Although Fran Drescher is perhaps best known for her role on the beloved ’90s sitcom The nannythere’s another comedy she wishes could have similar staying power in the television landscape.
In a recent interview with Peoplethe former SAG-AFTRA president pointed to the “bad business model” that ultimately led to the TV Land show’s cancellation. Happily divorced. Based on Drescher’s real life, the series focuses on a woman who re-enters the dating world after discovering her husband is gay and juggles her relationship with her current boyfriend and ex-husband, with whom she still lives.
“It’s a shame that TV Land took Happily divorced after only 36 episodes,” she said, adding, “I pointed it out to them, but they didn’t want to hear it. But in the end, I was right.
The series, co-created by Drescher and her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, ran for two seasons and was canceled in 2013. It also starred John Michael Higgins, Tichina Arnold, Valente Rodriguez and Rita Moreno.
She continued, “Two years later, I met with one of the executives and they said, ‘If it’s any consolation, this is like the great regret of TV Land. It shouldn’t have been canceled. It shouldn’t have gone away. It was so good.'”
Drescher said she thought the series was “finding its footing” after a slow start and knew it would take sponsors more time to see its value in syndication. Happily divorced had gotten off to a good start, with the series premiere attracting 2.4 million viewers in the summer of 2011.
“If you’re short on money, you can’t pay for a show in the hopes that you can syndicate it or pre-sell it before you start running out of money,” she explained. “It was a couple who still loved each other, but he’s gay. It was going to take a little over 36 episodes to sell. Not to find the audience, because everyone loved it.”
The multi-hyphenate said she’s still approached by fans who love the show: “People, to this day, say, ‘I liked it better than The nanny. Why did they remove that? It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have the opportunity to do it longer because there was something to say. The global message was: everyone has the right to live an authentic life and love is love. »
