Melora Hardin is a multi-faceted artist. You know her best from her arc on NBC’s The Office. Her performance as Jan Levinson, the vaguely reluctant paramour of Michael Scott (Steve Carell), was one of the best in the entire series. Her deadpan delivery against Carell’s inspired lunacy emerged as a comedy match made in Heaven. That series may have brought her to national attention, but Hardin has worked in film and television since the late 1970s. She’s also an accomplished singer having performed the role of Fantine in Les Miserables in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
Lately, Hardin’s career has taken a turn behind the camera. In addition to her 4-season arc on Freeform’s The Bold Type, she made her television directorial debut recently with the “Snow Day” episode. It’s a new avenue of expression for this seasoned performer that she would love to explore again.
“I wanted to direct from the beginning of this when they offered me the part of Jacqueline,” Hardin recalls. “That was something we’d been planning on and working toward.”
This year, Melora Hardin entered her fourth year as Jacqueline Carlyle, editor-in-chief of fictional Scarlet magazine. The character was originally based on executive producer Joanna Coles’ life and career as former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. Hardin continues to evolve the character in fresh new ways. She wants to continue exploring Jacqueline’s personal life and marriage as it enters rocky territory. That direction makes sense as Jacqueline’s husband is played by Hardin’s real life spouse Ian Carlyle.
“I’ve been pitching this idea of really letting their relationship get a little rocky. I really like the idea of watching someone like Jacqueline, who has such grace and integrity, work through a challenge in a way that is something you might look up to and feel good about,” Hardin explains. “I feel like that’s what we really decided to dig into with her. We earned more time with her personal life this season.”
Aside from exploring this personal side to Jacqueline, Hardin has evolved her own career by following through on her directing goals. Her television directorial debut, “Snow Day,” offered both challenges and thematic resonance that fulfilled her creative needs. The episode features characters trapped as a blizzard hits New York City. The parallels between the episode and our current nationally quarantined environments weren’t lost on Hardin.
“I’m excited that I did get that episode because it was aligned with the things we’re going through right now. Everybody gets stuck and has to confront relationships that they may or may not want to be confronting right now,” Hardin remarked. “I think that’s something everybody all over America and all over the world is confronting right now with this pandemic. I think it might have shed some light on some of the things that everybody’s going through, little different challenges they’re having, and maybe some sweetness coming out of all of this.”
Hardin’s path stepping behind the camera was made easier thanks to all of the relationships with cast and crew she’d built over her four seasons as an actor on The Bold Type. The team proved incredibly supportive and brought their A-game for the experience. It was an emotionally and professionally rewarding experience, and Hardin looks forward to another opportunity should the series receive a Season 5 pickup.
Until then, she will continue a documentary project on which she has worked for four years. Planned for a final edit start in early July, the film considers women supporting women, female friendship, healing and what it takes to transform trauma. The documentary is told through the female gaze because Hardin wants to capture what trauma feels like in real life.
“It’s been really fascinating, and I’m exciting for the world to see it,” Hardin gushes.
The Bold Type can be see on Freeform. Hardin is also Emmy eligible as Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ABC’s A Million Little Things.
