Kristen Johnston, who previously appeared on Mom as the crazy locked-up Tammy Diffendorf, returns to the show tonight as she is now paroled.
Christy, played by Anna Faris, believes that Bonnie, played by Allison Janney, is way over her head when she decides to let Tammy stay with them as she’s freshly out of jail.
In tonight’s episode, called Big Sauce and Coconut Water, Tammy is back after only a single previous appearance.
Tammy was the primary storyline in the episode called Crazy Snakes and a Clog to the Head, which aired on April 12, 2018. During the episode, viewers learned that she was in a foster home with Bonnie until Bonnie got her kicked out. The two came face-to-face when the girls went to a jail to give speeches about why they were in A.A. meetings. Tammy recognized her, charging at Bonnie, telling her that she ruined her life.
While Bonnie didn’t remember their past, it later came back to her, as she realized that she had stolen their foster father’s wallet and planted it in Tammy’s bag. She claimed that it put her on an illegal path, landing Tammy in prison because she robbed an outback steakhouse. The arrest happened while she was trying to steal steaks on a Cops Eat Free night.
Perhaps Bonnie invites Tammy to stay tonight because she feels bad about the past, but one has to wonder if Tammy has truly forgiven Bonnie for what happened.
Kristen Johnston’s acting career started back in 1985 with a short film called The Orkly Kid. In 1999, she starred in the hilarious Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, playing Ivana Humpalot. She’s also known from playing Sally Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun, which ran from 1996 to 2001.
She returned to Austin Powers for the third installment, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and played Lexi Featherston on Sex and the City in 2004. She’s also known for playing Dr. Eve Peyton on ER and starred as Warmonga in Kim Possible, and as Helen in Ugly Betty.
More recently, Kristen Johnston has worked on The Exes, TripTank, Daytime Divas, and Mom. She has completed two movie projects this year, including Swiped and Small Town Wisconsin.
On a personal level, Kristen opened up about her struggle with Lupus back in 2014. At the time, she revealed that she had no idea what was going on and she opened up about not being able to function.
“I went to 17 doctors, and nobody could figure out what was going on. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me,” she told People at the time, revealing, “If I had to live like that forever, I would have killed myself.”
At the time, she went into treatment, going through chemotherapy and steroids. She explained to the magazine that she’s thankful to be alive, but that she’s still suffering from side effects, including getting a shattered bone from a simple hike.
Mom airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS.