Janet(s)

D'Arcy Carden plays multiple versions of Janet in the episode and received acclaim for her performance.[1]

According to series creator Michael Schur, the idea for an episode featuring multiple Janets originated during the second season, over a year before the episode aired.[2][3] Planning for the episode began right after the second season ended production.[4] At one point, the idea was to be limited to just the first act, but Schur and the show's staff realized they needed to use the concept as more than a gimmick, which led to the idea of Eleanor questioning her sense of self while trapped inside a Janet.[2] The writers also met with philosophical advisors Todd May and Pamela Hieronymi to learn about concepts of identity and the self before writing the episode.[5] Writers Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan sent a draft of the script to May for input; he suggested small tweaks to improve how the relevant philosophical theories were explained.[5]

Schur told D'Arcy Carden, who plays Janet, to begin preparing for the episode in March 2018, four months before the episode would be filmed, and the cast as a whole began rehearsals for it earlier than normal.[3] Carden later said she was "stunned" when she learned about the episode and was grateful that the writers and producers trusted her to pull it off.[6] For the episode, Carden plays a wide range of characters, including her normal character, each of the four humans as a Janet, a "Neutral Janet" in Accounting, and one scene in which she plays Eleanor pretending to be Jason.[1] To provide references for the impressions, her co-stars recorded footage of their performances for Carden to listen to and review, including a rehearsal on set with the cast playing their usual characters.[2][6] The actors' movements during these performances were also tracked for use with special effects.[3] Additionally, Carden followed the actors around when she was not in scenes and would mimic what they were doing.[6] The other cast members provided help in various ways as Carden was learning to portray them; for instance, William Jackson Harper sent a copy of Chidi's lines the way he liked to memorize them, while Manny Jacinto showed her a video that inspired his portrayal of Jason.[7] Carden later explained that she struggled to perform her impression of Harper as Chidi even though she could imagine it, while she found Kristen Bell's subtle actions to be hard to emulate.[6]

Stephen Merchant guest-stars in the episode as Neil, the head of Accounting.[8]

For the episode, Janet's void was represented by an entirely white set, though director Morgan Sackett decided to add furniture to prevent the audience from becoming bored by the setting.[9] Filming required significantly more planning and visual effects than normal; Schur later called it "the opposite of how [they] usually make television" due to the precision required.[4] Though some scenes used stand-ins in costumes and wigs, many were filmed with only metal poles to represent the other characters. Carden remarked that "you kind of lose your mind a little bit" in those situations and called it the hardest part of filming for her.[6] To film the kiss, Carden had to kiss a pair of wax lips placed atop a pole, which was a particularly difficult shot due to how her body had to be positioned and the alignment of the shots.[2][9] After combining her multiple roles, Carden spent about 40 minutes performing in the episode, which was only 22 minutes long.[4][5]

At one point, Eleanor transforms into a series of different individuals as she loses her sense of self. Morgan and Siegal credited the idea to Schur and explained that they carefully scripted what each new person said for both emotional impact and humor based upon who would say the line.[9] In the same scene, visual effects producer David Niednagel used special effects to simulate the void and the furniture breaking up as Eleanor's struggles continue.[9] Carden, Schur, and Siegal all remarked that there were instances during filming when the crew wondered if the final product would make any sense.[3][4]

Stephen Merchant, co-creator of the British version of The Office, makes a guest appearance in the episode; Schur worked as a writer on The Office's American adaptation.[10][11] In the episode, Merchant holds a mug reading "Existence's Best Boss", an allusion to a similar mug used by Michael Scott. The mug was printed with this slogan, but Merchant held it the wrong way during filming, so the words were reapplied using special effects during post-production.[11][2]

In one scene, Janet accidentally sings an excerpt of Cher's "Believe" as her void becomes unstable.[12] Carden sang a version of the song for the episode, which was then auto-tuned, but Schur explained that they ultimately went with the original version because it was easier to get permission to use it that way.[2][11]

In its original broadcast on December 6, 2018, "Janet(s)" was seen by 2.58 million American viewers and received a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This placed the show fourth in its timeslot, behind Thursday Night Football, Young Sheldon, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.[13] Both measurements were the lowest of the season up to that point.[14] After factoring in seven-day DVR viewership, the episode rose to 4.23 million viewers and a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic.[15]

The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, with many considering it a major improvement over the season's earlier episodes. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A- grade, calling it the ideal version of a mid-season finale with plenty of "incident and action". He remarked that while Janet had been sidelined for much of the third season, this episode marked a significant course correction.[8] Noel Murray of Vulture gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars, calling the idea to turn the humans into Janets a "masterstroke" that elevated an otherwise routine B-story. He deemed it a "dividing line" within the history of the show and, like Perkins, praised it for giving Carden more to do as Janet after receiving smaller roles earlier in the season.[12] Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek also gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars, praising it for both the creativity of the premise and the emotional truths the humans face.[16]

Alan Sepinwall, writing for Rolling Stone, remarked that the show's return to the afterlife helped to produce one of its best episodes. He found himself appreciating the Eleanor-Chidi relationship more and praised Michael's growth as he took the situation into his own hands.[10] Emily VanDerWerff of Vox found the episode to be "a surprisingly romantic and sweet story" and praised the setup for future episodes, particularly after the less enjoyable episodes from earlier in the season.[17] In a retrospective review, Beth Elderkin of Gizmodo called the episode a "fantastic exploration of identity".[18]

Carden's performance in the episode, which was described as a "showcase" for her character, was widely singled out for acclaim.[10] Brian Grubb of Uproxx called it "[o]ne of the best television comedy performances by one person" he could recall.[1] Perkins called it "marvelous", noting the details she was able to incorporate into each impression.[8] Dani Di Placido of Forbes applauded Carden's ability to realistically depict the conflict between Eleanor and Chidi without using the main actors.[19] Bojalad echoed this sentiment and described the episode as Carden "at the absolute height of [her] powers".[16] VanDerWerff praised the show and Carden for committing to the premise and nailing the performances, suggesting that Carden deserved an Emmy for the performance.[17] The editors of Paste later named Carden's performance as Janet as their top television performance of 2018 and singled out her role in "Janet(s)" for displaying her talent.[20]

The episode resulted in several nominations for major awards. It received the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, the show's second consecutive win in the category.[21] For their work on the episode, Siegal and Morgan were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, ultimately losing to Phoebe Waller-Bridge for "Episode 1" from Fleabag.[22] The episode was also nominated for an ADG Excellence in Production Design Award for Half Hour Single-Camera Series[23] and a Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action Under 35:00.[24] Some people, including Schur, felt that Carden's lack of an Emmy nomination was a snub.[25][26]