When Greta Lee first appeared in the Netflix television show Russian Doll, she dazzled viewers all over the world with her charm as an actress. Born in Los Angeles to Korean immigrants, Lee made her first appearance in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit back in 2006, and then, a year later made her Broadway debut on New York’s stages for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Her early career consists largely of sporadic appearances in high-profile television shows, but things started to change after appearing in the show Sisters by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Lee’s biggest appearance after that was in Russian Doll, then she landed a role in the second season of Apple TV+’s hit series The Morning Show.
However, Lee began to gain critical acclaim after appearing in Celine Song’s Past Lives as Nora, a Korean immigrant to Canada who, after moving to New York City, is confronted by her childhood love and the past she left behind in South Korea. Others would also recognize her voice from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its 2023 sequel. Having had a busy couple of years, a stark departure from the days when she was working as a waitress to survive, Lee is only getting started with her career. Until her next big project, here are her best television shows so far.
12 Miracle Workers: Dark Ages
Miracle Workers: Dark Ages has been running for four seasons, and was originally created by Simon Rich. Rich ended up using the content of one of his novels and short stories to create the series’ stories. An anthology show, each season takes on a new subject.
Greta Lee specifically appears in the second season for several episodes as Princess Vicki; in this season, the setting is during the Dark Ages. A young woman decides she wants to be more than her father’s profession (he shovels feces), while others in the court try to alleviate international relations with other tribes and kingdoms.
11 Nurse Jackie
A New York City hospital is full of drama in the Showtime television series Nurse Jackie, and Jackie, one of the nurses, has plenty of problems on her own to figure out. One of them is the fact she has a major drug addiction going on behind the scenes. The series lasted for six years across seven seasons. As the issues and situations at the hospital continued to increase, Jackie needs to learn how to cope with everything without a mixture of drugs. Greta Lee appeared in three different episodes as a fellow nurse.
10 Inside Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer created Inside Amy Schumer in 2013, and the series initially ran for three years on Comedy Central before Paramount+ brought it back for a season in 2022 before canceling it again. This show is unique as it is essentially a series of sketches, interviews, and stand-up comedy with whoever is featured in that episode.
Considering its creators, all of these elements are combined to create something humorous and easy to laugh at with certain jokes and sketches. Although the show featured many guest stars during its run on television, Greta Lee joined for three years and was a consistent cast member that appeared in it.
9 The Good Fight
The Good Fight came out in 2017, and ran for seven seasons before concluding its run in 2022. It is a spinoff to the television show The Good Wife and takes place a year after the events of the series finale. This series begins with a scandal: a financial scam takes out a young lawyer and her mentor’s savings, and when this comes to light, they lose their jobs at the firm. They join another firm to save their careers, and the show primarily focuses on three women working in the industry with multiple societal movements going on in the background.
8 High Maintenance
An anthology series, High Maintenance ran for eight years before not being renewed; it consisted of four seasons before finishing. The main character is known as The Guy, who delivers weed to customers all over Brooklyn. While he is the main character, each episode frames the story through the interactions with his customers and people who’ve come into contact with The Guy.
There is no continuous plot line, and with the episodes only consisting of up to twenty minutes, it consists of vignettes of The Guy’s interactions while he’s out trying to do his job. Greta Lee appeared in four episodes throughout the series’ run.
7 Chance
In Chance, Greta Lee portrays Lucy Baek, and was a recurring cast member. Based on a book of the same name, the series ran for two seasons before being canceled. Eldon Chance is a San Francisco-based doctor who, after getting sucked too deep into the life of his patient, ends up pulled into a life of crime and abuse. Although Dr. Chance is struggling with his divorce and personal issues, he gets sucked deeper into his patient’s world and decides he needs to save her before it’s too late. With a cop and mercenary/furniture restorer, this will prove to be a tough task.
6 Wayward Pines
Based on a series of novels by the author Blake Crouch, Wayward Pines ran on Fox for two seasons. Both seasons have a different subject. Season 1 is about a Secret Service Agent looking for what happened to two other agents outside Wayward Pines, Idaho. After a car accident, he finds himself trapped inside the town, which is being guarded by the Sheriff. No one can leave, and if they enter, good luck trying to get out.
Season 2 pivots and focuses on a surgeon who finds himself in a clash with those in charge of the town after the events of season one. Greta Lee was a recurring cast member on the series during its airtime.
5 HouseBroken
Fox’s series HouseBroken, which is animated, first began its run in 2021, and has had two seasons so far. It follows the adventures of a therapy dog in Los Angeles, Honey, who is able to communicate with humans and is actually quite talented as a group therapist. Honey practices psychiatry and understands human emotions and issues, leading her to create a group therapy for the other animals in the neighborhood that are also anthropomorphic. Greta Lee has been a recurring cast member on HouseBroken and has appeared in fourteen episodes of the television series so far.
4 Girls
Inspired by creator Lena Dunham’s life, Girls takes place two years after its main character, Hannah, is cut off financially by her parents and now has to be able to afford to live in New York City on her own. Writing isn’t paying the bills immediately, and now Hannah has to learn about what it means to actually be an adult on her own. The series follows her mistakes and forays into the city, love, and friendship as she learns that it’s not as easy as the television shows make it seem. Greta Lee appears in several episodes of the series as a character named Soojin.
3 New Girl
When the mid-2010s were happening, it seemed impossible to escape television shows like New Girl. Zoey Deschanel starred as Jessica Day, a teacher who has moved into a new home after discovering her boyfriend cheating on her. Her Los Angeles loft however has some peculiar roommates defying the expectations of who a young woman should live with: they’re all men.
New Girl follows their adventures and 20- and 30-somethings just trying to sort out their problems financially, romantically, and platonically with the other people in their lives. Greta Lee appears in five episodes of the series.
2 Russian Doll
Netflix’s television series Russian Doll was a triumphant release for the streaming platform, as it was quite good considering how generic its premise could be interpreted as. Natasha Lyonne stars as Nadia, a woman who’s constantly thrown through a time loop. She’s celebrating her thirty-sixth birthday at a party thrown by her friend (Lee) when she ends up dying in every loop, causing it to restart. After meeting a man experiencing the same events, they try to break the cycle. The second season follows this formula, except now she’s trapped inside her pregnant mother’s body.
1 The Morning Show
Apple TV+’s The Morning Show has been one of the best releases from the platform so far. It is based on a book by Brian Stelter that came out in 2013. Jennifer Aniston portrays Alex Levy, a co-anchor on a popular morning news show. Season one finds her in a predicament when her fellow co-partner on the show is accused of sexual misconduct, and her new partner isn’t any better. Season two follows the events of season one; Lee appears in this season as a main character: Stella Bak. A fourth season is slated for release.