Allison Janney reveals she’s ‘been told not to express’ theories about why sitcom Mom was canceled

The final episode of her CBS sitcom Mom airs this week.

And Allison Janney has revealed that she’s ‘been told’ not to talk about why she thinks the network decided to axe the series after eight seasons.

In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the actress, 61, admitted the cancelation had come as ‘a shock’, adding: ‘I have my own theories, but I’ve been told not to express them. But listen, eight years is a great long run for a show.’

Janney, who found fame as C.J. Cregg on NBC’s The West Wing, landed the sitcom role in 2013.

She was cast as a recovering alcoholic who reconnects with her estranged daughter, played by Anna Faris, who’s overcoming her own struggles with addiction. 

Faris surprisingly quit Mom right before production was due to start on the eighth season back in September.

But nevertheless, Janney claimed to have been blindsided when it was announced in February that the show would not be renewed for a ninth season. 

At the time, she speculated that the decision to end the sitcom was ‘probably’ money related.

‘I wish that we’d had at least another year for the writers to have that much time to ramp up to the ending,’ she shared during an interview on The Late Show With James Corden in March. 

‘We thought, ‘Surely, they’re gonna want more Mom.’ And they decided not.’

In addition to Faris, Mom had a supporting cast that included Kristen Johnson, Jaime Pressly, Mimi Kennedy and Beth Hall. 

Posting on Instagram in response to the cancelation news, the actress wrote: ‘Getting to be part of Mom these past 8 years…showing the laughter, love and hope that can come with recovery, has been one of the great honors of my life.’

Janney won two Emmys for her work on Mom, which added to her collection of four Emmys for The West Wing.

She also won an Oscar for her role in the 2017 film I, Tonya opposite Margot Robbie as infamous ice skater Tonya Harding.