Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist star Lauren Graham revealed her return to the NBC show may be shorter than originally planned.
“Please watch the first episode of @ZoeysPlaylist tonight! Joan is only there for a wee moment (plans to do more thwarted by pandemic-related scheduling issues, but I’m excited to watch the incredible @jcolburnlevy and company,” Graham tweeted on Tuesday.
The Gilmore Girls actress, who appears as the titular character’s boss, Joan, was set to make a return in the NBC series’ sophomore season. However, showrunner Austin Winsberg told TVLine that scheduling amid the Covid-19 pandemic became even more of an obstacle once Graham signed on for Disney+’s Mighty Ducks, which began filming in March.
“But because of the pandemic, and the way everything went down, their shooting schedule ended up being the exact same as our show’s shooting schedule,” Winsberg told TVLine. “I had plans for Joan to be in several episodes of the show and unfortunately, we just had to step-pivot, because there was no way that Lauren was going to be able to do both at the same time.”
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, starring Jane Levy, Skylar Austin and Alex Newell, returned to NBC on Tuesday night.
Please watch the first episode of @ZoeysPlaylist tonight! Joan is only there for a wee moment (plans to do more thwarted by pandemic-related scheduling issues), but I’m so excited to watch the incredible @jcolburnlevy and company. xLhttps://t.co/9klEicHMCR
— Lauren Graham (@thelaurengraham) January 6, 2021