Sam and Diane's will they/won't they' was the main attraction on Cheers. Without a doubt, Cheers is one of those classic sitcoms that's better than basically anything on TV today. And truly so much of that had to do with the complicated dynamic between Ted Danson's Sam and Shelley Long's Diane. Without a doubt, they ended up being one of the best sitcoms couples. And that's saying something as we all know that there have been a ton of terrible sitcom couples in television history. While so much about their relationship was somewhat unhealthy, the creators of the show, Jimmy Burrows and Les and Glen Charles, knew they had a Tracy-Hepburn connection on their hands. But the relationship just wasn't meant to be... That's because Shelley Long decided to leave the show, a decision that she still doesn't regret. Here's precisely why she decided to leave the show...
Shelley Was REALLY Hard To Work With, According To The Crew And Her Co-Stars
According to Sun-Sentinel, Shelley Long decided to leave Cheers not because of one massive incident but because of a culmination of disagreements.... most of which were with her co-stars who seemed to be really troubled by her behavior. The crew also were irritated by some of Shelley Long's antics and the fact that they were left in the dark about whether or not she would renew her contract for 1986's fifth season. But this fell in-line with the 'diva' image she had carved out for herself. And this is basically something she admits...
"I'd gotten into a routine of going into my dressing room and meditating at lunch," Shelley Long described to GQ in a fascinating dissection of the show. "I needed to rest, just let go of all of it. Because I really felt sometimes like I was physically pulling the plot, and it was heavy. I'm sure it didn't look great that I was going into my dressing room at lunch. I wish I could've hung out with the cast and got lunch. But it's not restful for me to be in a public dining room and eat. It's just not. And I was exhausted by the end of the morning because I tried to deliver as much of a performance as I could for each run-through."
"The fifth season was when things started to get a bit rough, in terms of managing the show," assistant director Thomas Lafaro told GQ. "Shelley believed that she was the new Lucille Ball, and she would spend hours after the run-through talking with the writers about her character and the story, just talking it to death. They would indulge her, but they indulged her to a point where they couldn't stand it anymore."
While the crew of the show, including co-creator Glen Charles, believed that Shelley just went overboard with her character -- especially in comparison to the creative process of the rest of the cast -- Shelley maintains that she was just passionate about playing Diane.
"There was scuttlebutt about me talking too much and being passionate about Diane," Shelley explained. "But I thought, 'That's my job. That's what I'm supposed to do... Don't tell me not to get involved in the discussion.'"
Still, her co-stars, especially Ted Danson, truly loathed the way she worked.
"Shelley's process would have infuriated you if it had been mean or if it hadn't been purposeful," Ted Danson stated. "But it was purposeful—it was her way of being Diane—and there's not a mean bone in Shelley's body. I had trouble hanging around her until we stood onstage together, and then I was in heaven."
Of course, their chemistry was truly made Cheers a special show... so, it makes sense why people were so worried when Shelley left.
Shelley Needed To Leave
While there were issues behind-the-scenes, it seems as though Shelley was ready to leave in December 1986. When news broke, fans thought that she was destroying the show.
"The Cheers writers were the finest in television. But I felt like I was repeating myself; it bothered me a little bit. And I was getting movie offers, which made people think, 'Oh, she's so snooty. She thinks she's going to do movies.' I did an interview with a woman writer, and she had this abrasive attitude," Shelley described. "I had spoken with her over the five years that we'd done Cheers, so I said, 'Are you upset that I'm leaving the show?' And there was a long pause, and she said, 'Yes, I guess I am.' But most people tended to understand, because I had a two-year-old baby, and I wanted to spend more time with my family, which was the other reason I left the show. And I did spend more time with my family. It was a good decision. It was really good."
While audience members were worried about the future of Cheers, the producers and the network were even tenser. For so long, it was Shelley and Ted's on-screen dynamic that really made Cheers special.
"There was a lot of concern that Shelley leaving would cause the show's downfall, so everyone's livelihood was at stake," writer/producer Ken Levine said. "It's funny, there were actors who said that she drove them nuts, yet they were also mad that she was leaving. It's like the restaurant where the food is so bad and the portions are so small."
"I was scared. Could I be any good?" Ted Danson recalled. "Would people want to watch one-half of the relationship? She put Cheers on the map. Was she the entire show?"
Luckily for Ted Danson, the rest of the cast, and the crew, Cheers proved to be about far more than the Sam/Diane relationship. Ratings didn't did after Shelley left, they rose. In fact, Cheers' ratings rose to the highest they've ever been. But maybe that's because Shelley Long's Diane really helped draw them in, to begin with?