The best Lauren Lapkus movies and TV shows include a variety of the most popular series of the past few decades, such as Orange is the New Black and The Big Bang Theory. However, these are far from the only appearances made by the Illinois actor, and across her career (which spans from 2005 onwards), Lapkus has starred in a number of popular sitcoms, successful indie films, and even a Hollywood blockbuster or two.
Lauren Lapkus got her start in commercials, and from there had a handful of smaller TV show appearances, including in a sketch for Jimmy Kimmel Live. Her first proper casting came in the sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? – a single-season sitcom that was far from a success, but did create the foundations for Lapkus’ career. It was when she appeared in Orange is the New Black as Susan Fischer that Lauren Lapkus began to experience success as an actor, and since then she’s gone on to appear in multiple movies and TV shows, always playing incredibly memorable roles.
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10 The Wrong Missy (2020)
Lauren Lapkus Played Missy
The Wrong Missy 0
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The Wrong Missy is a Black Comedy and Romance film written by Chris Pappas and Kevin Barnett. The 2020 release stars David Spade and Lauren Lapkus and was directed by Tyler Spindel. The plot sees a man mistakingly invite a past date, whom he had a horrible time with, to a corporate retreat.
Director Tyler Spindel Release Date May 13, 2020 Cast David Spade , Lauren Lapkus Runtime 90minutes
The Wrong Missy isn’t the most critically acclaimed title among the best Lauren Lapkus movies and TV shows, though it deserves a mention because it’s one of only a handful of occasions that the actor has led the cast of a feature-film. Produced by Adam Sandler’s company Happy Madison Productions, Lauren Lapkus stars in the Netflix movie The Wrong Missy as Missy, appearing alongside David Spade to head up the cast.
The Wrong Missy is a romcom based on mistaken identity. Lapkus’ Missy is the titular “wrong” Missy. David Spade’s Tim Morris is texting a woman named Melissa — AKA Missy — who he believes is a salon worker. When he invites the “right” Missy (Molly Sims) on a business retreat in Hawaii via an SMS message, he realizes he’s actually been texting the “wrong” Missy, the character played by Lapkus, who he had a date with at the beginning of the film and is extremely odd. Critics responded fairly poorly to The Wrong MIssy, though almost all cited Lauren Lapkus as the movie’s redeeming feature.
9 Are You There, Chelsea? (2012)
Lauren Lapkus Played Dee Dee
The 2012 sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? was highly anticipated prior to its release, as it was based on the best-selling book Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Unfortunately, the NBC show didn’t quite live up to the 2008 novel, and so was canceled after one season. While the show itself may not have lived up to its source material, Lauren Lapkus did have a memorable appearance in the cast as Dee Dee, and so it still deserves a mention as one of her best shows.
Dee Dee is an incredibly upbeat character with several similarities to Missy in The Wrong Missy. Some highlights for the Lauren Lapkus character in Are You There, Chelsea? include episode 7, “Dee Dee’s Pillow”, when Chelsea managed to introduce Dee Dee to her crush, Mario Lopez, only for it to backfire.
8 Good Girls (2018-2021)
Lauren Lapkus Played Phoebe Donnegan
Good Girls 0
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Good Girls is a comedy-drama television series that premiered in 2018. The show follows the lives of three suburban mothers, Beth, Ruby, and Annie, who are struggling to make ends meet. They decide to take matters into their own hands by robbing a grocery store, leading to a series of unexpected consequences and a journey of self-discovery.
Cast Christina Hendricks , Retta , Mae Whitman , Reno Wilson , Manny Montana Release Date February 26, 2018 Seasons 4
The NBC comedy-drama Good Girls was an incredibly fresh and funny crime-based sitcom about three suburban moms who fall afoul of both the FBI and a fully-fledged Mafia Boss after they attempt to rob a supermarket. It’s one of the best Lauren Lapkus TV shows even though she wasn’t one of the main cast members and didn’t appear until seasons 3 and 4, deserving consideration both because of the series overall quality and because of the actor’s specific character.
It’s a suitably hilarious role for Lapkus, as she’s the antithesis of the stereotypical machismo-driven Secret Service agents usually found in the procedural crime dramas that
Good Girls
semi-parodies.
Lauren Lapkus plays Phoebe Donnegan in Good Girls, a Secret Service agent who is tasked with tracking down printed counterfeit banknotes linked to the central crime-mom trio. It’s a suitably hilarious role for Lapkus, as she’s the antithesis of the stereotypical machismo-driven Secret Service agents usually found in the procedural crime dramas that Good Girls semi-parodies. As a show, Good Girls only received middling responses from critics, but the performances of the cast, Lapkus included, were a regular source of praise.
7 Jurassic World (2015)
Lauren Lapkus Played Vivian
Jurassic World 
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The Jurassic World Ultimate Collection includes the 6 movies in the immensely popular dinosaur franchise. It begins with paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler and mathematician, Ian Malcolm, as they tour an island theme park that is populated by dinosaurs that were created from prehistoric DNA. The dinosaurs eventually break free, creating the havoc that is explored in the 6 films. You can buy all 6 movies right now for $60 for Prime Day.
Director Colin Trevorrow Release Date June 12, 2015 Writers Amanda Silver , Colin Trevorrow , Rick Jaffa , Derek Connolly Cast Bryce Dallas Howard , Chris Pratt , Omar Sy , Jake Johnson Runtime 124 minutes
Lauren Lapkus appeared in 2015’s Jurassic World as Vivian Krill. While it was only a minor role, it was still an incredibly memorable one, especially given the on-screen chemistry she shared with New Girl star Jack Johnson as Lowery Cruthers. The pair played two operators in the Jurassic World theme park control room, helping the likes of Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) navigate the park as best they could once the dinosaurs began running rampant.
Jurassic World may not have been as beloved in the franchise as Jurassic Park, but it was far from a flop, and was received well by both audiences and critics. It also marks one of the best Lauren Lapkus movies due to its merits as a film, the fact that it’s one of the actors’ only appearances in a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, and it utilizes her incredibly well as a source of comic relief.
6 Harvey Girls Forever (2018-2020)
Lauren Lapkus Played Lotta
Many adult fans of the actor may not be aware of Harvey Girls Forever!, as the target audience of the animated Netflix show are younger viewers in the 9-12 age bracket (and likely girls, though by no means is the show exclusive to one gender). Based on characters from the now-defunct comic book studio Harvey Comics, Harvey Girls Forever! is a whimsical show that focuses on the afternoon adventures of a trio of best friends living on Harvey Street.
Harvey Girls Forever! is inarguably one of the best Lauren Lapkus TV shows, and this is of little surprise given that she co-led the main cast alongside Stephanie Lemelin and Kell McCreary for all 52 episodes of the series. Lapkus plays Lotta in Harvey Girls Forever!, a character loosely based on the Harvey Comics character Little Lotta. Lotta is a kind and caring character, dedicated both to her friends and to animals, though her naivety when it comes to trusting others can sometimes lead her intro trouble.
5 Star Trek: Lower Decks (2021-Present)
Lauren Lapkus Played Jennifer Sh’Reyan
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“Star Trek: Lower Decks” focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the USS Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi must keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The ship’s bridge crew includes Captain Carol Freeman, Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant Shaxs and Doctor T’Ana. This is the second animated spin-off in the franchise after 1973-74’s “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” but has a decidedly more adult tone and humor.
Cast Tawny Newsome , Jack Quaid , dawnn lewis , Noel Wells , Eugene Cordero , Gabrielle Ruiz , Fred Tatasciore , Jerry O’Connell Release Date August 6, 2020 Seasons 5 Showrunner Mike McMahan
Star Trek: Lower Decks is an incredibly popular animated comedy set in the world of Star Trek, focusing on the crew of the USS Cerritos. The Cerritos is a ship designated for second contact. In the simplest terms, after ships like the Enterprise find an alien race for the first time, it’s ships like the Cerritos that then follow this up for all the dull (in theory, though rarely in practice) jobs involving paperwork to allow the species entry into the Federation.
Lauren Lapkus joined the case of Star Trek: Lower Decks as a recurring character between 2020 and 2022. Her character, Jennifer Sh’Reyan, was the rival of the rules-hating and incredibly over-competent red-shirt Beckett Mariner (Tawney Newsome), though the pair eventually started dating. Lapkus may not have been the most central Lower Decks cast member, but Jennifer Sh’Reyan remains one of the actors most hilarious roles when it comes to voice acting.
4 Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)
Lauren Lapkus Played Denise
The Big Bang Theory 3.0 7
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The Big Bang Theory first premiered on CBS in 2007 and became one of its era’s most popular and longest-lasting network sitcoms. Running for 12 seasons, The Big Bang Theory focuses on a group of self-proclaimed nerds, Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar), who form an unlikely friendship with their new neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The series became a ratings giant and took home multiple Emmys. The Big Bang Theory was so successful that it ended up spawning a spinoff titled Young Sheldon, which has also become one of CBS’ most popular sitcoms.
Cast Kaley Cuoco , Johnny Galecki , Jim Parsons , Melissa Rauch , Mayim Bialik , Kunal Nayyar , Simon Helberg Release Date September 24, 2007 Seasons 12 Showrunner Mark Cendrowski
The Big Bang Theory is one of the most successful sitcoms of the last few decades, and Lauren Lapkus became a recurring cast member in the shows final two seasons. While she only featured in 8 episodes, she was an incredibly memorable character given her place in the wider narrative. Lauren Lapkus played Denise in TBBT, the colleague-turned-girlfriend of comic book store owner Stuart.
Lapkus fit right in with the cast of the show, and had The Big Bang Theory continued past season 12, Denise could have been elevated to a main cast member alongside Stuart, who seemed to be poised to. One especially hilarious Denise and Stuart moment was when they came believe they’re the last couple on earth after the pair have significant misgivings about Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj’s plans to cut open a meteorite.
3 Crashing (2017-2019)
Lauren Lapkus Played Jess
The HBO comedy-drama Crashing ran for three seasons between 2017 and 2019, focusing on a struggling stand-up comedian whose quest for fame becomes a self-sabotaging endeavor, ruining almost everything in his life – including his marriage. The show was created by Pete Holmes, who also plays the lead character of the same name. Lauren Lapkus features in the main cast as Pete’s ex-wife, Jessica, and it’s easily among the actor’s best roles to date.
Crashing was an incredibly grounded show that perfectly blended its comedy and drama elements. The series was executive produced by Judd Apatow, who helped Pete Holmes flesh out the story and directed several episodes. Jessica is far from the most likable of Lauren Lapkus’ characters, as she cheats on Pete and leaves him homeless, but this is why the role and her performance stand out. Crashing showed the versatility that Lapkus has, and that she’s capable of playing more than loveable and harmless oddballs.
2 The Unicorn (2019)
Lauren Lapkus Played Malory
Of all the best Lauren Lapkus movies, 2019’s The Unicorn is perhaps the most critically acclaimed, currently sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Roberet Schwartzman, the director behind The Good Half and The Argument, The Unicorn stars Lauren Lapkus in the central role, and it provided her with plenty of opportunity to showcase her considerable talents. Much like Crashing, The Unicorn stands out against Lauren Lapkus’ other projects as she displayed her abilities outside her regular typecast as strange or bombastic characters.
While the premise of The Unicorn sounds like a raunchy comedy, it’s actually a surprisingly grounded movie with subtle humor throughout. Lauren Lapkus’ character, Malory, is engaged to Caleb (Nick Rutherford, who also co-wrote the script), and concerned that the physical side of their relationship has hit a rut. Based on advice from her parents, Malory decides that she and Caleb should have a threesome – though, of course, this doesn’t go to plan.
1 Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)
Lauren Lapkus Played Susan Fischer
Orange is The New Black 0
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Based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, Orange Is the New Black follows Piper Champman (Taylor Schilling) after she turns herself in for a 15-month sentence in a minimum-security women’s prison for aiding in a drug-smuggling operation run by her ex-girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon). One of Netflix’s most popular original series, the show explores the corruption inherent in the US prison system through the lens of Piper’s experiences.
Cast Taylor Schilling , Dascha Polanco , Natasha Lyonne , Samira Wiley , Kate Mulgrew , Danielle Brooks , Michael Harney , Uzo Aduba , Jason Biggs , Laura Prepon Release Date July 11, 2013 Seasons 7 Showrunner Jenji Kohan
Of every series the actor has starred in, the best Lauren Lapkus show is Orange is the New Black, both in terms of the quality of the show overall, and when compared to other characters she has played. Lapkus appeared in 14 episodes of Orange is the New Black as Susan Fischer, a rookie correction officer who used to serve Piper groceries in the pair’s previous lives prior to Litchfield Penitentiary. As a character, Susan Fischer epitomizes everything that makes Lauren Lapkus such a recognizable cast-member wherever she appears.
Fischer is naive, funny, and kind, the complete opposite of many of the other Litchfield correction officers — and Lauren Lapkus plays her to perfection. She’s one of the few OitB characters that it’s more-or-less impossible not to like, both as far as viewers are concerned, and for the inmates of Litchfield. She’s also a more complex character than first appears, and many of her arcs, such as when she accuses Joe Caputo of sexual harassment, are among the most memorable Orange is the New Black storylines that don’t focus on Piper or the other inmates.