Lainey Wilson will guest star as Jessie in Season 2 of Netflix sitcom ‘Leanne,’ premiering Aug. 27. Here’s what to know
Lainey Wilson is adding another line to one of the most diversified résumés in country music. The reigning genre superstar will guest star in Season 2 of Leanne, the Netflix sitcom created by and starring Tennessee comedian Leanne Morgan, when the new season premieres August 27. Wilson will appear as a character named Jessie, Leanne’s cousin, in Episode 209, marking her first major comedic television role.
The casting is a natural fit for an artist who has spent the last several years proving she is more than a hitmaker. Wilson broke through on the strength of songs like “Things a Man Oughta Know,” then translated that momentum into screen work, and the Leanne booking is the latest sign that her brand now extends well beyond radio and touring.
From Yellowstone to a Netflix Sitcom
Acting is not new territory for Wilson, even if comedy is. She first stepped in front of scripted cameras as Abby, a musician, in the fifth season of Paramount’s Yellowstone, a role that let her fold her music career into the storyline. Earlier this year, she made her feature-film debut as Amy in Reminders of Him, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Leanne pushes her into a new register entirely, trading drama and film for multi-camera sitcom laughs.
She is joining a show with serious comedy pedigree. Leanne is a product of Chuck Lorre Productions, the powerhouse behind The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, with Morgan co-creating alongside Susan McMartin. The series follows Leanne Murphy as she rebuilds her life after her husband of 33 years leaves her, leaning on her wonderfully unfiltered family, including her ride-or-die sister Carol, played by Kristen Johnston. Season 1 landed in the Netflix global top 10 for two straight weeks, and the streamer is clearly doubling down.
Wilson also will not be the only notable face stopping by. Season 2’s guest list includes Jaime Pressly, Billy Gardell, and Tyne Daly, a roster that signals just how much heat the sitcom has generated. For Wilson, sharing that space is another marker of arrival in a world outside Nashville.
A Banner Year Getting Bigger
The timing could hardly be better. 2026 has been a landmark year for Wilson, and not only because of her expanding screen career. Just recently, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at one of Wilson’s concerts, joining her onstage for a duet of Swift’s “Love Story.” “I don’t think y’all are ready for what’s about to happen,” Wilson told the crowd before welcoming “my friend Taylor Swift” to the stage. Swift took the first verse, Wilson took the second, and the two traded the chorus in a moment fans will not soon forget.
That kind of co-sign underscores how central Wilson has become to country’s mainstream ascent. She and Morgan already share a rapport, having presented together at the CMA Awards, so the guest spot reads less like stunt casting and more like a genuine extension of an existing relationship. There is even a musical thread running through the series itself, with the Leanne theme co-written and performed by longtime Nashville singer-songwriter Lauren Lucas alongside Americana great Keb’ Mo’.
For Wilson, the through-line is the same one she scribbled in her journal at 16, when she wrote that her dream was to become a country singer-songwriter. Everything since, the Yellowstone arc, the film debut, and now a Chuck Lorre sitcom, has grown out of the music rather than replacing it. Leanne Season 2 arrives on Netflix August 27.
