Allison Janney and Anna Faris want ‘Mom’ to go ‘Orange’

The only show with a larger female ensemble than CBS’ poignant and hilarious “Mom” is Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” And once the show’s stars, Allison Janney and Anna Faris realized that, an idea was born: A crossover episode!

Or perhaps a multiple crossover episode. Imagine the actresses’ mother/daughter characters Bonnie and Christy on a road trip with someone from “Game of Thrones,” suggests Janney. Surely, trouble would ensue and they’d get arrested, winding up in Litchfield prison with the “Orange” ensemble. Hilarity would ensue.

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Then there’s the hoped-for episode in which Janney and Faris switch characters, a la “Freaky Friday.”

No one loves their show more deeply and truly than Janney and Faris, who stopped by The Times recently for a chat about their series and its spectacular third season, which took their characters deeper into their shared (and occasionally competitive) sobriety.

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In the video below, Janney and Faris discuss the joy and challenges of making an old-fashioned multi-cam, live-audience sitcom with a life-saving message and an increasing flair for the dramatic.

The trick? Mutual support, mutual admiration and, when they hear crickets from the audience, the hope that the writers give the big-fix-that-must-be-memorized-in-two-minutes to your costar, not you.

But they mean it about “Orange Is the New Black.”

Watch the full-length video below:

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Allison Janney and Anna Faris, stars of CBS’ “Mom,” discuss their favorite moments and crossovers with other TV series.