Venerable actor Bette Midler says that her partially-autobiographical 2000 sitcom “Bette” represented a series of mistakes.
Among the errors, was her decision not to sue Lindsay Lohan, who appeared as her daughter in the pilot episode, but who did not continue in the following 16 episodes which broadcast on CBS in the U.S.
Midler unpacked her regrets on “Fail Better,” a podcast hosted by fellow star David Duchovny. “’Bette.’ A big, big mistake. I think for several reasons,” Midler said.
She suggested that Lohan’s early exit from “Bette” may have contributed to its failure. “Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot. Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it. Or she had other fish to fry. So, Lindsay Lohan left the building. And I said, well, now what do you do?”
At the time, Lohan had recently enjoyed success in “Parent Trap.” She went on to star in “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls.”
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Midler, who was executive producer on “Bette,” also pointed the finger at herself.
“I didn’t realize what the pace was, and I didn’t understand what the hierarchy was, and no one bothered to tell me,” she said. “Well, I was kicked to the curb immediately and I didn’t know what to do about it… I didn’t know that I could have taken charge, that I could have asserted, because I think because I was so terrified of being branded a grandstander.”
She added: “It was a part of the media I simply did not understand,” Midler continued. “I watched it. I appreciated it. it, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t know what it meant to make [a TV series.] I had made theatrical live events, I had made films, I had made variety television shows, I had been on talk shows, but I had never done a situation comedy.”
