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ID # 31670
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Other
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1
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1
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$ per
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Release Date |
12-31-69
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| Audition Date |
12-31-69
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Submission Deadline |
12-31-69
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| Shoot Date |
12-31-69
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1
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An ABC News tribute to Ritter was to air Tuesday night
ABC knows it's facing a difficult task, rebuilding a comedy on a death and especially that of the series' star, network executives acknowledged The network cast a new, younger Chico but the show was gone in a year
Comedian Freddie Prinze, star of "Chico and the Man," committed suicide in 1977 in the third year of the popular NBC sitcom
"Future episodes will take viewers into the Hennessy household as they experience the loss of a father and construct a new life together," said Braun
Ritter's widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, and the series' cast and producers supported the decision to keep going, Braun said " The show returned without him six months after his death, but lasted only a few episodes
Although Braun lauded Sagal as a "fantastic actress" capable of taking on a greater role in the series, he said it would become more of an ensemble production
Each of the first three episodes already shot will start with a special introduction, featuring the cast members
Braun and ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne said the sitcom will debut next Tuesday as planned and that the network will air the three episodes Ritter filmed before his death last week
Ritter's series, which premiered last year with solid ratings, was considered a key part of ABC's comeback effort and anchored its Tuesday night lineup of family comedies
No date was given for when the show will return to the air But it's a risky one, he said
It hasn't been decided if the death of Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, will mirror what happened to the actor, ABC executives said He was 54
"Initially, the show could benefit from the publicity," Sternberg said While the idea of recasting Ritter's role was quickly rejected, new characters will be added at some point, the ABC executives said
"This is a business," analyst Steve Sternberg of the ad-buying firm Magna Global USA said of the network's decision The next new show will deal with Paul Hennessy's death
The rarity of such occurrences makes it difficult to predict how "8 Simple Rules" will fare, Braun said "We will play out the situation as real life He'd have wanted the show to continue," Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group, told a telephone news conference
A similar episode in television history came when comic Redd Foxx died in 1991, after making seven episodes of his comeback series on CBS, "The Royal Family
Ritter, making a TV series comeback 25 years after he starred in "Three's Company," became ill on the "8 Simple Rules" set and died Thursday of an undetected heart problem If they don't, it could flop quickly and ABC will look bad doing it ABC to Continue Ritter Sitcom Without Him
Sep 16, 7:19 PM EST
ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" will continue despite star John Ritter's death and will show the TV family coping with his character's loss, the network said Tuesday "But they will have to do it well
"Everybody recognizes that John loved that show "
Executives said they considered a number of options, including canceling the show
"We're going to take it an episode at a time," Lyne said "
â€â€?â€â€?â€â€?
AP Business Writer Gary Gentile contributed to this report
After that, the series co-starring Katey Sagal will go into repeats while writers retool it and production starts "I think it will be a show we'll be proud to put on," he said
