. Buchanans and Hearts Afire before landing her big break in 3rd Rock From the Sun. A quasi-family comedy about four aliens sent to Earth to do recon disguised as humans, Johnston plays Sally, even though back on their home planet, the current “Sally” was a military veteran who had no experience behaving in stereotypically feminine ways. Johnston won three consecutive Emmys for her performance, which showcases her gift for physical comedy.
Sex and the City
Over its six seasons, Sex and the City had a lot of memorable one-off guest stars: pre-Elsbeth Carrie Preston; pre-Justified Raylan Givens; pre-Royal Pains Mark Feuerstein; pre-Mayhem Dean Winters. But if you know the show at all, you remember Johnston’s turn as Lexi Featherston in the show’s final season. A socialite who’s even messier than Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), she has a hilarious entrance — and an indelible exit.
Music & Lyrics
Alex (Hugh Grant) has been living off the royalties from his ‘80s pop hits when he gets an offer to write a song for a Britney Spears-ish ingénue. He’s on the hunt for a lyricist, and then has a chance encounter with songwriting savant Sophie (Drew Barrymore). Before his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the late Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne wrote all the movie’s insanely catchy songs. And as if all that wasn’t enough, Johnston steals all her scenes as Sophie’s sister/Pop! superfan Rhonda.
Bride Wars
Before June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson were podcast royalty, they co-wrote Bride Wars, all about best friends Liv and Emma (Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway) battling over a wedding venue. The movie wasn’t a hit (nor was it, shall we say, as fully realized as it could be), but Johnston is a standout as Deb, a work frenemy of Emma’s who’s as self-regarding as she is unbearable.
Absolutely Fabulous (USA)
The runaway success of the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous naturally spawned knockoffs. The most successful was Cybill (created by Chuck Lorre!), which ran for almost 90 episodes and won Christine Baranski, in the not-Patsy role, an Emmy in 1996. High Society, starring Jean Smart and Mary McDonnell, lasted a season. The official remake, also called Absolutely Fabulous and starring relatively unknown Kathryn Hahn as Eddie, a still-utterly-unknown Zosia Mamet as Eddie’s daughter Saffron and Johnston as Patsy — never got off the ground, maybe because it was attempted more than a decade after the original’s heyday. It doesn’t quite jell even in this clip, but giving Johnston an opportunity to mug is never a bad idea.
Modern Family
Generosity doesn’t come easily to persnickety Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). But when his colleague Brenda (Johnston), mid-divorce, asks to stay with Mitchell, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) talks him into it as a growth experience. Brenda turns out to be even messier than Lexi, putting a white sofa in peril: Johnston’s perfectly controlled performance of Brenda’s reckless wine sloshing is wondrous to behold.
The Exes
After working with Wayne Knight in 3rd Rock From The Sun, Johnston re-teamed with him in The Exes. Johnston plays Holly, a divorce lawyer who encourages three of her clients — Knight, Donald Faison and David Alan Basche — to become roommates across the hall from her place. Attorney and clients bond and bicker over their troubles in the dating world; sometimes Holly also has to commiserate about it with her assistant Eden (Kelly Stables), as in this clip.
Mom
One of the reasons Bonnie (Allison Janney) has had disordered substance use, such that she’s now in recovery, is that she was raised in foster care, cycling through temporary parents and siblings. One such sister was Tammy, with whom Bonnie shared a room when both were teenagers, but whose time together ended after a major betrayal by Bonnie. Tammy’s path got tougher from there, and the two lost touch until Bonnie and the rest of her friends from Alcoholics Anonymous visit a meeting in prison to tell their stories, which is when Bonnie finds out that Tammy is incarcerated there. Bonnie returns with her daughter Christy (Anna Faris) to try to do Tammy a long-overdue amends; Tammy eventually becomes a series regular in the show’s last seasons.
The Righteous Gemstones
Prior to founding the Gemstone Salvation Center, Eli (John Goodman) had a checkered past — wrestler, organized-crime enforcer, what-have-you. In the show’s third season, we learn he’s also connected to a separatist militia through his younger sister May-May (Johnston) when she returns to ask Eli’s help getting her sons away from her increasingly dangerous husband Peter (Steve Zahn). May-May’s disgust at Eli’s luxurious life is one of the season’s biggest delights, and many of its funniest moments belong to her.
And if you still need more…
- You can see Johnston in Season Four of The New Adventures of Old Christine playing Francie, the only mom at Richie’s school more chaotic than Christine herself (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
- The Season Two premiere of Bored To Death finds Johnston playing a dominatrix who easily dominates Jason Schwartzman’s Jonathan.
- Getting On, HBO’s dramedy about geriatric care, features Johnston in Season Three as the daughter of a patient… or is she?
