Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved(LOS ANGELES) — The cast of CBS’ hit comedy Mom is addressing the exit of co-star Anna Faris, who surprised the cast and crew in September when she announced she was leaving the show after seven seasons.
Allison Janney, who played Faris’ onscreen mom, tells Entertainment Tonight, “It’s a huge loss for the show to not have Anna because she was part of creating a character, Christy, that everyone fell in love with, who was so lovable and warm and gullible and funny and we will miss her so much.”
Mom centers on the pair and their friends, all of whom are all in recovery for addiction. Janney continued, “I think I’ll miss the most, for me, the relationship between Bonnie and Christy, even though that will still continue. But she won’t be present. That’s what I’ll miss.”
Janney and her co-stars insisted that while Christy is gone, she’s not forgotten. “I do want to say that it feels like she’s still here because we do talk about the character all the time,” said co-star Jaime Pressly. “And [Allison’s] character is always calling her or vice versa. We still hear the name, we still talk about her. She’s not gone as far as we’re concerned.”
Pressly goes on: “[W]e all spent so much time together over the years and love each other and support each other and we all want each other to be happy, so we’re happy for her and we miss her no matter what.”
Faris said she was leaving the show, “to pursue new opportunities,” insisting her seven years on the Chuck Lorre-produced comedy were “some of the most fulfilling and rewarding of [her] career.”
The eighth season premiere of Mom airs Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on CBS.
By Stephen Iervolino
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