When a TV actress becomes pregnant

I hate when they try and "hide" an actresses pregnancy on TV. I was watching an episode of Cosby when Phylicia Rashad was pregnant and it was so poorly hidden that they may as well not bothered. Once I read an article about Shelly Long being pregnant while still on Cheers and how they hid her behind the bar and I guess that worked better but I still thought it was silly. I would rather they write the actresses pregnancy into the show than try to cover it up or worse FIRE an actress for it. They did that to Vicki Lawrence on the Carol Burnett Show, but she was quickly unfired when Carol decided she wanted Vicki around for more sketches.

Sometimes it's just not possible to write the pregnancy into the show and while I think it's morally wrong to fire a woman because she's pregnant, it might be legal because of her contract. If they can't hide her "condition" sometimes it's best to have her character temporarily leave the show by going off to help a sick friend or some such. Oliva Wilde on House isn't pregnat but they temporarily wrote her character out of the show so she could go do a movie (Cowboys and Aliens?) and replaced her with Amber Tamblyn.

Yeah because how could they write C.C. Babcock on The Nanny as being pregnant when she has no sex life? Or Val for that matter? Or Olivia, TWICE, on SVU?

I don't mind them hiding it, because it isn't always feasible to write a pregnant into the show. Also, it's not just about the pregnancy, but dealing with the baby after and the character will always have to be attached to that child if they write in a pregnancy.

Hey alan - is Amber Tamblyn a permanent addition to House? Do you know? I used to love House but I can't stand her character and have actually stopped watching because of her. I just find her character too annoying, though I still enjoy watching House on reruns.

I think O.W. comes back some time in April whicj is probably toward the end of the season so I presume Amber Tamblyn is around until then. I don't think she's permanent.

I don't have a problem with TV hiding pregnancies because adding a child may force the show to go in a direction it doesn't want or need to, but I don't think any woman should lose her job for becoming pregnant. Hide her, sit her down, shoot her from the waist up, lessen her scripts as her pregnancy progresses. I don't believe a pregnancy ties producers hands. If they value the actress and character, they will find a way to work around it.

CatEyes10736 wrote:I don't have a problem with TV hiding pregnancies because adding a child may force the show to go in a direction it doesn't want or need to, but I don't think any woman should lose her job for becoming pregnant. Hide her, sit her down, shoot her from the waist up, lessen her scripts as her pregnancy progresses. I don't believe a pregnancy ties producers hands. If they value the actress and character, they will find a way to work around it.

Like i remember when heather locklear got became pregnant durin the 6th season of melrose, it woulda been wierd if amanda became a mother. an i guess they hid it ok..

CatEyes10736 wrote:I don't have a problem with TV hiding pregnancies because adding a child may force the show to go in a direction it doesn't want or need to, but I don't think any woman should lose her job for becoming pregnant. Hide her, sit her down, shoot her from the waist up, lessen her scripts as her pregnancy progresses. I don't believe a pregnancy ties producers hands. If they value the actress and character, they will find a way to work around it.

Don't agree with firing a pregnant actress, even if producers are legally able to. They can write her character out of town for the last few months of the pregnancy, then bring her back after she delivers.

On one of the shows we watch, In Plain Sight, the actress who plays the lead character is pregnant and they've written it into the show. This upcoming week is when she finds out she's pregnant from a one night stand with her ex-husband.

If they can't hide it or write it in, just have the character leave for a little bit.