Allison Janney Says She 'Threw the Script Across the Room' for 'The Diplomat' Season 2 Finale

“It’s such a spectacular ending, it gives me chills just thinking about it,” Janney said on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Allison Janney — Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Allison Janney

Allison Janney reveals how she reacted when she saw a specific script The diplomat.

During a performance op Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Nov. 4, Janney, 64, explained as much when she first read the script for the political thriller season 2 finaleshe had a visceral reaction. By the time she reached the end, she did something she had “never” done before.

“I literally threw the script across the room,” the actress admitted. “It was like, ‘What is it?’ Because it was so explosive, so incredible – everyone has to binge the whole season because I’m only in the last two episodes. It’s such a spectacular ending, it gives me chills just thinking about it.”

Janney’s appearance op The diplomat, although short, excited fans and cast members alike when it was first reported by Variety in January.

She plays Vice President Grace Penn in the series, which follows US Ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler.Keri Russell), and her husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewel) while trying to prevent a global war.

Presley Ann/Getty Allison Janney — Presley Ann/Getty

Allison Janney

Coming in October is Russell, who also executive produces The diplomat, admitted to PEOPLE during a special event before the show PaleyFest 2024 that she “was a little nervous” when she heard about Janney’s participation on the show.

“Just because she’s amazing and so good,” says the… Happiness star, 48, said. ‘I love her. There’s a scene where she’s acting Primary colors – that movie is so good – where she drops this physical comedy up the stairs. So I guess I was a little nervous, but she’s everything you want her to be. She’s friendly and funny and smart and cool.”

While Russell joked that she “tried to play it cool at first,” she eventually confessed her love for the film to Janney.

The diplomat And The West Wing, which starred Janney, part one showrunner, Debora Cahn. At that same event, Cahn explained to PEOPLE that she didn’t want Janney’s appearance in another political series to “feel like a gimmick,” and she worried that she wouldn’t be able to create a “special” new character for the actress.

“A lot of the way I write is something I learned from writing for Allison,” Cahn said. “So there are certain things that I hear that come from her rhythms, so they’re in all these characters. I just didn’t want it to feel like it’s all the same.”

Cahn subsequently confessed that she was “afraid” to write for Janney again.

“I went into total immobilized panic for a few weeks when Allison’s first big episode came around because it felt like there was so much riding on it and I wanted it to be good,” she revealed. “I wanted it to be good for her and I wanted it to be worthy of these guys in terms of what she brought to the table,” she said, referring to the show’s cast.

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The diplomat season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.