Fran Drescher reveals why ‘The Nanny’ was canceled

[TMC]

http://www.inquisitr.com/4294363/fra...-was-canceled/

Fran Drescher says her on-screen romance with co-star Charles Shaughnessy killed The Nanny.

The Nanny may have been canceled nearly two decades ago, but it’s never too late to set the record straight about why the hit CBS show was axed.

Speaking to Studio 10 on Wednesday about the terrifying home invasion and rape that happened to her 30 years ago, Fran Drescher lifted the curtain to reveal why The Nanny was canceled back in 1999, according to the Daily Mail.

As it turns out, the on-screen romance between Fran Drescher and Shaughnessy killed The Nanny’s idea. The show used to draw large audiences, but after Fran Fine (Drescher) and Maxwell Sheffield (Shaughnessy) got together, it marked the beginning of the “demise of the show.”

For years, The Nanny explored Fran Drescher’s character’s boiling sexual tension with her employer, played by Shaughnessy. But when the two got together, it ruined the whole idea of the hit sitcom.

“This romance ultimately led to the demise of the show.”

The Nanny was canceled soon after Fran and Maxwell put that unreleased sexual tension behind them and became an item.

Even though it led to the show’s demise, at least other TV series can now learn a priceless lesson. And that lesson is, Fran Drescher says, to never change the dynamic of the show if that original dynamic is what served to attract millions of viewers in the first place.

“When a show is built around a love that can’t happen, sexual tension, you have to keep it that way.”

The sad truth is that no matter how hard audiences are rooting for two on-screen characters — who clearly share megawatt chemistry together — to get together, the second they do, people start tuning out.

This was the case with The Nanny, which was on the air from 1993 to 1999, says Fran Drescher. But it’s nothing the actress didn’t see coming.

Fran Drescher says she tried to talk the Nanny writers out of pairing up her character with Maxwell. But they just wouldn’t listen, and Drescher was eventually forced into it after the network threatened cancellation of the show.

So it looks like The Nanny would have been canceled either way. But the show had to go off the air with a noticeable slap mark on its face from viewers, who turned their backs on the once-popular sitcom as soon as it paired up Fran Drescher and Shaughnessy’s characters.

The Nanny’s demise started when Fran Drescher and Shaughnessy’s characters tied the knot. With producers thinking that they had breathed new life into the show, The Nanny was booted off the air after its ratings plummeted the next season.

But even after so many years, The Nanny still sees some light at the end of the tunnel, as Fran Drescher said a reboot of the show could become a reality.

In the so-nostalgic year of 2017, with so many networks focused on reviving popular 90s TV shows, The Nanny could still re-emerge on the small screens. Besides, Fran Drescher doesn’t rule out the possibility of reprising her iconic role of Fran Fine.

But Fran Drescher was quick to add that she’s not going to jump on just any The Nanny reboot script. Instead, she’s going to be picky.

Fran Drescher stressed that she won’t star in a Nanny reboot just to pocket huge paychecks. The actress says the reboot would need to have a script that provides adequate justice to her character’s story 20 years on.

Besides, any reboot of The Nanny has to be of a “high standard” so that the reboot doesn’t get axed like the original series did in 1999.

[tlc38tlc38]

We all knew this. Once they hook up the 2 main characters, the show goes downhill.

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.inquisitr.com/4294363/fra...-was-canceled/

I wonder if CBS Entertainment president Leslie Moonves himself actually knew of this and deliberately forced Ms. Drescher and company to shore up this plot development because he was actually trying to screw it over and get it cancelled so that he could make room for new shows which he had actually green lit, much like what he did with fellow CBS programs Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Murder, She Wrote, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[Anna Karenina]

On the other hand I didn't like how they kept Tony and Angela in limbo at the end.

I like resolution and wanted to see Diane marry Sam at the end of the CHEERS as well.

[tlc38tlc38]

Originally Posted by glickmam

I wonder if CBS Entertainment president Leslie Moonves himself actually knew of this and deliberately forced Ms. Drescher and company to shore up this plot development because he was actually trying to screw it over and get it cancelled so that he could make room for new shows which he had actually green lit, much like what he did with fellow CBS programs Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Murder, She Wrote.

I'll never forgive CBS for the way they treated Murder, She Wrote.

[OneWayFilms]

I can see where their pairing would have taken the air out of the 'Will-They-or-Wont-They' subplot, but I also think another reason the show jumped the shark was the unrealistic pairing of Niles and CC. To be honest, I thought their constant bickering, cat-fights and insults were the real secret weapon this show carried. But once they fell for each other, we lost that 'cat-and-mouse' fun they had with each other. The audience just finally got bored and missed the "mystery' of the characters. It was lazy writing.

[brtcmfn]

I totally agree the shows chemistry bit the shark when they were a couple, If there was a reboot, maybe it would be all a dream that Fran had and she is still single, Of course the kids would be much older so not sure where a Nanny would be needed in the Shefield household. As far as Moonves, he needs to needs to go period, the guy is a money hungry _______ (Insert here

[OneWayFilms]

I think the romance between Max and Fran was necessary, but not till the very end of the show's run. As a parting gift and reward to the fans for being loyal. But by adding the CC and Niles romance was SERIOUSLY jumping the shark here. That should have never HAPPENED.

[brtcmfn]

Originally Posted by OneWayFilms

I think the romance between Max and Fran was necessary, but not till the very end of the show's run. As a parting gift and reward to the fans for being loyal. But by adding the CC and Niles romance was SERIOUSLY jumping the shark here. That should have never HAPPENED.

I agree the final episode should of been that, and also agree the feud between Niles and CC should of never ended that's what made more of the jokes between them.

[TV Guy]

I also hated the Niles/CC romance.

In reality, that marriage got the show a sixth season. The ratings were already trailing off in the fifth season. The kids were growing up. The premise was tired. It’s similar to I Dream of Jeannie. That show was also going to get cancelled anyway, so why not give the characters a happy ending and give us a chance to see how married life turned out?

[Torgo]

Fran's voice was shattering too many ear drums?

[JL82]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.inquisitr.com/4294363/fra...-was-canceled/

Am I the only one who is struck by the irony of FRAN DRESCHER being opposed to Fran Fine and Maxwell ending up together?

I respect the views of those who aren't / weren't in favor of the Niles and CC romance. It is weird to have CC end up happy and with her emotional issues resolved by the same person who has been picking on her by rubbing them in for years, and the implications of combining all those insults - and sometimes physically harmful pranks - with true love and the best sex either of them has ever had - are disturbing. There are things they say and do to each other - especially things Niles says and does to CC - that are the stuff of abusive relationships in other contexts.

But, from a writing standpoint - I don't think the writers pulled it totally out of the hat in season 6 or took them from hating each other to attracted / in love in a so-sudden-it-was-implausible way - there were indications of attraction there, as early as season 3 with the kiss, and they had friendlier times as early as season 4. Sometimes Davis even delivered insults in ways that made you hear a hurt "I wish we could be together and I know you don't want me" behind them.

I think if they were going to put Niles and CC together, maybe that should have happened while Fran and Max were still in limbo, and then Niles and CC could have inspired/helped/guided Fran and Max in some way, perhaps without Fran and Max even knowing Niles and CC were together. Then they could have allowed CC to be pregnant when Lane was. And for all Niles' and CC's faults, they seem much more "capable" than Fran and Max in many ways, and Niles did push Max to make his move with Fran - so they should have had Niles and CC be the ones who knew what they were doing in relationships and otherwise.

There actually are many Niles-CC interactions throughout the series that could have led to their sleeping together and/or confessing feelings. In fact, it's not that hard to believe they DID start a relationship long before the end of season 6, and just concealed it. The question would be then - why the concealment, and why did they reveal it when they did and in the way they did? The episode "The Dummy Twins" (which ends with Niles and CC together) does not work well...she is rejecting him throughout the whole thing, he tells her off about her hopeless crush on Max, she realizes he is right and announces she is leaving Max (even as business partner) and five hours later Max and Fran find CC and Niles in bed together. However, Niles reports to Fran about his dinner date and other conversations with CC where she rejects him, so maybe he wasn't telling the truth about those and their ending confrontation was staged?

Things that would have helped, for me, make that relationship feel less "off" - if they had started Niles and CC progressing toward a relationship after their date in season 4, and after she's clearly upset about his heart attack in season 4 - rather than continuing to flip back and forth from them being playful/friendly one moment or in one episode, and then mean again in another. Niles played more serious pranks on CC in seaon 5, and seems to have contributed to her breakdown, AFTER they start to fall for each other in season 4...and then they're back to falling for each other again in season 6, without any references to what has happened. I don't think they needed to make her have a breakdown, anyway - there are plenty of reasons they could have invented to have her leave - or, if they had to have her having mental health treatment, they could have said it was to cope with letting go of any hope she had of a relationship with Max, and then she should have come back definitely over him and/or having come to terms with the fact that she really had feelings for Niles.

The episode "From Flushing with Love" is bizarre and has everyone behaving terribly and out of character, but it does have Niles and CC being friends for a while...maybe they should have continued that as part of progression toward a relationship instead of having him "drop" her. Because later, he is the one pursuing a relationship and she is the one rejecting him...so if he had feelings, he missed an opportunity.

They also should have made CC wittier, so the two of them had mutual repartee, like other characters who have an attracted-but-covering-up-with-snark dynamic, instead of it feeling like one was picking on the other. (It often feels like Niles is picking on CC, but we're supposed to agree with it, and so it smacks of "woman who has more money than the men and is better than them at business must be a b***h and she deserves to be picked on." And you would think because of her money and position, she would have some power and could stop him if he went too far, but it doesn't feel like she has enough power - maybe because we can't be sure Max would ever stand up for her to Niles?)

Fanfics run with the idea that she was always attracted to him, and thought of their exchanges as playful, flirtatious, sparring matches (that even turned one or both of them on), which is the interpretation I would prefer, if they're going to end up together. And she does have dialogue that supports that interpretation - times when she talks about their exchanges like it's a game. Some of the "physical" stuff he "did" (that is, pranks) seemed over-the-top-mean, though - and some of them were potentially really harmful. Not funny, and didn't fit with a "mutually-attracted-but-hiding-it-with-snark" relationship (although, there are a lot of shows where supposed friends play pranks on each other all the time.)

And maybe they should have gone more into reasons why Niles and CC would have hidden their real feelings: CC would be disowned by her family for a dating a servant? People who invest money in Broadway shows would laugh at her, hurting the company's reputation? Could Niles have been pretending he thought CC was unattractive because he didn't want Max to notice that she was attractive? Maybe CC really didn't want Max and other men she did business with to think of her "that way" - maybe the reputation for a lack of femininity helped her be taken more seriously as a female producer?

Other fanfics reveal that Niles made a move when they first met and/or they had some kind of hookup way back when and then she brushed him off due to their respective social positions. That wouldn't make her deserve everything he did, in my opinion, but it would make his combination of attraction with anger more sympathetic.

I like the dream idea that brtcmfn mentioned. There is so much weirdness and weird behavior in season 5 - and some in season 6 - that I kind of like an idea mentioned by someone on another board - that seasons 5 and 6 are a dream Niles has - that he's still in the hospital that whole time. I even think sometimes that the plane at the end of "A Pup in Paris" had some kind of rough landing, Fran either got hit on the head or fainted from sheer panic, and then she dreamed much of seasons 4 and 5.

I also didn't like that they had both couples having babies at the end, so soon into their marriages / relationships, because to me, it seems like babies would get in the way of what I like about both couples. How could Niles and CC continue to have the...escapades...they were notorious for when they had a baby? Unless they hired a nanny, which would mean CC was the same kind of distant, blueblood mother than her parents were. And Fran really wanted kids...but then she was so miserable taking care of the dolls in "The Dummy Twins." Fran was always kind of a spontaneous, carefree (even careless) person. I can't believe that she won't resent the babies interrupting her...private time...with Max and girl time with Val, and other things she likes to do. Both couples had reached points where they could enjoy being in love / together (kind of honey-moonish times), and babies can interfere with that.

[JL82]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I also hated the Niles/CC romance.

In reality, that marriage got the show a sixth season. The ratings were already trailing off in the fifth season. The kids were growing up. The premise was tired. It’s similar to I Dream of Jeannie. That show was also going to get cancelled anyway, so why not give the characters a happy ending and give us a chance to see how married life turned out?

To be honest, Fran and Max's married life wasn't THAT happy. There turned out to be a lot of other issues beyond the "are we both at the same place in terms of being ready for commitment / marriage" issue. Mostly having to do with their different personalities. I suppose the upside of that is, the show wasn't necessarily reinforcing the message that marrying a rich, successful guy is the end to all troubles and equals living happily ever after.

They also had plotlines about marital problems that seemed more appropriate for a couple that hadn't gotten to know each other well enough before marriage, or that didn't fit for a couple that had been living together and raising kids for five years.

You began to think it was mostly the physical that kept them together.

[JL82]

The last few episodes - Yetta's Letters, Maggie's Wedding, and The Baby Shower - felt like a whole different series. Niles and CC were now a couple and blissfully happy, so there was no longer:

- exchanges of jabs between them (oddly, they hardly interacted with each other at all on screen once we were told they were together)

- exchanges of jabs between Fran and CC

- clumsy and unsuccessful attempts by CC to make passes at Max (although, those always ended with her arms around Niles anyway)

- gripes by CC or Niles about how their life is going - I was glad they were happy, but it did take away a source of funny lines

There seems to be a relaxing of tension among everyone.

But to some extent, all of season 6 feels like a whole different series. Partly, I think, because they stopped making as many references back to things that happened previously. And once Fran adopted the kids, I felt like they kind of forgot there was ever a first Mrs. Sheffield.

They had Niles and CC kind of pick up where they left off in season 4, I felt like - as though her breakdown and some of the worst things he did to her never happened - but it also seemed like no one remember their date in season 4. But shifting the focus to Niles and CC did kind of help address the issue of "we've lost the sexual tension." Fran and Max were now "official" but you still had Niles and CC to play with.

When Fran was worried in "The Baby Shower" (and I can't figure out where that title comes from) that Max is going to hook up with CC on a business trip, I kind of feel the writers trying to recapture the early days, when characters weren't sure where they stood with one another. And yet, it worked for me. I could believe there were still insecurities there - sometimes when there's a long period where one partner won't make a commitment the resentment can linger even after they have. It does seem like there are some things about Fran and Max's relationship she never gets over.

And I like that in "The Baby Shower" we get to hear how happy CC is with Niles. However, Max should have done a better job of reassuring Fran of his fidelity...I wish he had expressed his "satisfaction" with the physical side of their relationship the way CC does with her and Niles.

[JL82]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

I liked the show quite a bit. I checked out after season three, precisely because the will they/won't they gimmick had taken over the show. A lot of other people seem to have checked out then, too:

Season 1: out of top 30
Season 2: No. 24
Season 3: No. 16
Season 4: out of top 30
Season 5: out of top 30
Season 6: out of top 30

I don't know how far ratings fell after seasons 3, 4, or 5, but how many veteran shows survive four years after they fall out of the top 30?

I agree that it's quite possible that CREATING the "will they / won't thing" storyline in the first place, not resolving it, was the problem.

They could have focused more on the premise of Fran as a fish out of water and the effect she had on the high society people and vice versa, without the romance plot. Think about, for example, the show Perfect Strangers, with kooky Balki from another country. He does have a long-term relationship, with slightly-less-major character (including some breakups), and there is some question about where that relationship will go, but the focus is more on how his quirkiness affects his cousin/roommate Larry, and how Larry affects him, and their friendship.

Or, think about the movie Mary Poppins. The nanny, who is...unusual, to say the least, has an effect on the family, but the dad and mom are both alive and the dad, while he is a changed person because of Mary, does NOT fall in love with her.

Fran being so eager to get Max to commit to / marry her actually got in the way of the personality traits that made her special in the first place (and caused her to be unpleasant and even mean at times) and got in the way of her relationships with the kids.

There are times - in season 5 but also even earlier - where the characters seem very conscious that they ARE characters, and are doing things just to keep the show going. The whole, "saying 'I love you' and taking it back, then not being able to say it again even when Fran asks" to me almost feels like "holding out for the sake of holding out" especially because some of the dialogue implies that Max and Fran both know it's true - he's admitting it's true yet not saying it - if that makes any sense. If a woman did that, it might be called "playing hard to get," and in fact, I do think some of Max's "appeal" comes from his aura of unavailability.

Then, in "The Morning After," when Max is freaked out that he and Fran got a bit more intimate, Niles says, "Well, you could tell her you love her, and marry her, or you could invent some project to distract her..." Then Max goes to Fran and says, "Niles suggested I give you some project to distract you, but I told him I don't need to distract you...but, wait a minute, the kitchen needs redecorating." He basically tells her the project is a ploy to distract her...wouldn't that defeat the purpose? Wouldn't it guarantee she is NOT distracted? Like saying, "Don't think about pink elephants." And, letting her decorate mixes the messages further, because it implies she is, if not his partner, a permanent part of the household (and, indeed, a delivery man calls her "Mrs. Sheffield," in all seriousness and all innocence.)