Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
We’re on a countdown to 3AM EST/12AM PST when the new season of House of Cards debuts on Netflix. And while surely the exploits of President Frank Underwood will be enough to fill us with hours of intrigue, we’re still going to end up pining for a long gone character. No, not Zoe Barnes, or even Peter Russo. No, we’ll be waiting through each episode for the hopeful return of Janine Skorsky, played by Constance Zimmer.
Janine, of course, started off as Zoe’s rival reporter, then reluctant ally as Zoe was uncovering some of Frank’s shady deeds. Of course, after Zoe went and had the worst subway commute ever, Janine got spooked and hightailed it out of D.C. Probably a good idea for her, but undoubtedly a bummer for us. Every great, compelling villain eventually needs to have someone to take them down. Or at least try to. Breaking Bad was a lot of fun watching Walter White build himself up to be a monster, but the last couple seasons took it to the next level with Hank and Jesse trying to take him down. As Janine, Constance Zimmer has the kind of no-bull forthrightness, combined with the weary sigh of someone who’s sick and tired of D.C., and you could really have someone worth watching as she seeks to undo our anti-heroes the Underwoods.
While we have no idea if Janine is going to come back (and hopefully finish what he and Zoe started) this season, in case she does, here are five TV episodes where Constance Zimmer showed herself to be one of our most underrated actresses.
House of Cards: Season 1, Episode 12 (2013)
The stretch run of season one of House of Cards saw Zoe and Janine’s investigation gather momentum, and it’s when Janine finally seemed like she could actually work with Zoe. The best thing about their working relationship, though, was how Janine still never fully abandoned her sense of eye-rolling towards the upstart little blogger in her midst.
[Watch this episode of House of Cards on Netflix]
Grey’s Anatomy: Season 9, Episode 13 (2013)
Zimmer’s Alana Cahill was somewhat doomed from the start of her run on Grey’s, since she was set up as a romantic rival for Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) over the attentions of Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). That romance never did go anywhere, but Cahill as a character played right into Zimmer’s sweet spot as a sugar-free hospital administrator who knew what was best. Of course, what was best for Seattle Grace was probably to get sold, and since that would mean no more TV show, she was doomed to failure.
[Watch this episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Amazon]
Entourage: Season 5, Episode 11 (2008)
Probably Zimmer’s most widely seen work was as a rival Hollywood power player to Ari Gold in Entourage. Her Dana Gordon was the rare formidable foe for Team Vince, and in this episode in particular, we get to see her gift for negotiation and manipulation.
[Watch this episode of Entourage on HBO Go]
The Newsroom: Season 2, Episode 9 (2013)
The role of the token Republican on one of Aaron Sorkin’s TV shows is not always the most gratifying work. But every once in a while – think Ainsley Hayes on The West Wing – it allows an actor the chance to snipe at everybody else on the canvass with impunity. So it was with Zimmer as Taylor Warren, fictional Mitt Romney campaign spokeswoman who took every opportunity to stick it to Jim Harper, and if you actually watched to the end of the series, you know how happy you are that she did that. And then, in the season two finale, she got to sit at the big desk and go toe-to-toe with Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels). She deserved it.
[Watch this episode of The Newsroom on HBO Go]
Boston Legal: Season 3, Episode 16 (2007)
The only thing I can really remember about Boston Legal was how James Spader and William Shatner kept winning Emmys for it. But the cast was kind of insane, featuring Candice Bergen, Monica Potter, Julie Bowen, Taraji P. Henson, and John Larroquette. Zimmer showed up for only one season as attorney Claire Sims. Her high point was her romance with cross-dressing colleague Clarence.
