American sweetheart Jennifer Garner was one of Hollywood’s top actresses of the 2000s. Her on-screen presence and poise easily helped contribute to her likeability as a person and an actor. Jennifer Garner is known for her performance in 13 Going on 30 (2004) and for portraying the Marvel Comics superhero Elektra in the comics’ film adaptations.
Although she has had successes as a film actress, most of her major award nominations and wins have been for her work on the small screen. Interestingly, although Garner began her acting career in theater, television was where she made her on-screen debut. These are Jennifer Garner’s top 7 TV roles of her career.
Felicity (1998–2002)
The J. J. Abrams and Matt Reeves-created college drama Felicity isn’t Jennifer Garner’s debut television role but one of her most significant. Of the show’s 84 episodes, spread across 4 seasons, Garner only appeared in three. She was cast in a recurring role as Hanna Bibb. The character was a student of Northwestern University and was a long-term, long-distance girlfriend of Noel Crane (Scott Foley). The character would later break up on Thanksgiving, with Crane dating Felicity Elizabeth Porter (Keri Russell) that same day. Although a minor role, her casting in Felicity afforded her the opportunity to land the biggest television role of her career.
Time of Your Life (1999–2000)
Between her time on Felicity, Jennifer Garner was cast as one of the main cast in Time of Your Life. The Fox teen drama was a spin-off of the network’s teen and family drama Party of Five. In Time of Your Life, Garner played Romy Sullivan, a struggling actress and the first friend Sarah Reeves Merrin (Jennifer Love Hewitt) makes when she moves to New York City. Romy Sullivan is also introduced as Sarah’s roommate. Time of Your Life was canceled after the first season, with 19 aired episodes. As a supporting character, Garner’s Romy Sullivan appeared in all the series’ aired episodes.
Alias (2001–2006)
Before the end of his first TV show, director J. J. Abrams began working on an action espionage thriller drama, Alias. Having briefly worked with Jennifer Garner in Felicity, J. J. Abrams specifically wrote the character of Sydney Bristow with Garner in mind. The ABC show became an instant hit. As the show’s lead character, Jennifer Garner appeared in all 105 episodes in the series’ 5 seasons. Garner is credited as a producer in 17 episodes and made her directorial debut (first-ever and only) in an episode, Season 4, Episode 19 (“In Dreams…”), of Alias. For her performance as Sydney Bristow, Garner received four nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, winning her first nomination in 2002. She was also nominated four times for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Garner’s only SAG Awards win was for her performance in Alias.
Llama Llama (2018–2019)
In Netflix’s children’s animated web series Llama Llama, Jennifer Garner was the voice of Mama Llama. Her character was the mother of the titular character, Llama Llama (voiced by Shayle Simons). Llama Llama aired from January 26, 2018, to November 15, 2019. However, the Netflix animated series wasn’t Jennifer Garner’s first voice role on TV. She first voiced herself in a The Simpsons episode (“Treehouse of Horror XIV”) in 2003. A decade later, she voiced the character Jennifer in a single episode of the flash-animated children’s television series Martha Speaks (2013).
Camping (2018)
Jennifer Garner’s next lead role in television was playing Kathryn McSorley-Jodell in the HBO’s comedy series Camping. Her character is the controlling and obsessively organized wife of Walt Jodell (David Tennant) and the mother of Orvis (Duncan Joiner). The show was canceled after the first season due to low ratings and negative reviews from critics. The 8-episode season aired from October 14 – December 2, 2018.
Party Down (2023)
Although the Starz sitcom Party Down received mostly positive reviews from critics, the show was canceled after the second season. However, it was revived in 2021 with a 6-episode order. Jennifer Garner joined the cast in season 3, playing a film producer, Evie Adler. Season 3 premiered on February 24, 2023. The series’ revival season has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was critically acclaimed.
The Last Thing He Told Me (2023)
Jennifer Garner’s most recent role on television was in the Apple TV+ thriller miniseries The Last Thing He Told Me (2023). Garner was cast as the lead character, Hannah Hall. Although not critics’ favorite, The Last Thing He Told Me (2023) became Apple TV+’s most-watched miniseries after its release in April 2023. The platform recorded the show attracted about 4.5 million unique viewers within the first month. Fans and admirers of Jennifer Garner can catch her in her new TV series playing Tom Desjadon’s (Tom Mariano) partner, KD Williams, in the action crime thriller Can’t Go Home (premiering on December 29, 2023).
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