Parker Posey’s Best TV Roles, Ranked – Is Victoria Ratliff #1?
Parker Posey was great in 'The White Lotus,' but was that her number one TV performance?
Considering she was dubbed “The Queen of the Indies” in the 90s for her impressive resume of eccentric characters, Parker Posey has already cemented a distinct place for herself in Hollywood history.
But she has also been an indelible presence on TV – and not just as the Lorazepammy Victoria Ratliff in The White Lotus. In fact, Posey has appeared as a recurring or supporting character on some of the most beloved shows of all time. Whether as a gun-toting assassin or as an acerbic floor manager at Barneys, she has injected her sharp and zany brand of comedy into every role that she has played – no matter how small. No one can steal a scene quite like Parker Posey.
Let’s rank some of her most standout TV roles.
6. Other Jane on Mr. & Mrs. Smith
In this sleek Amazon Prime reboot of the infamous Brangelina movie of the same name, Posey appears as “Other Jane,” a cool and mysterious older spy who joins her husband to hang out with Regular Jane and Regular John. Even though she’s playing a high-risk spy, Posey adds a down-to-earth and relatable aspect to the character. Perhaps that’s where Posey’s trademark absurd sense of humor can sneak in. Overall, though, despite Posey’s slinky dress and don’t-mess-with-me stare, “Other Jane” is a minor role in the Parker Posey television canon. There’s not much room for her to make the character her own.
5. Branding Expert on Portlandia
Posey’s improvisational prowess is a perfect match for the creative environment of Portlandia, where she plays the charmingly patronizing and slightly loopy Branding Agent tasked with turning an unhoused woman into a superstar. As a checked-out, faded Hollywood type, Posey makes all sorts of lines work when they shouldn’t, such as when she calls 12 Years a Slave star Lupita Nyong’o “the slave girl.”
And yet, Posey has found ways to shine even brighter with just as little screentime. For instance, when she played….
4. Mary Phelps Jacob on Drunk History
As Mary Phelps Jacob, inventor of the bra, Posey is clever and buoyant, injecting warmth into a story that’s otherwise straightforward by Drunk History standards. You may already be familiar with Drunk History, but the concept is that a drunk narrator tells a story about someone from history. Actors must then lip sync to the narration while acting out the historical event. In that vein, the thing that makes this a terrific Posey performance is that she finds actorly justifications for every one of her narrator’s pauses and stutters, while also being compelling. Finding meaning in a millisecond … That’s brilliance!
3. Dorleen on Will & Grace
As the impatient and imperious Barneys manager Dorleen, Posey is the perfect foil for Sean Hayes’ Jack McFarland. She’s also the perfect delusional suitor of Eric McCormack’s Will. She’s likeable even when she’s being an ice-hearted, cynical hater of Christmas who wants to scratch Jack’s eyes out. (But who wouldn’t? If they had Jack as their employee?) She’s essentially one of Posey’s ‘90s movie characters if they had washed up and pursued a career in middle management. But while the role is a tad meatier than her other one-off roles, it’s still not as memorably eccentric as…
2. Lindsay Carlisle Shay on Parks and Recreation
As Leslie Knope’s old friend and current Eagleton nemesis, Posey is perfectly prim and proper – and just a skosh smarmy. She plays pretentiousness to hilarious effect, but she’s also relatable as a former ugly child – especially when Knope presents her with pictures of her awkward past self. Watching the humiliation and fury flicker across Posey’s otherwise composed face when she sees the pictures is hilarious. Even better: When Posey and Knope engage in a soap opera-worthy dive into a pile of trash.
1: Victoria Ratliff on The White Lotus
Maybe it’s just our recency bias, but Victoria Ratliff definitely ranks among Parker Posey’s most iconic roles. Exhibit A: The satirically exaggerated and instantly memeable North Carolina accent. Exhibit B: Posey’s brilliantly exasperated reactions to Leslie Bibb when the latter’s character greets her at breakfast. Exhibit C: Her ability to make monologues about being unabashed wealthy feel weirdly sympathetic. In the hands of another actress; Victoria could have been a cartoon. As played by Posey, she’s a fully realized behemoth.
