Jennifer Garner on her return to TV and stepping in for Julia Roberts
Jennifer Garner talks about Apple TV Plus' The Last Thing He Told Me, the Party Down revival, and more

Jennifer Garner has an impressive roster of characters to her name: 13 Going On 30's spunky Jenna Rink; Juno’s heartrending Vanessa Loring; Dr. Eve Saks in the Oscar-nominated Dallas Buyers Club. But her career-defining role remains ABC’s Alias. Garner led the five-season drama and earned Emmy nominations as double agent Sydney Bristow, helping to spearhead a new wave of strong female characters on the small screen in the early 2000s.
Since Alias ended in 2006, Garner hasn’t returned to TV for an extended role, save for one season on 2018’s Camping. She has, however, emerged as a scene-stealer on the small screen this spring. The actor leads Apple TV+’s The Last Thing He Told Me, a heartfelt family thriller based on Laura Dave’s novel of the same name. The seven-part drama allows Garner’s Hannah to explore a smorgasbord of emotions—motherhood, grief, confusion, and love—on her quest for the truth about her husband’s disappearance while protecting her teen stepdaughter Bailey (Angourie Rice).
Garner also joined the cast for Starz’s long-awaited Party Down revival, which premiered in February. In season three, she plays Evie, the surprising love interest (in the absence of Lizzy Caplan) of Adam Scott’s Henry. Not surprisingly, Garner proves to be incredibly funny and fits the show’s sensational dry comedic routine like a glove.
Although 2023 is barely underway, Garner is clearly having a memorable year. The A.V. Club spoke to Garner about what compelled her about both projects, what she wanted to evoke with her TLTHTM performance, taking over for Julia Roberts in the show, and the experience of being directed by Ken Marino in Party Down.
The A.V. Club: With Party Down and now The Last Thing He Told Me, this year feels like your significant return to television. Why was the time right for these projects?
Jennifer Garner: I love the writing of both shows. I was a huge fan of Party Down’s initial two seasons. I was just happy to be involved and had a blast with those guys. I loved Evie. I loved Evie and Henry together. But goodbye, Evie. [Laughs]. As for TLTHTM, I would’ve done anything to play this role. I knew I had the capacity to dive into a role in a way I haven’t in a long time, and I wanted to luxuriate in that process.
AVC: How was that process for you after all these years? Did it evolve in any way?
JG: It had everything I loved about TV, meaning having a longer span of time to tell the story, to get to know your character and deepen relationships with the other actors. Yet it didn’t have anything that made TV so impossible to do, namely 16-, 17-, and 18-hour days for nine months straight. I was able to read and work on all the episodes before we started filming. It was such a gift to work through them with [series creators] Josh Singer and Laura Dave and craft the character repeatedly as she charted her course through the hardest time in her life.