Why Does Lisa Kudrow Only Appear Virtually on 'Space Force' Season 2?

Space Force is back on Netflix for a second season, following the characters in the aftermath of their botched moon landing.

The sci-fi show that's also a workplace comedy focuses on soldiers and scientists serving in the space branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, but there's one character outside the military base that many have grown to know and love: Lisa Kudrow's Maggie Naird.

Maggie is the wife of lead character General Mark Naird (played by Steve Carell) and has been imprisoned for 40 years for an as-yet-unrevealed crime.

Space Force fans might be hoping to see more of the character and her blossoming relationship with prison guard Louise in Season 2, but Maggie doesn't appear in quite the same way as she did in the first season.

Warning: This article contains some spoilers for Season 2 of Space Force

Why Does Lisa Kudrow Only Appear Virtually on 'Space Force' Season 2?

Over the course of Season 2, Maggie appears only on a screen, whether she's on the phone to her husband or attending a meeting with her daughter's high school principal.

Even though the character is in prison, Maggie did appear in person in Season 1. She spoke to husband Mark and daughter Erin (Diana Silvers) from behind glass at the prison visiting room, and she and Carell's Mark even had a conjugal visit.

In the season finale, Maggie escaped from her confinement to help her daughter, along with her lover Louise. Kudrow is credited in five of the 10 episodes in Season 1.

In Season 2, however, Kudrow doesn't share any scenes with her co-stars in person—and Maggie is back in prison. Episode 1 of the new season explains why: revealing that her husband brought her back moments after the events that ended Season 1.

Later in the new season, Maggie demands a divorce, giving the character even less reason to appear onscreen with Carell's Mark.

There are most likely practical reasons for Kudrow's absence too. Season 2 was filmed between May and July 2021, with the production moving to Vancouver rather than returning to its previous set in Los Angeles.

COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time made it harder to ferry cast members to and from locations—especially one over the border.

Showrunner Greg Daniels told Newsweek that Kudrow's absence was a result of both these reasons, explaining that the actor was simply too big a star to expect to quarantine for so long with so few scenes.

He explained: "That's the one time where I will say it was a practical thing because we were in Vancouver, and Canada had a two week quarantine for anybody entering the country.

"So, that also helped really keep the stories around the core cast... there's a huge difference between asking Jane Lynch [who plays Admiral Mayweather] to drive 10 minutes from her house and show up and do a scene versus 'we still want you to do that same scene but you have to fly to Canada and spend two weeks in a hotel room before you can come to set', right?

"That's just too hard to get people's enthusiasms for a small guest role like that. So, yeah, that did make a little bit of an impact, I would say.

"At least as a person who, you know, is kind of a big deal and you don't ask [Kudrow] to spend two weeks in a hotel room to do a couple of scenes in a show."

Explaining how they approached filming with the show's guest stars, including Kudrow, Daniels said: "We went and we spent one day in LA and we picked her up and a couple of other people who were in the same situation [to film their scenes]."

Space Force Seasons 1 and 2 are out on Netflix now.

Update 02.28.22 10:15 a.m. EST: This article was updated to include Greg Daniels' interview with Newsweek in which he explained the reason behind Kudrow's smaller role in Season 2.