Janney guest starred on the sitcom "Frasier" in a 2002 episode "Three Blind Dates" and appeared in the short-lived "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in a guest appearance as herself in the episode "The Disaster Show". In late 2009, she was chosen to play the role of Sheila Jackson in the pilot episode of "Shameless", but when Showtime picked up the series, she was replaced after the pilot by Joan Cusack. In 2010, Janney appeared as Allison Pearson in "In Plain Sight". In May 2010, she appeared in the antepenultimate episode of the ABC television series "Lost" as the adoptive mother of the show's two mythological opponents, Jacob and The Man in Black. She starred in the ABC network comedy "Mr. Sunshine". The series, which was created by Matthew Perry, was a mid-season replacement for the 2010–11 television season.