In 1999, Jenna Elfman won a Golden Globe for playing Dharma Freedom Finkelstein Montgomery,
the upbeat yoga instructor on ABC's sitcom Dharma and Greg.
The show was nominated for six Emmys, ran for five seasons, and outpaced everybody's
expectations.
So, what happened to Elfman's post-show career?
Millions of viewers loved her as Dharma, and would love to see her back on the screen.
Here's why she may have been forgotten by Hollywood, and how she might find her way back.
False start
Hollywood never forgets, and Elfman had a rough post-Dharma decade.
Soon after the series ended, Elfman was cast as the lead in the 2003 Broadway musical Nine,
replacing Tony-award-winning actress Jane Krakowski.
But on opening night, it was Elfman's understudy, Sara Gettelfinger, who took the stage instead.
According to insiders, Elfman just wasn't ready to take the stage for her musical performance.
For Elfman, this false start was the beginning of some fairly lean years, immediately falling
back on Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
"Las Vegas!"
"You got no music in your soul, sister."
"I am aware of that."
Curse of cancellation
Television networks continue to try Elfman out in new sitcoms, but her shows rarely seem
to make it past a single season.
Whether she was on Courting Alex, Accidentally on Purpose, or 1600 Penn, audiences didn't show up.
Growing Up Fisher only lasted 13 episodes, despite having a great cast.
With so many duds on her resume, continuing to cast Elfman as a comedic lead starts to
look like a bad investment at a certain point.
Elfman's still a name brand with fans, though, which is why ABC is picking up yet another
Elfman vehicle, Imaginary Mary, set to premiere in March of 2017.
The plot is a classic — truly a tale as as old as time: A CGI creature voiced by Rachel
Dratch returns from a long hiatus to guide and/or disrupt the average life of a public
relations executive.
"I am a mom and I do the Macarena.
Where is my mini-van, ooh I'll find it later."
We'll have to wait and see whether the show succeeds, but by September of 2016, it had
already been cut from 13 episodes to 9.
Not a great sign, but you never know...
She's a podcast host
In 2012, Elfman teamed up with her husband Bodhi to create a podcast about their marriage,
called Kicking and Screaming.
What began as a playful digital discourse exploring the topic of marriage has blossomed
into a hit show that's lasted more than five years and seventy episodes.
Elfman hasn't been completely off-screen since the podcast started, but a regular podcast
demands a considerable amount of time and creative energy.
It's possible that her commitment to the show might've taken her away from bigger on-screen projects.
Focused on her family
Jenna and Bodhi have been married for more than 26 years, and as their podcast attests,
it hasn't all been easy.
Jenna has cited humor as being critical to a healthy marriage.
If one thing is clear, between her vocal dedication to Scientology, their podcast, and their everyday
life with their two sons, the Elfmans spend a tremendous amount of time together.
That kind of closeness can be a moving target for some couples, and the time spent to make
it work is time spent away from the camera.
Dedicated to dance
One less publicized element of Elfman's life is the importance of dance.
During an interview with Showbiz Shelly, the entertainment reporter for Chicago's B96 radio,
Elfman discussed her dance background.
"I started ballet as a five-year-old girl and I trained six days a week, four hours
a day, for about 16 years and got full scholarship to Pacific Northwest Ballet."
Today, she spends time away from sets to invigorate her passion for dance.
For instance, Elfman is on the board of trustees of the Dizzy Feet Foundation, whose mission
is "to improve and increase access to dance education in the United States."
She can still make a comeback...if she wants to
It's difficult to imagine a show like Dharma and Greg finding the same success today as
it did back in the late '90s.
The entertainment landscape has significantly changed, so it might benefit Elfman to stop
playing the same character that she's played in multiple shows and try something new.
But it's also possible that she isn't especially eager to "come back" to the spotlight — and
with a successful podcast, marriage, family, and spiritual life, who can blame her?
And if she can't find a better way back in, she can always be in one of her father-in-law's insane films.
*incomprehensible vocalizing*
Then again...maybe not.
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