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Why didn't The Facts of Life get a 10th season (1988-89)?

posted 6 years ago by TMC-4 (19416)
16 replies | jump to latest

If I have my facts straight, NBC felt that there was still some life left in the show. It was still comfortably winning its timeslot (I think that it was on Saturday nights at this point). But the plans for 10th season went into disarray when Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon said that they were going to leave the show at the end of the ninth season.

But the final episode clearly felt like a sign that the show was going to revamp itself. The last episode involves Blair buying Eastland to prevent it from closing. She soon decides to make Eastland co-ed with Blair becoming the headmistress (in essence, the Mrs. Garrett role). Why didn't NBC go that route if they wanted TFOL to keep going?

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

That doesn't sound like a promising way to keep the show going. It kind of becomes something where they just repeat the whole show all over again.

And with Nancy leaving (was Mindy ever popular?) you don't have much left.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 5 years ago

Pretty much sounds indistinguishable from any other sitcom. The sitcom itself was product of yuppie era--which was ending.

1990's viewers weren't going to be interested about the activities of a private boarding school.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

It was also part of an era where sitcoms were both innocent and liked to teach morality lessons. By this stage you had Married with Children and other edgy shows being produced.

[–] Chipper (31) 3 years ago

Incidentally, the first season of *Roseanne* (with George Clooney) began in the fall of '88. That also changed the sitcom landscape, as other knock-offs about blue-collar families were being churned out.

[–] BugisStreetAnnie (1294) 5 years ago

I wonder whatever became of the supposed spin off with Mindy Cohn living in an apartment in Soho? This episode was on this morning on MeTV. David Spade was in it playing a med student

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 5 years ago

Was that meant to be a spin off? She was one of the driving forces behind the cancelation when she didn't renew her contract.

[–] Moonglum9 (10713) 5 years ago

Rumor has it that she devoured the entire set that they were supposed to use for the spinoff, and Spade barely made it out of there himself, so they scrapped the whole idea.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 4 years ago

I saw it briefly now looked like a rough draft for 'friends' wasn't impressed with this either. Hey new york city is hip and trendy!!

Would have been more interested in a show w Jo as a cop

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Because Jo transitioned to become a man.

[–] Daisy (3022) 4 years ago

It was terrible at the end.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 4 years ago

Yeah tried to get through the 9th season now as adult--ick

[–] Daisy (3022) 4 years ago

Same here even though I didn’t remember a single one so you would think it would be good and new to me. Nope.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 4 years ago

I liked it all as a little kid but the post Edna seasons make my stomach turn. Apparently as adults we do have better taste.

[–] Daisy (3022) 4 years ago

I agree about the Edna thing and yes I guess that’s a good thing we have better taste. :)

[–] Mustang (5226) 2 months ago

Back then we just watched what was on. Being in Australia with limited channels and no cable etc it meant watching some shows that weren't always great. I did love this show during it's peak though. I had the hots for Nancy.

[–] Mustang (5226) 2 months ago

I am currently seeing this with the Canadian show "Heartland" which is up to season 17! All they do is every so often bring in a new young person to start the story all over again and it is boring.

I don't think Blair would have been enough to carry the show and asides from Nancy the other main girls weren't interesting. By 1988/89 you have a change in direction TV show wise too. You start getting shows like Married with Children and other grittier type of stuff that pushes out the family/yuppie shows that dominated the 80's.

If it got a 10th season it would have been the last unless they decided to go gritty which would have lost them what audience they had left without scoring anyone new.