We were already excited about next week’s first season finale of ABC’s Suburgatory because James Ingram is going to be on it singing “100 Ways,†and who doesn’t love James Ingram (though, if we’re being honest, “Yah Mo B There†with Michael McDonald would have been even cooler). Now, however, Vulture has discovered there’s another reason to check out Wednesday’s episode. Spoiler alert: Yakult, the canine companion of Dallas (Cheryl Hines), is going to speak. What’s more, Suburgatory creator Emily Kapnek has landed a very well-known celeb to give voice to this beloved creature: Whoopi Goldberg.
Without getting into too much detail, the Mother’s Day–themed finale features a subplot where Dallas ends up having a hallucination in which Yakult (“named after the probiotic,†Kapnek notes) begins to speak out loud. Kapnek says fans of the show will quickly get the logic behind casting Goldberg as Yakult’s alter ego. “We all know that Dallas is obsessed with Joy Behar: that she considers her a role model, that she had Joy’s likeness carved into crystal and deemed her ‘a menopausal icon,’†Kapnek told us. “So it seemed natural that when looking to cast the voice of Dallas’s constant companion that we would go to Whoopi. Not just because of her close proximity to Behar, not just because they stormed out on Bill O’Reilly together, but also because Whoopi has one of the most distinct voices out there and impeccable comic timing. Who better to school Dallas?†Kapnek was so enamored of the job Goldberg did recording Yakult’s voice, she’s secretly hoping the Whoopster will appear in her own fever dream. “If I’m ever heavily medicated and hallucinate that one of my household animals is trying to talk some sense into me, it sure as shit better sound like Whoopi Goldberg,†Kapnek says. “Or I won’t listen.â€