The 5 Best Lauren Lapkus Movies And TV Shows, Ranked

You know her as Missy from Netflix's "The Wrong Missy," the actor in the AHA sparkling water commercial, or Denise from "The Big Bang Theory." Comedian Lauren Lapkus has been acting since 2005, and tends to appear in so many projects each year that even the most casual viewer is almost guaranteed to spot her sooner rather than later. 

With a list of roles that's well into triple digits, Lapkus is just about everywhere. If you want to take a crash course into her finest work, however, there's no need to delve through her entire catalog of movies and TV shows in search of the best of the best. After all, we've already done that in order to bring you a convenient list of Lapkus' five best movies and TV shows. 

"The Big Bang Theory" needs no introduction, of course. The long-running CBS sitcom started its way from a single show to a full-on franchise with the spinoff series "Young Sheldon" and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage." As it happens, creator Chuck Lorre has yet another "Big Bang Theory" spinoff in the works — and Lauren Lapkus might be one of the stars. 

As such, this is a great moment to check out Lapkus' recurring role on the parent show. She plays Denise, the assistant manager at Stuart Bloom's (Kevin Sussman) The Comic Center, which is an important location on the series. Toward the ending of "The Big Bang Theory," Denise and Stuart become closer and start dating. 

Sussman is also attached to the upcoming spinoff, so the comic book couple may very well stand front and center on that show, along with Brian Posehn's geology professor Bert Kibbler. Still, whether or not the planned series ever sees the light of day, Lapkus is great as Denise, and well worth watching on "The Big Bang Theory." 

From 2020 to 2021, Lauren Lapkus played Agent Phoebe Donnegan on the NBC crime comedy-drama "Good Girls." The star-studded show focuses on Beth (Christina Hendricks), Ruby (Retta), and Annie (Mae Whitman), three women who decide to solve their financial issues by robbing a supermarket. Unfortunately, the store is a den of criminal activity, and the aftermath of the heist pulls the trio headfirst into shadier activities. Lapkus' Secret Service Agent Donnegan appears on the show's 3rd and 4th seasons, hot on the heels of the money counterfeiters the main characters are deeply involved with. She appears on 17 of the series' 50 episodes. 

NBC canceled "Good Girls" after the ending of Season 4, which sees Beth ascend to a position of power while Ruby and Annie end up in pivotal cliffhanger situations. Lapkus wasn't a fan of the show's sudden end, and made her feelings known in an interview with US Weekly. "It was so disappointing," she said. "I mean, I know there were rumors of what was maybe going to happen and how it was going to work out. That's the hard thing about a show being canceled without that warning is that they didn't get to sum up all of the stories the way they would've wanted to, I'm sure. So ... the tricky part is, I think, it can be a little bit of a letdown when you can't wrap it all up in a nice bow." Still, despite its abrupt end, "Good Girls" is a fun and well-regarded show that gives Lapkus plenty to do, and should have a place on any fan's watch list. 

Robert Schwartzman's "The Unicorn" is a comedy movie about Malory (Lauren Lapkus) and Caleb (Nick Rutherford), a couple that feels that their relationship has lost its spark. After they find out that people they know have managed to keep their relationship going by experimenting with threesomes, they decide to try the same themselves. However, finding a suitable third wheel is a difficult task that leads to countless comedic moments and challenges their relationship in unforeseen ways. 

Highly rated by the critics, "The Unicorn" is an excellent chance to see Lapkus front and center of the cast. Here, she not only has excellent chemistry with Rutherford, but she also proves that she has what it takes to play a main character in a movie. As such, "The Unicorn" might not be the best-known project here, but it absolutely belongs on the list.

HBO's "Crashing" is another great show if you like to see Lauren Lapkus in comedy mode. The three-season series ran from 2017 to 2019, and stars a fictionalized version of comedian Pete Holmes. It begins when Holmes' wife Jessica (Lapkus) cheats on him, starting a series of events that inspires the now homeless Holmes to pursue an unlikely career in stand-up. 

Lapkus' character appears on nine of the show's 24 episodes. This makes her one of the most central characters on "Crashing," which heavily relies on celebrity cameos and guest star appearances. In an interview with Refinery29, Lapkus discussed her experience of portraying a cheating ex-wife character on a show that draws inspiration from her co-star's own real-life experiences, and how she was able to use her improv comedy background during filming. 

"'Crashing' is one of the first opportunities I've had to really improvise dramatically on film," Lapkus said. "It was really freeing because you can get really deep with somebody. Pete — knowing that it's Pete's personal story — and that he was going through a lot of the feelings again and he was going to a place where it really happened to him made it easy for me to go there with him."

"Orange Is the New Black" is one of the best Netflix original series of all time, and it also happens to feature Lauren Lapkus in a significant role. Lapkus' pleasant rookie prison guard Susan Fischer is one of the nicest people in Litchfield Penitentiary, which gets her in some trouble with the inmates, but generally keeps her in their good graces. This doesn't really help, as her biggest problem as the series progresses is Warden Joe Caputo (Nick Sandow), who also directly contributes to her departure during the show's sophomore season.

Lapkus' character may come across as meek, compliant, and even inept, but she plays Fischer with skill and nuance, making the guard extremely likeable despite her failings. Without spoiling anything, viewers who aren't happy with the way she's removed from the show won't be disappointed if they keep watching. It takes some time, but Fischer does eventually get her moment in the spotlight — and what a moment it is.