'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Comedienne's Second TV Show Canceled This Year
Kelsey Grammer's big news is that he yanked Hank
by Allison Waldman, posted Dec 7th 2009 10:01AM
On October 14, Kelsey Grammer was telling the media to tune in to his ABC sitcom Hank because the show was getting better and better. More funny, he said. Well, now that Kelsey has accepted the fact that Hank is dead and buried -- except for whatever episodes ABC burns off down the road -- Kelsey's may be singing a different tune. Kelsey pulled the plug on Hank because it wasn't funny. That's according to an interview he did in which he claims that after the Thanksgiving episode, he returned to work and the show was just not getting any laughs. "Honestly, it just wasn't very funny ... We finished and I was like, 'Oh boy, there wasn't a laugh in the house on this one.' And I called the president of Warner Brothers ... and I said, 'Listen, when can we put a bullet in this thing?'"
Assuming that the story is accurate, it sounds a lot better than the version in which WB and ABC delivered a pink slip to Kelsey. Although considering Grammer's stature in the business (he'll show you his Emmys), it may be true that he called them before they called him.
There's little question, though, that ABC was going to dump Hank even if Kelsey believed that the show could improve with time. The ratings were dreadful, a drag on a Wednesday night of sitcoms that has been pretty successful.
In this interview, there's a contradiction of sorts. Kelsey claims that he's relieved that he doesn't have to schlep to the studio anymore. He says that he was devoting ten to twelve hours a day at work and he wanted his life back.
Hmm ... I don't know if that's really believable. Grammer worked consistently on Fox's Back to You and was active in pilot season, then he got Hank on the air. If he didn't want to work, why was he pursuing work?
Also, the fact that Kelsey's now going to star on Broadway in La Cage Aux Folles sounds like a man who's ready to work hard. In fact, in the legitimate theater, he'll be asked to do eight shows a week.
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