(TV Land)
Happily Divorced was canceled after airing two seasons on TV Land in 2013, and now Fran Drescher is talking about the series’ cancellation as she receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Drescher, John Michael Higgins, Tichina Arnold, Rita Moreno, Robert Walden, and Valente Rodriguez starred in the comedy based on Drescher’s real-life marriage, where her husband comes out as gay after 18 years of marriage. Unable to sell their house, the pair decides to continue living together as they both enter the dating world.
Drescher said the following about the series to People:
“It’s too bad that TV Land took Happily Divorced off after only 36 episodes. I did point it out to them, but they didn’t want to hear it. But ultimately, I was proved correct.
Two years later, I ran into one of the executives, and they said, ‘If it’s any consolation, that’s like the big regret at TV Land. That shouldn’t have been canceled. That shouldn’t have gone away. It was so good.’
If you have limited money, you can’t pay for a series with the hopes that you’ll be able to syndicate it or advance sell it before you start running out of money.
People, to this day, say, ‘I liked it better than The Nanny. Why did they take that off?’
It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get an opportunity to do that longer because it had something to say. The global message was: Everyone has a right to live an authentic life and love is love.”
Episodes are available for streaming on Paramount+.
What do you think? Did you watch this series when it aired? Were you hoping for more?