Why Reagan From Netflix's Inside Job Sounds So Familiar
Netflix's "Inside Job" is the first show from animation stalwart Shion Takeuchi. Take one look at Takeuchi's IMDb page, and you'll see it's a veritable "greatest hits of 21st-century animation". Cutting her teeth on "Adventure Time" and "Regular Show," Takeuchi went to Pixar and worked on "Monsters University" and "Inside Out." From there, she worked on Alex Hirsch's "Gravity Falls." That collab must have gone well, as Hirsch is an executive producer on "Inside Job," a workplace comedy set at Cognito Inc., a shadow organization that secretly controls the American government and deals with conspiracy theories.
"Inside Job" features the vocal talents of comedy icons such as Andy Daly ("Comedy Bang Bang"), Clark Duke ("Hot Tub Time Machine"), John DiMaggio ("Futurama"), Tisha Campbell ("The Jamie Foxx Show"), and Brett Gelman ("Fleabag"). Rounding out the cast is Christian Slater as Randy Ridley, the founder of the conspiracy-generating Cognito Inc.
The true star of the show is Reagan, a well-meaning employee trying to fix America from the inside who also happens to be Randy's daughter. Reagan is played by Lizzy Caplan, a veteran comedic actress known more for her live-action work than her voice-over work. Here's why she may sound familiar to viewers.
Caplan out-meaned the Mean Girls
Lizzy Caplan's breakout role arrived in 2004 as the snarky Janice Ian in Tina Fey's "Mean Girls." In the teen comedy, Janice befriends new kid Katy (Lindsay Lohan) and uses her as a pawn in her revenge scheme against Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and Regina's clique, the Plastics. "Mean Girls" also stars Fey, Christmas movie icon Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Daniel Franzese, Tim Meadows, and Jonathan Bennett.
"Mean Girls" has become a cultural institution. Fans celebrate October 3, the date Katy tells her crush early in the film, as Mean Girls Day. Many moments from the film have become memes, such as the concept of a cool mom (played by Amy Poehler), whether one can or cannot make fetch "happen," and finding solidarity in being victimized by Regina George. Singer-actor Ariana Grande even included references to "Mean Girls" in her '90s/'00s teen movie-themed music video "thank u next" (via YouTube).
Caplan partied down on this Starz cult hit
Lizzy Caplan is part of the ensemble in cult comedy classic "Party Down." Created by "Veronica Mars" mastermind Rob Thomas, as well as John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd, the Starz show follows a catering staff in Los Angeles as they work parties for a variety of colorful characters. The show stars Adam Scott as Henry Pollard, an actor who gave up on his career after scoring a "Wazzzup"-like beer commercial. Caplan plays his love interest, a standup comedian named Casey. Henry and Casey's on-again, off-again relationship is one of the ongoing arcs throughout the show that helped hook viewers despite having a brief run on TV.
"Party Down" also starred "The State" cast member Ken Marino, Martin Starr ("Freaks and Geeks"), and Ryan Hansen, who also appeared on "Veronica Mars." There is actually a lot of crossover between the casts of "Party Down" and "Veronica Mars," now that we think about it. Scott guested on the Season 1 episode "Mars vs. Mars" (via IMDb), and Marino had a recurring role that allowed him to show up on the 2019 Hulu revival. Not to mention, Kristen Bell guested on "Party Down" in Seasons 1 and 2 (via IMDb).
Scheduling conflicts have long plagued "Party Down." Jane Lynch was part of Season 1's catering crew but left the show to star in "Glee." She was replaced in one episode by frequent Christopher Guest collaborator Jennifer Coolidge, and then in Season 2 by "Will & Grace" alum Megan Mullaly. According to Vulture, Caplan won't be returning to the show's revival as she will star in "Fleishman Is in Trouble" opposite Jesse Eisenberg.
She was one of Nick Miller's girlfriends on New Girl
Lizzy Caplan is one of many love interests of Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) on Fox's "New Girl." The show is, in many ways, a vehicle for fans to enjoy the long-gestating romance between Nick and Jess (Zooey Deschanel), but the pair have plenty of partners before their inevitable final coupling. Caplan plays Julia, a lawyer whose prickly humor matched Nick's, in Season 1.
Julia also has an interesting relationship with Jess. At first, Julia couldn't see past her own internalized misogyny and really regard Jess as a person of value. Eventually, she opens herself up to female friendship, and the two begin to get along. Unfortunately, Julia and Nick break up shortly thereafter, when Nick realizes he doesn't want to compete with Julia's career for her attention. Caplan is in good company as one of Nick Miller's exes. Other former Miller paramours include Megan Fox, "It's Always Sunny" star Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Maria Thayer, Olivia Munn, and Lake Bell.
She played a pivotal role on Masters of Sex
Lizzy Caplan also stars on "Masters of Sex," a 1950s and '60s-set drama about the professional research and personal relationship of William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Caplan played Johnson, opposite Michael Sheen's William Masters. Masters and Johnson did some of the first research in human sexuality, including groundbreaking work on female sexual response and orgasm (per The New York Times).
The show heavily fictionalizes the work lives and romance between Masters and Johnson because the "Masters of Sex" creators were very aware that they were talking about real people — especially in the case of Masters and Johnson's children, who are still alive. The showrunners added a third child to the Masters-Johnson family so they could tell stories about kids without impacting an actual person. "We are telling a non-fiction story and one where there are people who are still alive out there, and those people need to be protected," executive producer Michelle Ashford told TV Guide in 2015. "We were advised to add [the baby] to protect the people that are still alive."
Despite some of the looseness of the adaptation being controversial, the show was critically acclaimed. Caplan was nominated for an Emmy in 2014 for her performance. Both Sheen and Caplan reprised their roles in "The Simpsons," in the Season 28 episode "Kamp Krustier" (via IMDb).