Could Nancy Dussault carry the show after Ted Knight died?

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by mstewart

The show was scheduled to return for a 7th Season if it had not been for Ted's passing and illness. In the 6th season of TCFC he pressed his way in every episode and you can tell he was battling cancer. Every episode he was looking more and more gaunt.

Really?? I didn't notice that at all. In fact his acting looked basically the same as it did in season 1. The only thing I noticed was a mole on his left cheek that he didn't have in earlier seasons but that's not a sickness.

I guess that shows what a good actor he was!

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by MRPITT

I love TCFC it's one of my favorites but, she didnt have any chance of carrying the show. I think JM J had a better chance at carrying the show.

Honestly though I think the show was done with or without Mr. Knight.

Maybe they could've done a farewell season but it would've been awkward & depressing. Some of the cast would've probably been crying between scenes!

[TMC]

I think that it was all for the best that they ended it right then and there when Ted passed away. By that point, Too Close for Comfort had rebranded itself as The Ted Knight Show anyway. So it would be a fruitless situation to try to continue a show where the person for whom said show was named after her is now deceased. Plus, six years isn't that bad or a run for a sitcom. It would just be like with Chico & the Man or 8 Simple Rules..., which both felt like last ditch attempts to salvage something that simply wasn't salvageable (and ring some extra dollars out of it) after the star suddenly died.

[TMC]

What happened to "Too Close for Comfort" after Ted Knight died, and how did the cast and crew pay tribute to him?

While 1980s sitcoms routinely kept filming after a star's death, the team behind Too Close for Comfort paid Ted Knight a rarer tribute: they simply refused to film a single scene without him.

By 1986, the sitcom had already achieved a rare feat in television by surviving a network cancellation and thriving in first-run syndication. For its sixth season, the show underwent a major revamp: the title was changed to The Ted Knight Show, the setting moved from a San Francisco townhouse to Marin County, and the series was successfully renewed for a seventh season. However, before production could begin, Knight passed away from colon cancer on August 26, 1986.

Faced with the loss of their leading man, producers at D.L. Taffner Ltd. and the cast had to decide the show's future. Recognizing that Knight's portrayal of the curmudgeonly but loving Henry Rush was the irreplaceable anchor of the series, they chose to permanently cancel the show rather than write his death into the narrative or shift focus to the remaining characters. The immediate shutdown stood as the production's primary tribute to his impact.

Because the cancellation happened during the summer hiatus, no series finale or special farewell episode was ever filmed. The remaining episodes of season six that had already been recorded simply aired in their regular syndication slots. To formally honor him on screen, the producers attached a simple, silent title card reading "In Loving Memory of Ted Knight" to the end of the final broadcast.

In the decades following the cancellation, surviving cast members—including Nancy Dussault and Jm J. Bullock—have continually honored Knight's memory. They frequently credit him as a warm, fatherly mentor who championed their careers off-screen just as fiercely as his character protected his daughters on-screen.

[Wildchats]

Watching season 6, it seems they changed the show's setting. He and his wife moved, but was it far from their old home in San Francisco? It looked like it was still in that area...

I think had there been a 7th season in 1986-1987 or whatever year that would have fallen would have been a ratings disaster. Even with Monroe still there. I feel they would have probably gotten both girls back for the premiere as everyone adjusts to life without Henry. I think The premiere would be a lot like how they did Gimme a Break! when the Chief died. Maybe they do a time jump? Didn't the two have a baby boy together before the series ended? They could have aged the baby a few years to a kid. It still would have been a disaster. Pat Carroll and Nancy Dusault's characters being best friends, okay, I think that would have happened. The former Paper owner lost her husband as well before she met Henry.


But no, I don't think Nancy could have carried the show, at least not enough to renew it for 1987-1988 8th season or more seasons if they came back for one more.

[DJM77]

Originally Posted by Wildchats

Didn't the two have a baby boy together before the series ended? They could have aged the baby a few years to a kid.

Their son was born in the second season. I'm not real sure if they ever aged him or not. If they did then it certainly wasn't by much.

[zed300]

I could not really see this show going on without Ted. MAYBE if it still had the original premise and the girls were still there, but even that would be a longshot. Much as I loved Nancy, it was her chemistry with Ted that made her character so great. I definitely couldn't see the new format going on without Ted.