One of the new fall TV season’s most anticipated new comedies is “Newlyweds,” coming from exec producer Jamie Lee Curtis.
Just a few weeks before the series’ October 23 premiere, the series’ creator took to social media to share some shocking news.
‘Creative Differences’ Strikes Again
On Friday, October 9, “Newlyweds” creator Gail Lerner took to social media to share a surprising update.
“Hey Friends, Here’s the good news: I couldn’t be more proud of the new sitcom ‘Newlyweds’ that I created with the singular Jamie Lee Curtis. Premieres 10/23!” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“Here’s the bad news: I got fired off it today. The reason I’ve been given is ‘creative differences,’” she added.
“The cloudy part: I’m so sad to be separated from the most joyous TV experience of my life. The cast, crew, and writers are unparalleled. The silver lining: the first six episodes were made under my leadership, and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Lerner continued.
“No one knows what’s going to happen in our meshuganah business, but I predict this show’s gonna be a barn burner. Please check out the first six (and beyond!). If you like them, please let me know! If you don’t, keep it to yourself,” she wrote, concluding, “Sending all my love and hopes for a long and happy run to everyone who gave their talent and open hearts to make this happen. As my dear friend @courtneyaltonlilly told me, better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Love from your friend on her feet.”
Jamie Lee Curtis’ ‘Favorite Job’
As Lerner pointed out, being fired from a sitcom she co-created — before the show has even hit the air — is exceedingly rare, and at this point the circumstances behind her exit have not yet been made public.
That said, the series represents a change of pace for Curtis, who appears onscreen as a member of the cast and is also an executive producer behind the scenes.
According to Curtis, she fell in love with the multi-camera, filmed-before-a-live-studio audience sitcom when she starred alongside the late Richard Lewis in “Anything But Love” back in the late 1980s — and has been anxious to return
“It was my favorite job I’ve ever had,” Curtis recalled during a panel promoting “Newlyweds,” as reported by Deadline.
“And I’m 68 years old, and every single year, all I’ve ever said to my agents is ‘I want to do a sitcom, all I want to do is a sitcom.’ It’s my favorite job, I love the whole part of it, every aspect of it, the dance with the cameras, the idea that you actually get to rehearse something and work it and learn a joke and play it,” she added.
I just never got to do it, and so I just decided to basically kind of create my own job. I met Gail, and that’s why we are all here,” she shared.
“I’m telling you, I have begged my agents — and by the way, I did a single‑camera, which I hate. I mean, great show, ‘New Girl,’ very funny. It’s a good show, but doing it is just like doing a movie. You’ve got a camera crew, and nobody laughs. They are silent, and it’s awful, for me, awful. Single‑camera comedy is not fun,” Curtis continued, recalling her subsequent experience as a sitcom guest star.
“When I did ‘Flying Blind’ and ‘Naked Truth,’ they used to hang air‑sickness bags behind all of the sets because I used to hurl before I came out, I used to be so scared,” she said. “In that time since I did that, I missed it, and I realized that I’m old enough, I’m tough, like, I’m good, I can do this, I want to. it’s still a little scary but it is so much fun.”
“Newlyweds” debuts October 23 on NBC.
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Series Creator Surprisingly Exits New NBC Sitcom Weeks Before Its Premiere