Alison Brie’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

Alison Brie got her start in community theater as a teen, but her big break came thanks to the sitcom Community, which happens to be one of her best TV shows. Brie has become known for picking great comedies to appear in, whether that means she plays a lead or a supporting role, but her talents extend beyond her comedic timing.

Brie has also proven herself in dramas, voice over work, and even in working behind the camera. Some of her best movies have also involved her work as a writer and producer. Brie is incredibly talented, knowing how far she can push herself in a role, and knowing exactly which roles to bring to life. Her best movies and TV shows here reflect her eye for interesting roles and stories.

10

BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

As Diane Nguyen

BoJack Horseman has become known as one of the best animated series aimed at adults in the modern day. Much of that is a result of how the series handles its portrayal of mental health. It has been lauded for having some of the best approaches to mental health on TV.

Brie voices Diane in the series, a human among animal characters, who is also a ghostwriter. She has a complicated relationship with the titular character and is someone who acknowledges her mental health issues and tries to help those around her with theirs as well. While Brie provides great voice work for the show, and the show is highly acclaimed, which is why it makes her best projects, Brie’s portrayal is clouded by the fact that her character is Vietnamese-American.

It must be noted that even though BoJack Horseman was not produced that long ago, the way actors approach voice work is beginning to change. It is much more likely that an actor of Vietnamese descent would have been cast in the role of Diane if the series was first produced today. Brie even issued a statement on her social media in 2020 apologizing for taking on the role and acknowledging that there should have been an effort made to have a Vietnamese actor in the part.

9

Somebody I Used To Know (2023)

As Ally

Somebody I Used To Know is a fairly straightforward rom-com for Brie. She appears as the producer of a reality TV series who makes a visit to her hometown and reconnects with an ex. While she is interested in rekindling the flame, he is actually about to marry someone who reminds her of her younger self. She goes on a journey that involves looking back on her past and moving on to a new future.

Brie’s work in the movie is great and she has real chemistry with Jay Ellis, who plays her ex. She has, however, been in better rom-coms, which is why even though Somebody I Used To Know is one of Brie’s best movies, it is not at the top. Brie did, however, pull double duty here. She also penned the script with her real-life husband Dave Franco, who also directed the movie.

Because Brie’s work in making a successful rom-com is evident, it’s clear that she could also make more that play with the conventions of the genre.

8

Mad Men (2007-2015)

As Trudy Campbell

Though Community is lauded as Brie’s big break, she had a role on Mad Men beginning a few years earlier. Her character is a more supporting role in Mad Men, but as her time in the show continues, she becomes more layered.

Set in the 1960s, the series follows a group of characters who work for an advertising firm as well as their clients and family members. Brie recurs throughout the entire run of the show as the wife of one of the company’s executives.

Initially, Brie’s Trudy appears as the stereotypical suburban housewife of the era who simply takes care of the home and has no idea what her husband gets up to outside of its doors. The series, however, makes it clear with Brie’s performance that is not the case. Trudy is painted as an optimist, but one who pays close attention to the rules of the society in which she lives. She also becomes aware of her husband’s infidelity and refuses to turn a blind eye.

7

Apples Never Fall (2024)

As Amy Delaney

Apples Never Fall is a series Brie appears in for Peacock. While some critics lamented that the story did not quite come together as it should, it has to be noted that the performances in the show are still fantastic.

The series is not one of Brie’s many comedies, but instead, much more of a drama. It’s a mystery in which the Delaney mom suddenly goes missing and her husband becomes a suspect in her disappearance. Her adult children are forced to reevaluate everything they know about the relationship between their parents and family secrets begin to emerge.

Brie plays the eldest of the Delaney children. While her parents have run a successful tennis academy, Brie’s Amy is a spiritual life coach who does not completely have her life together, but she is the most open with her emotions. That’s because Amy is the one Delaney who has gone to therapy to deal with her own insecurities and traumas. Amy makes for a refreshingly honest character of Brie’s that allows the actor to be more vulnerable in the work.

6

Horse Girl (2020)

As Sarah

Horse Girl starts out seemingly like a relatively normal indie drama that might be dealing with familial issues. It proves itself to be an interesting commentary on mental health and a science fiction piece though.

Brie stars as the titular character, Sarah. She is mostly isolated, spending time visiting her mother’s grave and seeing the horse she used to ride as a girl. When her roommate worries about her, she gets set up on a double date. Sarah’s world, however, becomes increasingly confused and paranoid as she begins having vivid dreams, sleepwalking, and even losing time during the day. She becomes convinced that she is actually a clone of her grandmother and that she has repeatedly been abducted by aliens.

Brie’s portrayal of Sarah is an incredibly sincere one, and that is what elevates the movie since it does not delve too far into its examination of mental health. Brie has since commented that she drew from her own experiences with depression and her own family’s history of schizophrenia when playing the role (via Vulture), which certainly makes it one of her most personal projects to date.

5

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2014)

As Unikitty

The Lego movies have become a fantastic franchise for kids and adults alike. While they use a toy that has been popular for generations as the literal building blocks of the stories in each movie, they also use humor that manages to be tongue-in-cheek for adults and still keep kids entertained.

Brie is one of many actors with a background in comedy who has lent her voice to the franchise. In the second Lego Movie, she stars as Princess Unikitty. Her character is made of half-unicorn-half-kitty Lego blocks, and Brie is able to use her naturally sunny voice to make the character appear as sweet and innocent and everything the audience might associate with the more adorable aspects of childhood. She also, however, is able to let loose with her emotions in the voice role to give Unikitty a truly impressive temper tantrum that parents everywhere will recognize.

4

Promising Young Woman (2020)

As Madison

Promising Young Woman was a divisive movie when it first premiered, but its story of revenge and female empowerment is a compelling one. Brie is not the star of the movie, but she is a supporting player who holds her own against Carrie Mulligan in the lead.

The movie follows Mulligan’s Cassie who dropped out of medical school after being assaulted. She has gone on a quest to make sure that predatory men cannot hurt any more women – by killing them. When Cassie and Brie’s Madison meet up, it is a reunion of old college friends, but Madison refuses to believe Cassie’s tale of assault.

Madison is used in the movie to demonstrate the very common practice of victim-blaming an assault survivor. Brie’s approach makes Madison an extremely unlikable character for the audience who might be rooting for Cassie. It’s a stark turn from so many of the charming girl-next-door characters she has played in the past, which is why it’s one of her best.

As Annie Edison

Community is definitely the role Brie is best-known for today, and many would consider her role as Annie her big break. The rallying cry of “six seasons and a movie” has proven strong, and even in 2025, a decade after the series ended, a Community movie is still in development.

The series follows a group of adults attending classes at a community college who all wind up in the same study group. While the show highlights some aspects of their lives outside of their time on campus, it usually focuses on some of their more unusual activities, like paintball wars at the school, and the relationships between the members of the group.

Brie’s Annie is very much the girl-next-door, which is why she became known for playing that particular type of female character. Annie is optimistic and fun and not always ready to dip her toes in the moral gray area the rest of the group might inhabit. Annie does, however, demonstrate some manipulative tendencies outside of her sunny disposition, which is part of the reason she makes for such a fascinating character for Brie.

2

Sleeping With Other People (2015)

As Lainey

Though Brie appears in a lot of comedic projects, for the first half of her career (so far), she did not appear in many leading romantic roles. She was largely part of ensembles who all had great comedic timing. Sleeping With Other People marks a change from that.

Sleeping With Other People sees Brie and Jason Sudeikis as a pair who agree to remain strictly friends despite their attraction to one another. Though they both see other people throughout their friendship, they grow closer to one another and realize how they truly feel, but are afraid to change the dynamic that already exists between them. Things come to a head when they both truly try to move on.

Sleeping With Other People manages to be as sweet and heartfelt as most rom-coms of an earlier era while bringing in more modern subjects, like Brie’s Lainey attending meetings for sex addiction. Brie and Sudeikis have fantastic chemistry together, and the movie is one of the most underrated the two have done.

1

GLOW (2017-2019)

As Ruth Wilder

GLOW is a series that was beloved by critics and its small audience but only lasted a few seasons before Netflix canceled it. It certainly had something of a niche storyline, but it had incredible performances, including Brie as Ruth.

Brie’s Ruth is a struggling actress in the 1980s who has been having an affair with her friend’s husband. When her friend finds out, it puts the two of them at odds. When she auditions for a role with the Glorious Ladies Of Wrestling (GLOW), it puts them on opposite sides of the ring.

Brie actually trained to be able to do many of her own stunts for the series, as did many of the actors in the show. It helped to lend an air of authenticity to the performances that were often grounded despite some outlandish storylines. Brie shows a commitment in her role as Ruth that endeared her to audiences. Her chemistry with Betty Gilpin as her frenemy is also fantastic. GLOW is easily Alison Brie’s best project so far.