Most recently, she’s probably best known for playing Judy Hale in the hilarious Netflix series Dead to Me, a story she describes as being about “grief, loss, forgiveness, and friendship.” The role earned her a much-deserved Emmy nomination and has cemented her and Christina Applegate as not only a powerhouse acting duo but also the definition of platonic soulmates. So to celebrate the final season of Dead to Me, Linda sat down with me to discuss bringing this chapter of her life to a close. She shared some of her favorite stories from working on Season 3 and reminisced about the show’s beginnings, and we even found time to look back at some of her other iconic movie and TV roles. Here’s everything we chatted about: I remember in the first season, we did this scene — I can’t even remember what scene it was — but we were just laughing. It got to such a strange place, where it was funny but also very tragic. We’re laughing and we’re crying, and Liz Feldman just goes, “That’s the tone!” When you’re starting a show, you’re finding things along the way because from the page to the screen, there’s a whole lot that happens. So once we understood that tone, which came pretty naturally to us, it all sort of just happened, and the writing is so good. That just continued to grow for us. We just love being on- and offscreen together. It is really nice. Everything that we went through, throughout all the different seasons, with the last season being the most challenging, made us so close. Anything you go through in life that’s very challenging — and we all went through different things, because you do go through things throughout the years, and they’ve been interesting years, of course — everybody leans on their friends. So you’re lucky if you have those people at work, and I’ve leaned on Christina and relied on her, and I hoped I would do the same for her. So I think that’s just what friends do. I think I’m lucky to be a friend who could be beside her. I think that her work is just as outstanding, if not more, in this final season. She’s just so good, and she’s just so brilliant. So I’m excited for people to see that. Do you have anything from Marvel?! Did they let you get away with anything? Oh no! You can’t take anything from there! [laughs] They often give you nice wrap gifts, like a blanket that says “Avengers” on it or something. No way! All of those scenes when Jen and Judy are sitting outside or Judy falls asleep outside, I have all of the outdoor furniture; it’s all in my backyard. And it’s beautiful, by the way. It’s totally beautiful, and amazingly, we kept it in great shape for all those years. But, you know, a lot of the stuff was going away, and so I asked if I could have that. I also have some other set decorations of Judy’s. I have some of Judy’s crystals. I have, of course, a killer bird. I have a Judy painting, and I have lots of Judy’s clothes because I love Judy’s clothes. Our wardrobe designers did such a great job. I just loved Judy’s style. I loved the idea. I think I’d just come off playing somebody really, really sweet or something. I loved the idea that I could be this murderous villain. Not ever thinking that the movie would have the impact that it did. I had no idea it would become, like, a Broadway musical. Anyway, it was great. I mean, come on, that cast. Jennifer Coolidge is always so great. It’s so much fun to be a part of that. “At the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?” [Laughs] THAT! He was doing the WHOLE speech. And I was like, “Oh! That’s right! Legally Blonde.” A lot of people know that entire speech. And that hairdo was something, wasn’t it? Was it a wig or— It was my real hair. And they curled it. I remember at first, they curled the front of my bangs, and the curling iron was so hot, it burned off the top of my bangs. So for a while, I had just very short, like, spiky bangs after the movie. But I didn’t care because, like, whatever, her hair looks exactly as obnoxious as I wanted it to! When I found out that Judy’s cancer was going to happen, we often talk about [how] the themes of this show are grief, loss, forgiveness, and friendship. I think because of Judy’s disappearing and what happens to Judy, I think that those things come into focus a little bit more for everybody because you have to contend with them in real time as she starts to get sicker. When it was canceled, you felt like, Oh god. Oh no. How could we all be so wrong? But the idea that it lives on decades later, it’s just proof it was good. That script was so beautiful. [Creator] Paul Feig did such an amazing job, and [executive producer] Judd [Apatow] and everybody who was involved in the show. That stuff, when it resonates, it can stay, no matter how many people say, “No, thank you.” Also, it’s a different age now. Back then, things just disappeared forever into some vault in the bottom of, I don’t know what I imagined — like, the basement of NBC or something. And now you can find all kinds of things. So I think that’s really given new life to things that sort of didn’t get the chance, for whatever reasons, back then. The business was different at the time. I think now it allows people to see so much more. I love that show. I mean, I’m so proud of Dead to Me, but I’m also so proud of being in Freaks and Geeks. Someday I guess I’ll have to let my daughter watch it. I have to tell you, every time a new season of Dead to Me drops, I immediately fall back into a Freaks and Geeks rewatch. I love that show so much. No way! Do you really?! Oh, yeah! Every single time. I appreciate that, thank you! Judy and Lindsay Weir, very different people. Both trying to do the right thing, but messing up a lot. Do I have a green jacket because of Lindsay on Freaks and Geeks? Maybe. I love that. See, I love that this show is still in the conversation. It makes me so happy. Have you ever done that for a Marvel movie you’ve been in? Like, seen it with a packed audience? No, never. Opening night for any Marvel movie is pure fun chaos. I bet! Honestly, I should have.
