Kristen Johnston is one of the greatest living sitcom actors and after reading her no-holds-barred memoir, Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster, it becomes clear how close TV was to losing her. But through guile and gumption, Johnston star not only transformed her life, but reignited her career as the star of TV Land's The Exes.

Tonight brings the second episode of season two, an outing that Johnston feels perfectly showcases the show's strengths: the chemistry between herself and co-leads Donald Faison, Wayne Knight and David Alan Basche. It's refreshing to see that Kristen's candor isn't strictly saved for her memoirs, as the entire interview was peppered with refreshingly honest answers ... and only a few were followed by, "But that's off the record," which always came with a joyous chortle, making it easy to abide.

ETonline: What excites you about season two of The Exes?
Kristen Johnston: I love that the writers are really fleshing out everyone else this year. Honestly, the first season felt a little bit like the Kristen Johnston show -- and that's not what I signed on for. I didn't want to be the John Lithgow [her 3rd Rock from the Sun co-star] of my show. That's too hard, so I started getting a little nervous. In the last five episodes of season one, I was in every single scene, so I'm really glad that it's now becoming so much more of an ensemble and other people are getting to shine. That's very much what this season is about - instead of a billion guest stars, which is also fantastic, season two is about our dynamic and figuring out ways to have us together acting crazy.

ETonline: Well, judging from the clip (above), it's clear how crazy tonight's episode gets!
Johnston: I don't know how it will translate on screens, but when we filmed it, this was the funniest episode of a sitcom I've ever been a part of.