Janney's first role on television was in the short-lived black-and-white faux-1940s comedy "Morton & Hayes"; she appeared in two episodes of the 1991 CBS series as Eddie Hayes' wife. She then moved on to soap operas; she first played Vi Kaminski for a short time on "As the World Turns", following up with a two-year role as Ginger, one of the Spaulding maids, on "Guiding Light". In the spring of 1994, she appeared in the season-four finale of "Law & Order", titled "Old Friends", as a reluctant witness against a member of the Russian mob. She was also a cast member on the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion".