Niecy Nash-Betts Never Disappoints, From ‘The Rookie: Feds’ to ‘Dahmer’ And Beyond

On a Saturday afternoon in September, I laughed alone on my couch while watching Niecy Nash-Betts play the comically overzealous FBI newbie Simone Clarke in ABC’s The Rookie: Feds. Later that night, I sobbed while taking in her heartbreaking performance as Glenda Cleveland, Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbor, in Netflix‘s Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. In between blowing my nose and wiping my tears, I had an epiphany: We should put Niecy Nash-Betts in everything.

Since kicking off her career in the 90s, Nash-Betts has flexed her hosting, producing, comedy, and acting skills across the industry. It’s no secret she has range, but the stark juxtapositions of her two most recent roles serve as a reminder that she’s one of Hollywood’s most remarkable forces.

As Special Agent Clarke, Nash-Betts proves herself a capable lead whose confidence, comedic chops, and effervescent personality set the show’s engaging tone. As Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland, Nash-Betts delivers a tragic, career-great performance. She brings a consistently heroic woman — whose reports of Dahmer’s misdeeds were repeatedly dismissed by authorities — to screen with visible care and commitment to truth. Her efforts to capture Cleveland’s fear, disgust, and the crushing reality of near hopelessness resonate long after the series ends.

Nash-Betts will make you laugh. She’ll make you cry. And at this point in her career, she’ll make you wish she was in every damn thing you watch. Cast her in Succession, Abbott Elementary, and The Bear. Cast her in Severance, The White Lotus, and Barry. I want to see her in Ted Lasso, something with Paul Mescal, Knives Out 3, Despicable Me 4, the Rhea Seehorn Apple TV+ show, and the inevitable Wife Guy movie they make. (Who will she play? I don’t know! Write her a role.) Because she’ll likely need a break, you don’t have to cast Nash-Betts in House of the Dragon — a show I famously don’t watch — but I have no doubt she would slay if you did. This woman can do it all!

In 2022, Nash-Betts also bid farewell to Desna Simms and the money laundering manicurists of TNT’s dark crime dramedy Claws. She returned to Mindy Kaling’s popular Netflix coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever, where she plays Dr. Jamie Ryan, an insightful, hilariously blunt therapist who knows exactly when to dunk on, advise, or comfort our fave high schooler Devi by normalizing her grief. And she’s reprising her role as Deputy Raineesha Williams when the mockumentary Cops parody, Reno 911!, returns on October 19.

Over the years, Nash-Betts has showcased her comedic genius and improv prowess in everything from regular roles on The Soul Man and Scream Queens to guest spots on The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. For a chunk of her career, Nash-Betts was typecast in comedies. But she credits HBO’s Getting On with helping her branch out and land more substantial roles. During Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer’s three-season dark comedy, Nash-Betts received two Emmy nominations for her role as Didi Ortley, a nurse in the geriatric wing of a California hospital. She played Didi with a perfect blend of comedy and drama that defied expectations and gained attention from filmmaker, director, and producer Ava DuVernay.

Years after playing Richie Jean Jackson DuVernay’s 2014 historical drama, Selma, Nash-Betts gave a poignant, heart-wrenching, powerhouse performance in her 2019 limited series, When They See Us. In the Netflix series about the Exonerated Five, Nash-Betts played the mother of Korey Wise, who was wrongfully convicted of a horrific crime and sent to Rikers Island at age 16. The performance earned Nash-Betts another nomination from the Television Academy, so can someone tell me why the heck she hasn’t won a Primetime Emmy yet?!

Nash-Betts excels at comedy and drama, but she’s not limited to the genres. For many, she became a household name while hosting the Style Network series Clean House from 2003 to 2010. She appeared as a guest judge and a guest host of The Masked Singer, she tore up the dance floor on Dancing With The Stars Season 10, she’s been in music videos for icons like Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige, and she also has a successful career as a voice actor.

Nash-Betts is a versatile queen who rises to every challenge. I never want to stop watching her shine, so please keep casting her in all the things. Thanks.