Bette Midler looks back on her autobiographical sitcom, Betteand express their regret about the 2000 series.
The 78-year-old actress revisited the short-lived sitcom when she appeared in the latest episode of David Duchovny Fail better Podcast. The veteran actress called the experience a “big mistake” and suggested that one of the show’s biggest failures was the exit of Lindsay Lohanwho left the series after the pilot episode.
“I did a TV show Bette. Is it even more general? “A big, big, big mistake,” Midler recalled with Duchovny. “I think for several reasons.” It was the wrong motivation. It was a part of the media that I just didn’t understand. I’ve seen it. I appreciated it. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t know what it meant to do it.
Midler played a version of herself in the one-part sitcom, which followed her grounded home life with her college professor husband, Roy (Kevin Dunn, then Robert Hays in later episodes) and their teenage daughter, Rose (Lohan).
Created by Jeffrey Lane, Bette aired on CBS from October 2000 to March 2001. The series filmed 18 episodes, two of which were not broadcast.
“I did live theater events. I made films. I did variety television shows. I was on talk shows. But I had never done a situation comedy before,” she continued. “I didn’t know what the pace was. And I didn’t understand the hierarchy. And no one bothered to tell me.”
Duchovny said, “Well, the hierarchy should have been, since Bette is the name of the show, you should have been number one in the hierarchy.”
Midler, who appeared on the show as EP, responded that she was “immediately thrown to the side of the road” without anyone to guide her through the process of the television world, adding: “But because I was so green, I “I didn’t understand what options I had, what decisions I could have made to improve my situation. I didn’t know I could have taken responsibility.
The Hocus pocus Star admitted that she felt Lohan’s departure after the pilot episode contributed to the series being canceled after one season.
“After the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it because she had other fish to fry,” Midler said. “So Lindsay Lohan walked out of the building and I said, well, what do you do now?”
But the actress admitted that she was also responsible for the flop. “It was extremely chaotic… and if I had been in my right mind or known that it was my duty to stand up and say, ‘This is absolutely not possible, I’m going to sue,’ “then I would have done that,” shared she with. “But somehow I was coddled by not being able to get into the writers’ room. I couldn’t talk to the showrunner. I couldn’t express myself clearly.”
Midler said her time on the sitcom ultimately became too “exhausting” and that she was “ecstatic” when it came to an end. “The mad battle to keep up was just too intense,” she added.
Despite Midler’s recollections, Lohan seems to have fond memories of the show. On May 2nd the Crazy Friday Star shared a photo of her and Midler from the show’s pilot episode. She captioned the throwback, “So much fun filming with the incredible @bettemidler 💕 #tbt.”
These days, Midler is trying to branch out into reality TV. Back in March, the Emmy winner posted on X (formerly Twitter) about joining the cast of Bravo’s. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The latest season of RHOBA presented Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Garcelle Beauvais, Dorit Kemsley, Crystal Kung MinkoffAnnemarie Wiley and Sutton Stracke.
“Is it too late for me to be a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills?” I’ve never seen it before but I’m in the mood to talk a bit,” she wrote. “And getting paid for it? A dream! #RHOBH.”
Soon after, Bravo producer and host, Andy Cohenaddressed Midler’s interest in participating in the hit Bravo reality show on a live episode of Andy Cohen Live from SiriusXM.
When asked about Midler’s tweet, Cohen expressed excitement about the legendary entertainer joining the cast. “She would be the grand dame of Beverly Hills in a second,” Cohen exclaimed. However, he also expressed concerns about Midler’s possible dissatisfaction with the show’s filming process.
Cohen recalled a previous encounter with Midler during his time at 48 hours and recalled her dislike of the documentary film approach. “They weren’t interested in this process of ours at all,” Cohen explained. “My only concern as I’ve thought about it is that I don’t know if she would like it if we just showed up with cameras rolling and shot her.”
Despite his concerns, Cohen expressed excitement about Midler’s prospect of joining the cast, but wondered how much it would cost, adding, “I’m very excited that Bette Midler is going to be there.” The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I just want to say this. Also, I mean, Bette Midler is a superstar. How much would that cost because she said she wanted to make a lot of money not to talk?
He also discussed the possibility of Midler making guest appearances on the show and suggested that she could start out as a friend of one of the housewives.
“Bette FaceTimes Kyle. ,What do you wear? Is that white enough for the white party? What are you wearing to Garcelle’s barbecue?'” Cohen joked.
Since Wiley recently announced her departure Since Midler left the series after just one season, there could still be a spot available!
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