‘It was extremely chaotic’: Bette Midler’s regrets after 2000 sitcom was canceled due to Lindsay Lohan’s departure

Bette Midler has shared her regrets about her short-lived sitcom Bette, which only lasted one season on CBS. The show starred Midler as a famous singer and mother of Rose, played by Lindsay Lohan.

Bette Midler reveals why her 2000 sitcom Bette didn’t end until the final season

During David Duchovny’s podcast, Midler mentioned that problems arose when Lohan left the show after the pilot episode, leaving things chaotic. It’s unclear why Lohan left, but she had other projects in the works. Midler said during the podcast episode, “After the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it, or she had other fish to fry,” she added: ” So Lindsay Lohan left the building and I said, well, now what do you do? And the studio didn’t help me. It was extremely chaotic.

Midler felt lost and unsupported during the sitcom, wanting to stand up for herself more. She felt inexperienced and didn’t understand the fast-paced world of sitcoms. She said: “If I had been of sound mind, or if I had known that my part of my duty was to stand up and say, ‘This absolutely won’t do, I’m going to take legal action.’ , then I would have it done. But it seems I was somehow blessed not to be able to access the writer’s room. I couldn’t speak to the showrunner. I couldn’t be clear. »

The Hocus Pocus 2 actress said: “I had done live theater events. I had made films. I had done variety shows on television. I had been on talk shows. But I had never done a situation comedy. I didn’t realize what the rhythm was. And I didn’t understand what the hierarchy was. And no one bothered to tell me. »

Better to say that at that moment she had the impression of being “immediately thrown to the curb”. She added: “Because I was so green, I didn’t understand what my options were, what choices I could have made to improve my situation. I didn’t know I could have taken matters into my own hands.

Better Midler admits feeling exposed when show was canceled

Despite her disappointment, Midler admitted to feeling relieved when the series was canceled after one season in 2001. She realized it was a mistake and that she did not fully understand the television industry.

The experience left Midler feeling like she had been “immediately kicked to the curb.” She didn’t understand her options or how to improve her situation, admitting she was “so green” in the industry.

She then reflected that filming “Bette” was a “big, big, big mistake” for several reasons. She didn’t understand the motivation and felt lost in the media landscape.

The show consisted of 18 episodes, two of which did not air on CBS. Despite the disappointment, Midler learned valuable lessons from the experience and grew as an artist.