On Arrested Development, Good Girls star Mae Whitman played Ann Veal -- the girlfriend of George Michael Bluth. Throughout the series, the comically rude Bluths constantly forget she exists and overlook her, grimacing whenever they do realize who she is. Michael Bluth, for example, always has to be told by his son who Ann is, and the reminder inevitably draws a look of disappointment from him. While their blunt lack of interest in Ann led to some great laughs over the course of Arrested Development, that wasn't always the whole joke -- and the original version was much better.
When the character first arrived on Arrested Development, Alessandra Torresani played Ann, not Whitman. However, while on the surface this might seem like a simple recasting, it was anything but. In 2018, Whitman shared with PeopleTV that "[the show was] originally going to keep replacing the actress who played Ann, just to keep you on your toes. And then they stuck with me — like, you're making the whole not-memorable thing work."
While Whitman did a fantastic job as Ann, choosing to stick with the original joke and recast the role each time the character appeared would have added another layer to Arrested Development's meta comedy. If Ann maintained her same dull spirit while switching physical appearances every time, it would have been another thing to laugh at and totally in line with the show's spirit. Plus, each time a new actor appeared as Ann, the audience would have experienced the same slow recognition as the Bluths. All of this would have led to the joke of Ann constantly changing gaining more and more weight, making it better each time.
Considering the show's already brilliant cast, Arrested Development could have likely found a killer lineup of actors to play Ann. Each could have brought something new to the role, opening the doors for different jokes gags, and elaborations on how to make Ann bland. Recasting Ann over and over would have, in the end, brought more than simply sticking with one actor.
In the end, Whitman played Ann for the majority of the show's run, and she did a fantastic job, helping define the unnotable character throughout her various appearances and playing well with her co-stars. Somewhat ironically, Whitman's take on the forgettable Ann will always remain memorable.