Anna Faris is looking back at her unexpected departure from Mom with more distance than she had when she left the CBS sitcom before its final season.
The actress, who played Christy Plunkett for seven seasons, discussed the show during a recent appearance on Happy Sad Confused. Faris spoke warmly about the cast and the live audience, but said the long-running network schedule became difficult toward the end.
“I do think the intensity, towards the end, I think I started to lose my focus,” Faris told host Josh Horowitz, according to Page Six. When Horowitz asked if the schedule played a role in her exit, she answered, “It was a complicated time.”
Faris Said Seven Years Was a Long Run for Her
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Faris said she is careful when talking about Mom because seven years was such a large part of her life. She described the show as an intense and meaningful project, comparing the experience to a marathon.
Faris said that before Mom, she had never held a job longer than three months apart from waitressing, which made a seven-season sitcom schedule a major adjustment.
She also explained why the project appealed to her in the first place. The pilot was funny and interesting, and as she got older, the idea of settling into something stable became more attractive.
She Still Spoke Fondly About the Series
Faris praised her castmates, called them brilliant and said she loved performing in front of the live audience.
Mom premiered in 2013 and followed Christy and Bonnie Plunkett through recovery, family damage and attempts to rebuild their lives. The series starred Faris opposite Allison Janney, who played her mother, Bonnie.
Faris said she is still moved by people who approach her years later to talk about what the show meant to them. She also said the sitcom’s subject matter gave it a different place in viewers’ lives than a broader network comedy might have had.
Her Exit Shocked Fans Before the Final Season
Faris announced in September 2020 that she was leaving Mom after seven seasons. In a statement at the time, she said the previous seven years had been “some of the most fulfilling and rewarding” of her career and that she was grateful to the writers, cast and crew.
The timing surprised viewers because Season 8 was about to begin production, and Faris had been central to the show from the start. Glamour reported at the time that she and Janney had signed two-year contracts in 2019, making the departure even more unexpected.
Mom continued for one more season without Christy and ended in 2021. Faris said on Happy Sad Confused that telling the full story of her departure would probably take another podcast episode.