Home Economics: Where Else You’ve Seen The Cast

Home Economics is one of the best sitcoms to come out of the 2021 season. Its fresh take on family and the family sitcom genre perfectly balances issues every family faces today, from economic differences to financial struggles and different personalities clashing. But at its heart, it’s about a family that comes together.

Along with the great writing, a big part of the show’s success is the talented cast, which includes seasoned TV actors along with relative newcomers.

Some of the faces are familiar from other projects while others might be recognizable, though fans just can’t place where they have seen them before.

9 Topher Grace: That ’70s Show

Of course, Topher Grace’s most notable previous role was as dry and sarcastic Eric Forman in the wildly popular Fox sitcom That ’70s Show. But his list of credits includes many more roles, including roles like Eddie Brock/Venom in Spider-Man 3 and David Duke in BlackkKlasman.

While Grace’s film resume is pretty long, however, he has continued to work in TV too, including doing voices for King of the Hill, Robot Chicken, The Simpsons, and starring in the episode “Smithereens” of the popular anthology series Black Mirror. He plays the struggling writer and eldest son Tom on this sitcom.

8 Caitlin McGee: Mythic Quest

Fans might recognize McGee, who plays anxious child therapist and middle child Sarah, from her recurring role in the Apple TV+ series Mythic Quest. She played Sue in four episodes.

Prior to that, she had a main role on the series Bluff City Law and appeared in two episodes of Amazon Prime Video anthology series Modern Love. McGee has been in plenty of other top shows with small roles, including Grey’s Anatomy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Shades of Blue.

7 Jimmy Tatro: 22 Jump Street

While most know Tatro initially from his massively successful YouTube channel LifeAccordingToJimmy, he broke out in the film world with his role as Rooster in 22 Jump Street.

If not from these two projects, fans might recognize Tatro’s booming voice from a small role he had in Grown Ups 2, or for the 2016 movie Blue Mountain State. He also received critical acclaim for his starring role in the Netflix original satirical true crime series American Vandal. Tatro puts his comedic talents on full display in his role as the wealthy yet dimwitted jock son Connor.

6 Karla Souza: How To Get Away With Murder

Souza was the fierce and terrifying Laurel Castillo on How To Get Away With Murder, who was never afraid to speak up to Annalise Keating and was always able to keep a level head when the group got themselves into a dangerous situation.

While she still plays a former lawyer in her role as Marina, Tom’s wife and a stay-at-home mom on this show, she is not nearly as mysterious a character. Souza has appeared in a number of Spanish language films as well, and starred in the 2020 series El Presidente before snagging this role.

5 Sasheer Zamata: Saturday Night Live

Fans of sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live will have instantly recognized Zamata from her time there as one of the many Black cast members the series has had through its run and one of the very few Black women to have been cast on the show. She was a cast member from 2014 through to 2017, where she did impersonations of Rihanna and played recurring characters like Janelle, the teenage host of her own YouTube channel and Keeley, a recurring player on a Black version of Jeopardy! called Black Jeopardy!

Proving her comedic timing and talents, Zamata is one of the most likable characters on this series, where she plans Sarah’s cool-headed teacher and wife Denise. Fans might also recognize her as Ayana in the series Woke and from three episodes of The Last O.G.

4 Nora Dunn: Saturday Night Live

Yes, Dunn, who plays the family matriarch Muriel, was also a cast member on Saturday Night Live. But it was way back in the ’80s, where she was on the show from 1985 to 1990. Some of her notable characters included Ashley Ashley, the pretentious film critic from the “Actors on Film” recurring sketch, and one-half of the Sweeney Sisters.

She has had small roles on television since then, including series like Everybody Loves Raymond, The X-Files, New Girl, and The Nanny. Dunn also had a main role on the series Sisters, played a judge on How to Get Away With Murder, and played a doctor on both Grace and Frankie and Chicago Med.

3 Phil Reeves: Veep

As family patriarch Marshall, Reeves brings some welcome comedic breaks to the sitcom. Most recently, prior to this role, fans might recognize him as the new Vice President Andrew Doyle from HBO series Veep.

But he has had a long and steady acting career that dates back all the way to the 1980s. Other shows he has appeared in include LA Law, 3^rd Rock from the Sun, The Office, Desperate Housewives, Girlfriends, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

2 Justine Lupe: Succession

Only appearing in the last episode as Emily, Gretchen’s mother and Connor’s ex, Justine Lupe has played so many diverse characters, fans might not recognize her in many of the roles. One of the most notable ones of late is in the award-winning HBO series Succession, where she ironically plays the wife of another Connor, the eldest Roy son.

But fans might also recognize her from her leading role in the series Mr. Mercedes and in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also appeared in one episode of TV Land series Younger as the fictional party girl and socialite Jade Winslow, one of many parody characters from the show.

1 Nicole Byer: Nailed It!

She only appeared in one episode as the agent who called Tom with interest to publish the book he was secretly writing about his family, but Byer is known for her role as host of the Netflix reality bake-off series Nailed It! where non-bakers attempt to re-create fabulous baked creations, often to hilarious results.

Along with some small roles in movies dating back to 2014, Byer has also appeared in episodes of 30 Rock, Pursuit of Sexiness, Lady Dynamite, and The Unicorn, and has done tons of voice work. She also had her own series, which aired from 2016-2018, called Loosely Exactly Nicole, which first aired on MTV then switched to Facebook Watch.

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