|
|
'8 Simple Rules' Will Go On Without John Ritter
|
|
Thursday, 18 Sep 2003
|
size : 239 K
1357 views |
size : 94 K
1334 views |
size : 260 K
1613 views |
|
ABC has chosen to continue production on "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" following the death of star John Ritter, a decision that has the support of the show's cast and crew as well as Ritter's family.
The series will begin its second season as scheduled at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, Sept. 23. ABC will air the three episodes Ritter completed before his death last week, then place the show on an indefinite hiatus while it's reworked to include the death of Ritter's character, sportswriter and perpetually perplexed dad Paul Hennessy.
"It's been a very difficult few days," ABC chairman Lloyd Braun told reporters in a conference call Tuesday (Sept. 16). "With John's passing, we lost far more than one of the stars of our signature comedies. We lost really a beautiful human being.
"That made it all the more difficult to then have to deal with the business at hand, which was how are we going to handle this show. But with the new season a week away, we had little choice [but] to dive in and make that decision."
The show will not try to replace Ritter, although Braun and ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne allow that some new characters -- friends or relatives of the Hennessys -- will likely play a part in the show's future. Lyne emphasizes that there is "no intention" in bringing a new father figure onto the show.
"We discussed every option, but quite honestly, we very quickly dismissed the notion of recasting John," Braun says. "It didn't feel right on any level. He's irreplaceable, and we know that."
The fact that Ritter was so central to "8 Simple Rules" led Lyne first to think about ending the show's run. "But the more we talked about it," she says, "and the more we talked and the more we saw the impact of his death, not just on our family but on families across the country, [we realized] that there was another way to go here."
What "8 Simple Rules" will try to do, Lyne and Braun say, is take an honest look at how families are affected by the death of a loved one. If that makes the show out of the traditional sitcom mode for a while, so be it.
"We'll take that story as far as it feels right," Lyne says. "We can't lay out for you right now exactly how long we'll be dealing with the death and loss. It may be several episodes, and it may be longer than that. But we do feel it's important for the people who've become attached to the Hennessy family and for our team, too."
Ritter's wife, actress Amy Yasbeck, says in a statement that she supports ABC's decision and that her husband would have liked to see the show continue.
"He believed in this show and its message that a strong family can get through anything," Yasbeck says. "He felt so lucky to be working with such wonderful people every day. They all had such a warm friendship, and I know John would want his friends to be able to continue doing what they love."
Braun says the cast and crew, after the initial shock of Ritter's death, also believed that "8 Simple Rules" should continue. The series will be on a production hiatus for several weeks, but its writing staff will start work soon on remaking the show, which will now focus on mom Cate Hennessy (Katey Sagal) and the three teenage kids (Amy Davidson, Kaley Cuoco and Martin Spanjers).
"This is something that the people who work on this show are very passionate about doing. They want to write this and they want to perform this," Braun says. "It will involve a lot of emotion on behalf of everyone involved in the process. But everyone in the show, in a really amazing way, has come together and said we have to try to do this.
"People feel very strongly that there's a very powerful story to tell, and they want to tell it. Even in the midst of tragedy ... ultimately people laugh again. That's the way it is in life, and the people in the Hennessy family will laugh again too."
|
More Entertainment News....
Kaley Cuoco Links
| Pictures | Posters | News | RSS Feed | FanSites | DVDs | Contact Kaley Cuoco
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
