Jenn Lyon: Unfiltered, Unboxed

With an enormous heart, razor-sharp wit, and a career that refuses to fit neatly into any one box, Jenn Lyon is the kind of talent you can’t help but root for. From her roots in North Carolina as a preacher’s daughter to commanding screens alongside Hollywood heavyweights, Lyon’s journey has been anything but ordinary. Now toplining NBC/Peacock’s hit comedy STUMBLE — a cheer-fueled, laugh-out-loud series already earning rave reviews and with its Season 1 finale set to air this March — she’s stepping into a moment that feels both long-earned and deeply authentic. In this conversation with Miami Living Magazine, Lyon opens up about breaking molds in Hollywood, the power of comedy in uncertain times, and the mindset shifts that changed her life both on and off screen.

Miami Living (ML): Welcome Jenn! From growing up in North Carolina as a preacher’s daughter to now leading a hit Peacock comedy your dad and his congregation can finally watch, does this moment feel surreal at all? And what’s been grounding you as it unfolds?

Jenn: Nothing is quite as grounding as a southern mama. They will never let you get too big for your britches.

ML: STUMBLE has been described as The Office meets SNL with a splash of Bring It On. When you first read for Courteney Potter, what clicked instantly? And what surprised you most about inhabiting someone so fiercely driven (and hilariously unhinged)?

Jenn: That’s an interesting pitch. I always say it’s like Mel Brooks and Friday Night Lights had a baby, and that baby was raised by Parks and Rec! What clicked for me instantly was how she (Courteney) has such a soft spot for humanity and all its foibles and such a blind spot for her own absurdity. What surprises me about playing her is how tight the jeans are.

ML: You’ve worked across wildly different worlds: from Broadway and Larry David’s razor-sharp comedic universe to gritty drama and now cheerleading chaos. Which medium still scares you just enough to feel exciting?

Jenn: I guess a one-woman show would be the most terrifying? I like to fail in groups.

ML: You’re refreshingly open about mental health, boundaries, and the mindset shifts that changed your life – including surviving an eating disorder that nearly took everything. What does “success” mean to you now, compared to how you defined it early in your career?

Jenn: That’s such a loaded question and I don’t know the answer really. I definitely don’t think there is some arrival like I used to. I think maybe our life’s work is learning how to be present and awake and grateful no matter what is happening? That would be a big success.

ML: Comedy feels especially vital right now, not as escape, but as connection. What responsibility do you feel, if any, as a comedian working in such a culturally tense moment, and how do you balance humor with heart?

Jenn: You can roast someone within an inch of their life, but if you do it with affection and they know you also make yourself a punchline, they will laugh AND you won’t be in trouble. What’s better than that?

ML: Hollywood often sells the myth that women must compete to survive, yet you consistently champion collaboration. What has working alongside powerful women like Niecy Nash, Julianne Moore, and Kristin Chenoweth taught you about rewriting that narrative?

Jenn: When you get to work with the kindest, funniest, most talented women, your whole world opens up. You get to watch how they work, how they get their needs met and how they take care of the people around them and that’s always such a powerful lesson. I hope I’m the kind of number one (that’s how we refer to the lead of a show because they are number one on the call sheet) that makes people feel valued, appreciated, and collaborative.

ML: Looking back at the odd jobs, the quiet “almosts,” and the version of Jenn who didn’t yet know her own worth, what would you want her to know now, standing on the other side of this moment?

Jenn: There are so many things I’d like to tell her, but she sure wouldn’t listen! Can’t tell her nothing!

You can keep up with Jenn on IG @ thejennlyon. Stumble airs Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET on NBC and is also streaming on Peacock.

Photo Credit: Tyler Patrick Kenny

Hair: Patrick Kyle

Makeup: Allyson Wisel

Styling: Andrew Gelwicks

By ML Staff