Fans seem to equate Kaley Cuoco with The Big Bang Theory. This makes sense since her role as Penny on the network sitcom broke her into A-list status. But Kaley, who is good friends with Big Bang Theory executive producer Chuck Lorre, was actually on another sitcom right before her career took her to new heights. We're talking about ABC's 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter.
On The Big Bang Theory, Kaley's character tended to be the focus of a lot of beauty humor and beauty remarks due to her incredible level of fitness. This was no different when she starred as Bridget Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules, the eldest daughter of a family of five. At least, it started out as a family of five.
Kaley, alongside Amy Davidson and Martin Spanjers, portrayed the kids of Katey Sagal and Jon Ritter. Of course, both Katey and Jon were sitcom icons by the time they headlined the cast of the 2002 sitcom. Katey was best-known for her role as Peggy on Married With Children while Jon came from Three's Company fame.
The cast was set up for success on the saccharine family show... Except tragedy struck when Jon Ritter suddenly passed away while the cast was rehearsing the second season.
Basically, the show lost its main attraction and the main focus. After all, he was the one who played the over-protective father that the show's title was based on...
So, how did the team handle such a loss?
The Tragic Loss Of Jon Ritter
The first season of 8 Simple Rules was mostly focused on Jon's character Paul, a sportswriter and lifestyle columnist who is forced to do most of the child-rearing when his wife takes a full-time job. A typical episode would find Paul struggling to manage his adventurous eldest daughter (Kaley), his studious middle daughter (Amy), and his hormone-fueled son (Martin). Then Katey Sagal's Cate would come in and help him find his way.
In fact, for the first season, Katey's character was pretty much sidelined. But according to an article in Entertainment Weekly, she didn't mind. She just wanted to work with Jon again after a few stints in the '90s. The two were fast friends and that continued while filming 8 Simple Rules.
By the time the second season was renewed, there was already something wrong with Jon. While the first three episodes of the second season were in the can, Jon had some major troubles on the fourth. The crew rushed him to the hospital where he was misdiagnosed as having a heart attack. Because of this, his actual condition worsened and he died that evening.
He was 54.
This was a stunning loss.
And it absolutely broke the cast and crew of 8 Simple Rules, not to mention Jon's family, who just adored the man. After all, his reputation in Hollywood was stellar. He was a good man. A hardworking man. And one who had the back of his castmates and crew.
They Let Their Characters Grieve
After Jon's passing, the show announced that the show would continue after a hiatus and the airing of the first three episodes which were introduced by Katey Sagal.
Two months later, the show dealt with the death with a stunning one-hour episode entitled, "Goodbye". It was basically a tribute to Jon.
While the show always had a heart and some touching moments, it was ultimately a comedy. But the episodes that followed, which were shot without a studio audience, dealt with the Hennessy family losing their patriarch. Yes, the team behind 8 Simple Rules actually wrote in the death.
What else could they do?
Jon Ritter was gone, so Paul Hennessy had to be too.
But they didn't make it a gimmick and that seemed to go over well with the humungous 20.5 million viewers who tuned in to see how the show would handle it. The one-hour special wasn't available to critics beforehand, according to Seattlepi, and the writers didn't resort to sappy lessons... They let their characters grieve just as the people playing them did.
There weren't many laughs but it was incredibly touching.
The fact that they basically changed genres three episodes into the second season was shocking. And the episodes that followed, which health with the family's reaction to the passing of their father, were incredibly touching.
Katey's role was expanded and two new characters were added as guest-stars, James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette as Cate's very strict parents. Later, David Spade guest-starred as Cate's nephew, C.J. Barnes.
Soon after, James Garner and David Spade were upped to series regulars to fill the void.
However, the show never quite had the steam it once did when Jon Ritter was alive. This left it on the chopping block after the third season aired.
But when you have a loss as monumental as that... how could you ever find the magic that once was?