D’Arcy Carden was nervous about getting typecast after The Good Place
After being part of the NBC comedy's ensemble for four seasons, she's now one of the stars of A League Of Their Own
Aux News Carden
Though Ted Danson and Kristen Bell were The Good Place’s top-billed stars, the rest of the NBC sitcom’s ensemble quickly found their stock rising thanks to the sharp, philosophical series. As the inhuman assistant Janet, D’Arcy Carden was a key part of establishing the show’s world and tone as she guided Eleanor (Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Jason (Manny Jacinto), and Tahani (Jameela Jamil) through the afterlife.
After The Good Place concluded in 2020, Carden inevitably entered the next stage of her career. By that time, she had already started her recurring role on Barry, but she was looking for a new challenge.
“There’s something Mickey Mouse-ish about Janet,” she says in a new interview with Variety. “I’m wearing the same costume every day. I have a catchphrase or two. In a way, it’s all you could ever ask for. But then you’re like, ‘Let me show you what else I can do.’”
The Good Place became a pop culture touchstone in a way few shows can achieve, thanks to its snappy, specific dialogue. As much as Carden loved playing Janet, and netted an Emmy nomination for her performance, she was nervous about getting typecast, and asked Danson about taking her next steps.
“My advice to you is to do something as different from Janet as possible,” Carden remembers the Cheers veteran saying. “Do not do something in the world of Janet.”
Luckily, her former Broad City co-star Abbi Jacobson came through with the right role at the right time. Carden is now one of the stars of A League Of Their Own, a 1940s-set series inspired by the 1992 baseball movie, and her character Greta has her channeling George Clooney rather than Siri.
“She’s almost zero percent goofy. I can’t settle into my tricks,” Carden tells Variety. “But I was like, I think I have to do something like this in order to shake off every comment on my Instagram being, ‘not a girl!’”
The first season of A League Of Their Own is now available on Prime Video.
35 Comments
“Do not do something in the world of Janet.”Dude, did you think that was likely? What possible roles out there would be in the world of Janet?
Which is funny, because I think Ted Danson plays pretty much the same character every time I see him on TV.
I don’t like that you’re kinda right.
That sounds like a you problem.
Becker.
Oddly enough, he’s playing a 0% charming admiral on The Orville — so much so that I wonder why they bothered to cast him in a role pretty much any upper-middle-age actor could have played.
Did you finish season 3?
I did, but didn’t want to spoil. But I still don’t think he had enough of a character arc to warrant casting Danson.
It was a casting against type, you wouldn’t have expected that from a Ted Danson character now.
Sam Malone = Michael the architect? Have you seen either of these shows?
I feel like Michael and Sam Malone have basically nothing in common
Sam Malone and Michael the Demon are the same character?Folks, when D’Arcy Carden says she is worried about getting typecast, she isn’t concerned that she will only play pan-dimensional intelligences for the rest of her life. She is worried that she will play quirky, chipper sidekicks who provide comic relief for the rest of her life. She explicitly compared her character to Mickey Mouse. Does that mean that Janet was a cartoon rodent wearing short pants? No, it does not. This isn’t that hard.
Rosie the Robit on a Jetsons reboot.
Right the premise of all of this is confusing because Janet was a very, very specific, peculiar role that I wouldn’t think anyone could be concerned about being typecast as.
I think she’s talking about being typecast as a nice (not a) girl who is maybe a little straight-laced and normcore. Janet isn’t any of those things, but in a superficial sort of way she is.Besides, there weren’t any Urkel roles out there until Jaleel White came along. Maybe this is the beginning of a whole lot of knockoff Janet characters in sitcoms.
When they inevitably revive the “Oh, God!” franchise for today’s George Burns-hungry youth, I’m sure they’ll be wanting a Janet-esque character for CG George to riff off of.
There wouldn’t be any roles with the same premise/background as Janet, but there are probably quite a few with a similar chipper and guileless personality. Her character on Broad City was in a very similar vein even though she was a human fitness trainer on this mortal plane. Whereas in a League of Their Own she’s playing a cool, suave character (I’m guessing from that Clooney comparison).
Secretaries/assistants. Perky, helpful, yet snarky supporting characters. There are a lot of roles like that out there.
What a dumper
There were several instances on The Good Place when Eleanor remarked that Janet had “a rockin’ bod”.
See, I’m just like Kristen Bell!
Yes, “busty Alexa” was in there somewhere.
Quite – DI, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago
There’s a Broad City episode where Abbi Jacobson mentions D’arcy Carden’s “big swangin’ titties,” and it’s both a great line and very apt.
And there’s also the episode where she’s naked albeit with her bits blurred out.
Ironically, “Janet(s)“ provided the best example of her range to date – it’s basically a one-episode resume.
“Janet(s)“ provided the best example of her range to date – it’s basically a one-episode resume.
Absolutely. And… Mike Schur is famously a very nice and even-tempered man, but in an interview he expressed some outrage that that episode didn’t get Carden nominated for an Emmy.(The Good Place, at least as regards D’arcy Carden, ran into some bad luck because it ended the same time Schitt’s Creek did. It was the last chance to give an Emmy to Annie Murphy, and the last chance to give one to Carden.) (I think that’s how it went, I’m not much of an awards show follower.)
In my reality, she did win an Emmy for that episode. And Crash never one Best Picture, unless we’re talking about the Cronenberg film. “Hey Soul Sister” never even got mentioned at the Grammys, etc. etc. It’s a weird and wonderful world, here in my head.
Hot take: D’Arcy Carden is never anything less than a delight, both on screen and in the interviews I’ve read/watched from her. I’m only one episode into League, but so far Greta is the kind of big, complex, front-and-center role that ought to make her the huge star she deserves to be, if there’s any justice in the world.
She did an episode of Conan O’Brien’s podcast, and getting to hear her talk about herself and her career for 45 minutes, I can only agree – she’s an absolute delight, and I hope to see her in many, many more things.
(looks at header pic)Apparently I need to be watching this show
This probably won’t help, but I’ll always see her as Janet.And invariably as Sexy Janet.
D’arcy Carden can do whatever the hell she wants and i’d still turn up. She’s an absolute delight to watch.
Also didn’t Gemma always want to get into Abbi back in the Broad City days?
The way Carden makes Gemma seem thirsty, violent, and insecure at the same time is a thing of beauty. “I call it kom-booze-cha. (Awkward laugh) Don’t take that, it’s mine.”
Sidebar: A League of Their Own is getting bombed with troll reviews. If anyone wants to go to Prime and balance them out, it’d be helpful.