Jennifer Aniston will no longer star as Jennette McCurdy’s mother in the Apple TV adaptation of her memoir.
Aniston, 57, was poised to take on the controversial role, detailed in McCurdy’s best-seller, I’m Glad My Mom Died. Apple TV announced the casting choice last July, saying that Aniston would star as McCurdy’s “overbearing, domineering mother,” while also producing the series.
The Friends star is now exiting the show altogether. TMZ first broke the news, with sources telling the outlet that Aniston backed out because of “scheduling conflicts.”
The television adaptation has hit a few production snags since it was first announced in June 2025. Two months later, Puck’s Matthew Beloni learned that Juno director Jason Reitman also left the series due to “creative clashes” with McCurdy, who is serving as showrunner alongside producer Ari Katcher. Sources told the publication that McCurdy and Reitman had a “tense exchange,” after which Reitman bowed out.
At the time, Apple TV executives told producers they had a week or two to find a suitable director, or the project would have to be suspended indefinitely. Aniston’s limited schedule was named as a factor, Puck reported.
Aniston was full of praise for both McCurdy and the project. In October, she told People she was “pretty much immediately intrigued and flattered and excited” upon receiving the offer.
“It’s going to be wonderful. It’s going to be pretty great to start shooting it,” said the Golden Globe-winning actress, adding that McCurdy is “remarkable” and that the memoir is “so beautifully written.”
McCurdy, formerly of iCarly fame, published her memoir in 2022. The book climbed to claim the number one spot on the New York Times best-seller list.
The 34-year-old actress began her career as a child star on the sets of the Nickelodeon sitcom and under the watchful eye and unwavering control of her mother, Debra.
Debra died in 2013, when McCurdy was 21. McCurdy’s book is sectioned into two segments: “Before” her mother’s death and “After.”
Aniston and McCurdy both said they shared similarly fraught relationships with their mothers—a factor that drew Aniston to the series. “We have a lot in common,” Aniston told People. “We had very similar moms.”
Aniston currently stars in Apple TV’s The Morning Show, for which she also serves as an executive producer.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Apple TV and Aniston’s representatives for comment.
