The Bloated Penguin

Anyone out there watch Better Off Ted? I’ve been following this show for a while now and with the second season well in, I’ve started to notice the timing and skill of Andrea Anders. Anders plays Linda Zwordling, the product testing, hilarious female voice of the show. Better Off Ted actually began as an introduction to Linda’s company Veridian Dynamics so we get to see stories unfold around her as she gets to know her coworkers and working environment. Although product testing isn’t a new concept, bringing this aspect to the small screen on a weekly basis is quite new. As a person who works in a creative environment (albeit not anywhere near the scientific level of those working at VD – wait… VD? I just got that), I really enjoy watching a show about this type of workplace.

Here’s a promo video for Veridian Dynamics – if this doesn’t make you want to work there, nothing will.

But Linda is more than just the product tester at VD, she basically represents where the moral compass will point each week. Episodes have focused on her rebelling against working for a conglomerate, branching out to her creative writing side and even her personal relationship with protagonist Ted. But where did Andrea Anders get her start, and how did she end up on Better Off Ted?

A quick look on this magical box we call a computer and the answers weren’t difficult to find. Anders got a break about 10 years ago making guest spots on shows like Law and Order. She then moved to the stage where she studied under Mary Louise Parker on the Broadway play Proof. A couple of years later Anders got a big break when she landed a recurring on HBO’s Oz as Donna Degenhart. Although Oz wasn’t a hugely popular show at the time, someone over at NBC recognized her talent and cast her in the flop we all know as Joey… Okay, maybe playing lawyer Alex Garrett wasn’t the best of choices, but I can understand why she’d want to take the chance. At the very least is prepared her for Better Off Ted, which in my mind, is one of the better single camera comedies on network TV right now.

I’m not having any luck figuring out where we’ll see Andrea Anders next but whenever and wherever we see her, I’m sure we’ll notice.