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What producers do when the rabbit dies…
The rest of us can complain about maternity leave not being long enough, and unfeeling male bosses not understanding the need for additional restroom breaks. That’s just par for the course when an average working American woman gets pregnant. But what happens when you’re a major player on a popular television series?
I Love Lucy
Sometimes, the bundle of joy is written into the script. That’s how Lucille Ball’s unexpected pregnancy was handled in 1952. Lucy and Desi Arnaz had been married for 11 years before little Lucie (the couple’s first child) arrived, so they were as shocked as the rest of the show’s staff when Lucille found out she was expecting once again the following year. Thanks to the perseverance of Desi, the network and sponsors agreed to let I Love Lucy’s storyline feature a pregnant Lucy Ricardo, even though they weren’t allowed to use the word “pregnant” in the scripts. Ratings went through the roof on January 19, 1953, when Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky on the same day that Lucille Ball had Desi Junior (by Cesarean section).
More after the jump…
Frasier
Frasier fans remained on tenterhooks for seven seasons watching Niles Crane fawn over the oblivious Daphne Moon, his father’s health care worker. When the couple finally proclaimed their love for one another, the writers were faced with a problem: actress Jane Leeves was pregnant. It was too soon in the relationship for Daphne to be with child, so the writers concocted a storyline that made her a compulsive eater who eventually had to check into a spa to lose the excess 60 lbs. she’d gained.
Leeves’ second pregnancy was written into the script. Even though the plan was originally for her to have a girl, in the series finale, Daphne gave birth to a boy that was named David in tribute to series co-creator David Angell, who’d been one of the passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001.
The Cosby Show
On The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby had decided that his TV family was complete with five children. In fact, he declared in the pilot episode that the Huxtables had four children because “they didn’t want five.” So when Phylicia Rashad was infanticipating in real life during much of the third season, Clair was seen only sitting at a table or desk, standing in back of the kitchen island, or under the covers in bed with a bad back. Eventually, the writers sent her on several business trips, which not only concealed her expanding physique, but also gave Cosby extended on-camera time in which to ham it up.
Friends
A main character like Clair Huxtable can disappear for a few episodes when you’ve got a Bill Cosby to fill in the gap, but the producers of Friends had no such luxury when Lisa Kudrow became pregnant. Each episode of that show relied on the entire ensemble, and there was no good way to explain a long absence by Phoebe. Instead, Kudrow’s pregnancy was written into the script, albeit with a typically loopy Phoebe-esque twist – she acted as a surrogate for her brother’s wife.
Married…with Children
Lisa Kudrow was actually not in favor of her pregnancy being incorporated into the Friends script. She openly wondered in interviews after the fact what the writers would have done had something “gone wrong.” Obviously she was thinking of Married…with Children’s Katey Sagal, whose real-life pregnancy was incorporated into her show’s script. Tragically, Sagal’s pregnancy resulted in a premature stillbirth. Despite her willingness to continue Peg Bundy’s baby storyline, the show’s producers decided to end the situation with a Bobby Ewing-style “it-was-all-a-dream” resolution instead.
The Nanny
The writers of The Nanny decided to poke fun at the whole “hide the pregnancy” genre when Lauren Lane was expecting. In one episode, an obviously enceinte C.C. Babcock complained to Maxwell Sheffield: “I was watching this rerun of Seinfeld and Elaine must have been, I don’t know, 12 months pregnant, and they didn’t even acknowledge it. They just kept hiding her behind these huge props!” She then picked up a large house plant to conceal her own expanding midsection. When her condition became impossible to hide, C.C. was sent off to “The Place” to recover from an emotional breakdown.
>>Floss readers, how do you think unscripted pregnancies should be handled on television? Do you prefer tummy-hiding, or should the baby be incorporated into the show? And can you think of any famous on-air pregnancies I missed? Drop us a line in the comments.
Comments (48)
Comment
I think the writers should be true to the characters and storyline when the decision as to whether the character should also be “with child.”
But I do believe that the producers need to be encouraging of the mothers desire to have the child. I do not feel the mother should feel pressured to abort a child for her career, or lose her job.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-14-2007 at 1:51 pm
Apparently there is a bit of a baby boom going on around the MGM Bridge Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Humoursly, the science fiction franchise “Stargate” has had all three leading ladies pregnant in three consecutive years. The first pregnancy was not written into the story line, (Actress and leading lady of Stargate SG-1 & Stargate Atlantis - Amanda Tapping) and the result was a 5 episode absence – and decreased ratings. The producers, having apparently learned their lesson wrote both Claudia Black’s and Rachael Lutrell’s pregnancies into the scripts.
posted by Renee Walker on 11-14-2007 at 2:10 pm
I think Kathryn Erbe’s pregnancy was incorporated into L&O:Criminal Intent as Detective Eames taking on the surrogate mother role for her fictional sister. Mariska Hargitay (L&O:SVU) also had a baby but I think they just had Detective Benson leave the squad for an undercover assignment until Hargitay came back from maternity leave.
posted by Wiley on 11-14-2007 at 2:28 pm
Courtney Cox also was noticeably prengant during the final season of Friends, which was ironic since her character Monica couldn’t get pregnant on the show and was instead adopting a baby. They tried to hide her stomach by giving her baggy clothing to wear, but it was very obvious that she was pregnant.
posted by Pam on 11-14-2007 at 2:33 pm
I didn’t know Lisa Kudro was preggers in real life. That’s what I get for not Tivo-ing the entertainment shows, I guess.
Writers are creative folks… let them be creative and have some fun with the situation.
posted by Trena on 11-14-2007 at 2:46 pm
Numb3rs didn’t address the female lead’s pregnancy. I think they sent her away to work on some interagency task force or something.
Crossing Jordan included Lily’s pregnancy but not Jordan’s
I think they should leave it up to the actress whether to include the pregnancy in the story for fear of repeating Katey Sagal’s misfortune.
Lastly, couldn’t you find a more flattering picture of Lisa Kudrow?
posted by Dusty on 11-14-2007 at 2:50 pm
Carrie Bradshaw in SATC - they hid SJP’s belly as long as they could with wardrobe and ended up cutting the season short when they could do no more to cover it up.
It’s tragic that I know that, really.
posted by Kimberly on 11-14-2007 at 3:15 pm
Sex and The City just put the entire show on a small Hiatus when Sarah Jessica Parker became too big to continue her role as Carrie Bradshaw.
I think the Hiatus idea is a good one, if they really cannot plausibly come up with a good story line as to why the character is pregnant.
posted by Liz on 11-14-2007 at 3:26 pm
Jennifer Garner was pregnant going into Season 5 of Alias, and they wrote the pregnancy into the script (albeit a bit ham-handedly)
posted by burgeon on 11-14-2007 at 3:30 pm
i read an interview with jane leeves after her first baby was born where she said during her pregnancy she was surprised at how much hate mail she got from “fans” of the show telling her to stop eating because she was getting so “fat”. one would think that on a funny show like frasier the audience would know the difference, and it could be part of the joke of the storyline like on the nanny. you must suspend disbelief in order to be entertained.
that said, i think it should be up to the actress also. that is a personal thing, and should be a personal decision. if the writers have ideas to incorporate it to suit the show, that’s one thing, but if it disrupts the show there are ways to get around the big belly.
posted by lindsay m on 11-14-2007 at 4:47 pm
Roxann Dawson was pregnant on Star Trek: Voyager — which they hid, except for during a story arc in which her character, Torres, was trapped in a holodeck (virtual reality type thing) and the character she (Torres, not Dawson) had become was very pregnant. This allowed for them to feature her character in those episodes, and keep her in the background for most of the others during her pregnancy.
posted by Ryan on 11-14-2007 at 5:00 pm
Julia Duffy was pregnant (I believe) a couple of times during the run of Newhart. They had her–during one pregnancy, anyway–wearing large sweaters and carrying laundry baskets, etc, to try and hide the fact.
posted by cmk on 11-14-2007 at 5:11 pm
Gillian Anderson was preggers during one of the first few seasons of The X-Files. Thankfully, feds have a well-known fondness for trench coats, so hiding the emerging belly wasn’t too difficult.
posted by natlynn on 11-14-2007 at 5:37 pm
Lawrence Welk show.
Hide the Lennon Sister behind a fence or a flowerpot. It’s even written into a song.
Can’t hide the puffed up face though.
posted by Larry on 11-14-2007 at 5:43 pm
Charisma Carpenter was pregnant during the fourth season of Angel, and they hurriedly wrote it into the scripts - she ended up giving birth to Gina Torres, was in a coma for the rest of the reason, and then written out of the show.
posted by Liz on 11-14-2007 at 6:00 pm
How can we forget Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City? I think it was the fifth season which only had eight episodes because Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant in real life. They mostly used creative costuming to cover her bun in the oven.
posted by Kelli on 11-14-2007 at 6:09 pm
Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched, who played Samantha, was really pregnant when she was expecting her and Darren’s second child on the show.
posted by Melinda on 11-14-2007 at 6:21 pm
Piper on Charmed. Holly was not pregnant the first time, but was the second. She wore huge sweaters for a while. Piper was beheaded for one episode. Holly spent the majority of the episode in a wardrobe so it looked like her head was just sitting on top.
A few years back on As the World Turns 3 actresses were pregnant and they didn’t want to write them into the show. So in true soap opera style they all spent their days in robes. I think they were actually kidnapped and being held at a spa.
posted by Danyel on 11-14-2007 at 7:12 pm
Courtney Cox being pregnant on the last few episodes of Friends wasn’t hidden very well. I think the producers could have hidden her better. One thing I noticed though: the character Monica got bad news in one of the shows and instead of clutching her face or wringing her hands in distress, preggers Courtney Cox took over and clutched her stomach, like a pregnant woman would do.
posted by Tricia on 11-14-2007 at 7:16 pm
I think that both Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf were pregnant at different times on Roseanne, both written into the scripts.
I love watching the shows were they try to hide the bulging belly. It makes me laugh.
posted by Susie on 11-14-2007 at 10:01 pm
the wife in King of Queens was pregnant during the show and they did their best to try to hide it because suposedly they didn’t want kids, (i think, i wasn’t that commited to the show).
I think its not that important if they are or not, it doesn’t affect my sense of deccor. And it’s kind of cool having that sense: “wait a minute… she’s kind of baggy…. ah!she’s pregnant!”
posted by xixita on 11-15-2007 at 4:48 am
This is so sad… but I had NO IDEA Courtney Cox was preggers! And I pretty regularly watched friends, especially in the last season! I guess that unless you watch gossip shows or read those types of magazines, you can’t tell on TV until it starts to get really obvious.
…or I’m just an idiot.
posted by Kelly J on 11-15-2007 at 7:36 am
Um…Cosby kids…Sondra (who came to the show later), Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy…that’s 5, not 4
posted by Ginger on 11-15-2007 at 8:53 am
Yes, ultimately there were five Cosby kids, but in the pilot episode Claire asks Cliff, “Why did we have four children?” and he replied “Because we did not want five.” Which reminds me, Denise was eventually sent off to Africa to work as a photographer’s assistant when Lisa Bonet became pregnant. She was already beginning to “show” in the ep where she begged her folks to let her go to Africa.
posted by Kara on 11-15-2007 at 11:38 am
I think that if mom is okay with it being in the script it should be. There shouldn’t have to be a marriage or anything of the sort involved, and if the mom miscarries, then she miscarries in the script too. It’s real life. People get pregnant (even without being married), and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Come on, we’re not in the 1950’s anymore! We know what happens in real life.
posted by David on 11-15-2007 at 12:00 pm
I think that if mom is okay with it being in the script it should be. There shouldn’t have to be a marriage or anything of the sort involved, and if the mom miscarries, then she miscarries in the script too. It’s real life. People get pregnant (even without being married), and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Come on, we’re not in the 1950’s anymore! We know what happens in real life.
posted by David on 11-15-2007 at 12:00 pm
I think that if mom is okay with it being in the script it should be. There shouldn’t have to be a marriage or anything of the sort involved, and if the mom miscarries, then she miscarries in the script too. It’s real life. People get pregnant (even without being married), and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Come on, we’re not in the 1950’s anymore! We know what happens in real life.
posted by David on 11-15-2007 at 12:00 pm
Also on The Nanny, Val got pregnant, but it wasn’t included in the show (nor was it hidden very well AT ALL). Does anyone know if Fran was really preggers in the final episodes???
posted by Kelli K. on 11-15-2007 at 2:36 pm
I never thought about what might happen if an actress’s pregnancy was written into the script,but the actress miscarried. That would be awful. The show would have to rewrite mid-season, or worse yet, the actress would be stuck having to portray a pregnant woman while trying to deal with her real life loss. That would be terribly hard emotionally. And while it might be okay to just write in the miscarriage in a drama series, it wouldn’t really be appropriate for other genres. I wouldn’t mind if a character in a gritty dark adult show like “The Shield” had a miscarriage as part of the plot, but I wouldn’t want a miscarriage to be a part of the plot in a comedy or something else meant to be light hearted and escapist like “Friends” or something fairly family friendly like “Bewitched”.
posted by Melissa on 11-15-2007 at 2:39 pm
According to Fran Drescher’s autobiographies (”Enter Whining” and “Cancer Schmancer”), she’s never been pregnant.
posted by Kara on 11-15-2007 at 5:02 pm
Joy from “My Name is Earl”…her pregnancy was written into the script by saying that she was having her bi-racial sister’s bi-racial baby…of course her sister was her long time enemy whom she just discovered was her half-sister. The sister didn’t want to be pregnant because she was in the middle of a sucessful career in the BLOW (Black Ladies of Wresting)as Lady Liberty the wrestler.
I am disturbed by my detailed knowledge of this show.
posted by Elisabeth on 11-16-2007 at 5:18 pm
I think the best sitcom pregnancy was on Will and Grace. They did the most outlandish things with her pregnancy. I remember one episode where she was obviously pregnant and one of the other characters remarked about how thin she’d gotten.
posted by Ronni on 11-16-2007 at 7:08 pm
The pregnant co-star on Monk “pretended” to be pregnant in one episode. Moonlighting had a musical miscarriage episode even though the actress had no complications in real life. The King of Queens pregnancy was the worst hidden pregnancy EVER.
posted by Cathy on 11-17-2007 at 1:09 pm
I’m not a Hollywood star, but I was a dancer in a local production when I was pregnant. They cut me out of the intricate “Swan Lake”esque ballet piece, but otherwise I was wearing the biggest tutu you’ve ever seen! I’m now the famous pregnant ballerina not unlike the graceful versions in Fantasia.
posted by Yonit on 11-17-2007 at 1:56 pm
How about Murphy Brown—one of TV’s most controversial pregnancies?
posted by Meg on 11-21-2007 at 9:04 am
I thought the way they used Gillian Anderson’s pregnancy in “The X-Files” was very creative — remember the episode when she is abducted by aliens and is shown having tests that allegedly inflate her stomach? Too clever!
posted by jean on 11-21-2007 at 10:43 am
It was ridiculous when Leah Remini was pregnant in real life and her character Carrie Heffernan wasn’t pregnant. While watching we always commented that the writers must think we’re idiots to think we wouldn’t notice something is going on with slim, trim, great figure Carrie.
posted by Tricia on 11-21-2007 at 12:46 pm
I have to agree that Leah Remini’s pregnancy was the worst scripted - and after several seasons where they kept trying to get pregnant. It just didn’t make sense that she got so big from being laid off (well, sorta) but not to have written it in after “years” of trying. Weird.
posted by Jessica on 11-21-2007 at 1:36 pm
I think the writers do an OK job, it should depend on the show, and the character, AND the actor. Some of the funniest scenes are when they are TRYING to cover it up, makes for good comedy. I remember when Charisma Carpenter was wearing all her revealing tops- I told my family, she has GOT to be pregnant- LOOK at her boobs for God’s sake! Sure enough a month later she announced it.
posted by Leslie on 11-23-2007 at 2:39 pm
Wasn’t the the actress who played the wife in Everybody Loves Raymond pregnant during more than one season. She always tried to hide it.
posted by Vicky on 11-29-2007 at 8:29 pm
I’m not sure if this is true or not but I heard that the Mom on the Fresh Prince of Belair got pregnant, so they fired her and casted a different actress to play her character. If that’s true ten that’s horrible in many ways, the least being the the first Vivian Banks was much better!
posted by Andre on 11-30-2007 at 10:10 pm
I think that Elizabeth is right, you should stay true to the characters. If you think a certain character wouldn’t become pregnant than hide it, but if you think they would then fine, write it in to the storyline. Yeah you missed a couple, like Sarah Jessica Parker’s pregnancy on “Sex and the City” (they decided to camoflage it) and Lucille Ball’s first pregnancy (she was already heavily pregnant when the series began, so they decided to hide it).
posted by Tina Marlene on 1-10-2008 at 10:07 pm
Moonlighting. Cybill’s real-life pregnancy was written into the show but she lost the baby (singular - in real life she was expecting twins) when she went into labor. It was a sad twist to the storyline.
posted by lando on 1-31-2008 at 12:45 pm
I think the best way to do it is to make fun of trying to hide it, like they did when Lauren Lane from “The Nanny” was pregnant.
posted by Samantha on 4-5-2008 at 7:48 pm
Susan St. James was pregnant during Kate And Allie. I remember a bit of the time her character was in the hospital, with that table over her.
posted by GaryJames on 4-11-2008 at 7:14 pm
“Diane” was pregnant on Cheers and they hid her behind the bar and in one episode she supposedly got caught in some kind of floor drain.
posted by Dayle on 7-11-2008 at 1:01 pm
What about Debra Messing and Patricia Heaton? I’m sure they both carried out hidden pregnancies.
posted by Heather Dawn on 7-23-2008 at 8:15 am
Someone already mentioned about Roxann Dawson being pregnant while “Star Trek: Voyager” was being filmed (its fourth season). Since her character wasn’t, they did a lot of the face-only shots. However, there is one scene where she, Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) run out of Engineering into the corridor, and you see quite clearly that she’s very pregnant.
posted by Kate on 8-17-2008 at 11:56 pm