Her New Role on 'Bad Teacher' Is Perfect For Her

CBS is taking another swing at comedy with the Thursday premiere of movie-turned-TV series Bad Teacher, starring actress Ari Graynor. Graynor, as you might have guessed, is taking the reins from Cameron Diaz as the titular teacher. Here, though, the character is renamed Meredith Davis and she's a recently-divorced woman whose fake resume got her a job at a middle school. She decides to troll for rich single dads to latch onto in the hopes of quitting the workforce and doing nothing but spend money, and god knows what else, all day.

While CBS is normally a hit machine, I'm still crossing my fingers, just in case, for this new show. It looks really fun, and I want it to be a success, but you never know. Plus, Graynor has been a staple in the independent film circuit for years, and it's so great to see her finally getting her due on a show that seems tailor-made for her. And I mean this as a compliment.

You may be asking yourself how a gold-digging, selfish, rude and unfiltered character would be perfect for Graynor. No, I'm not suggesting that's what she's like in real life. What I mean is that it seems as though Graynor has been preparing for this character with the roles she has taken on throughout her career. Let's take a stroll down Ari Graynor filmography road for some evidence, shall we?

1. For A Good Time, Call

Perhaps the best reason for why Graynor is absolutely pitch perfect to take over for Diaz in Bad Teacher, this film is about two women who start a phone-sex line to make money. Graynor plays a phone-sex line operator along with her friend and she seems to know pretty much everything about sex that there is available to know... and some that isn't. Graynor's character in the film also has a sharp tongue and doesn't have a filter around anyone, including her friend's parents.

2. 10 Years

In this ensemble dramedy starring Channing Tatum, Graynor plays Sam, mother and wife of the lovable yet immature Cully, played by Chris Pratt. Clearly Graynor has practice playing someone who can handle children and adult males who act like children. This whole middle-school teaching thing will be a breeze.

3. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist

This is another film where Graynor gets to steal scenes. Here, she plays the perpetually drunken and promiscuous best friend of Kat Dennings' Nora. Drunk and promiscuous are basically the definition of the Bad Teacher character.

4. Whip It

Finally, in this Drew Barrymore-directed coming-of-age film, Graynor plays one of the many roller girls. However, she plays for the opposing team as Ellen Page's main character. Graynor's role here requires her to be a strong competitor with a good heart deep down.

If there was anyone to play someone so uncensored, promiscuous, and egotistical yet ultimately endearing as well as Cameron Diaz, it's definitely Ari Graynor. No matter what, that makes CBS' Bad Teacher a must-see show in my book.

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