Allison Janney reveals that Anna Farris leaving the CBS sitcom Mom is a ‘huge loss’

With the hit sitcom Mom heading into the eighth season, the show will have a much different look, with Anna Faris not returning as Christy Plunkett.

The actress made the rather surprising announcement in early September that she was not returning for the eighth season, and now her co-star Allison Janney is addressing her departure.

Janney, who plays Bonnie Plunkett on the show, spoke to Entertainment Tonight, who revealed how much Faris meant to the show.

‘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,’ Janney said.

‘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,’ she added.

Jamie Pressly, who plays Jill Kendall on the show, also chimed in on the loss of Faris, along with the new COVID-19 safety protocols in place.

‘We all, in general, didn’t really know how it was going to be, also dealing with all the COVID precautions and everything. It’s a whole different set right now,’ Pressly said.

‘But I do want to say that it feels like she’s still here because we do talk about the character all the time,” Pressly added.

She added that Janney’s character, ‘is always calling on her or vice versa,’ and and that the characters will ‘still hear the name’ and ‘still talk about her.’

‘She’s not gone as far as we’re concerned, and we 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,’ Pressly added.

Mimi Kennedy, who plays Marjorie Armstrong-Perugian on the show, who had nothing but glowing things to say about Faris.

‘I had the dressing room next to her and I played her sponsor. And I got to know how smart she is and as blondes, you know, playing blondes all the time, she’s one smart cookie and I really, really enjoyed talking to her,’ Kennedy said. 

‘She was also very funny and very witty and I’m going to miss that because as we walk to the end of the hall, there would be one quip at the end of the night and I generally entered my dressing room laughing,’ she added.

Beth Hall, who plays Wendy Harris on the show, added, ‘The thing about Anna was she was always so encouraging.’

‘If you were funny, if you did a great scene, she was always the first one to compliment you and tell you how well it went. That was always great about her,’ she added.