Mom's Allison Janney Opens Up About Anna Faris' Departure: 'It's a Huge Loss'

Mom‘s Allison Janney is breaking her silence on Anna Faris’ series departure, nearly two full months after her TV daughter decided to step away from the CBS sitcom.

News that Faris was walking away from her role as Christy, in order to pursue other opportunities, broke on Sept. 4. At the time, Faris released a statement which in part read, “The past seven years on Mom have been some of the most fulfilling and rewarding of my career. I’m so thankful to Chuck [Lorre], the writers, and my amazing castmates for creating a truly wonderful work experience.”

In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Janney calls Faris’ exit a “huge loss” for the show, before revealing what she’ll miss most about her longtime costar.

“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,” she said. “I think I’ll miss the most, for me, the relationship between Bonnie and Christy, even though that will still continue [off screen].”

Added costar Jaime Pressly, who plays Jill, “I do want to say that it feels like [Anna’s] still here because we do talk about [Christy] all the time. [Bonnie] is always calling her, or vice versa.”

Mom co-creator Gemma Baker recently told TVLine that Faris’ departure would not impede on Christy’s happy ending, which is set to be revealed in the Season 8 premiere (airing Thursday at 9/8c). “One of the beautiful things about recovery is that quite often people’s lives get bigger and better than they could have imagined,” she said. “And that will be Christy’s experience. We are pretty sure that our audience, many of whom have been rooting for Christy since the pilot, will be happy for her and satisfied by her new path.”

Janney previously shared a video from the set of Mom, offering a first look at life after Christy. “It’s a whole new territory, but we’re excited for Season 8 to begin,” she said at the time.

How do you think Christy’s sudden absence will be explained on Mom? Hit the comments to log your predictions.

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