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It was cancelled because the NFL wasn't happy about it

posted 17 years ago by otengk
3 replies | jump to latest

In a recent interview Lucy said the following about why Football Wives was not picked up

Weren’t you supposed to be playing Tanya Turner in the US version of Footballers’ Wives?

Yes but we called her Tanya Austin. We were supposed to follow Grey’s Anatomy, which is a huge hit, on the autumn schedule. Then we were told that the show had been cancelled because the National Football League weren’t happy about it. Our show was just entertainment, a spoof, but they were very concerned about keeping up appearances and pretending they aren’t real people like the rest of us. I had so much Machiavellian stuff to do, I wanted to make her seem real – I was going to play her like Tony Soprano. I talked to a shrink to help me figure the character out. I wanted her to be rock-solid believable so I’m very disappointed it’s not happening now.

[–] paasche 17 years ago

Shed Productions CEO Eileen Gallagher said the same thing in an interview in the British trade publication Broadcast Magazine, just after the announcement that the show was not picked up.

I felt sorry for the cast, but also for the British producers.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] paasche 17 years ago

I think I read that on the Zappy board, no? It wasn't just the British producers (although they got a lot of money for the rights) but all the executive producers. All six (6!) of them.

It couldn't have been the budget alone since they were staffing Friday morning and they were canceled (off the schedule) Friday afternoon. That's not similar to what happened with Secrets. Something else happened and the NFL sounds plausible because of Playmakers.