Nobody likes hearing very important personal information secondhand. Now imagine hearing about big news related to your very livelihood thirdhand. That’s exactly the way television veteran Ed O’Neill found out that Married… with Children was doomed to be canceled.
Married… with Children saw O’Neill play the grouchy Al Bundy, a portrayal he based strongly on his own uncles. He bemoans his lot in life yet is a solid rock for his family—however dysfunctional it may be. As of 2008, the series was listed in the top 100 on Entertainment Weekly‘s “New TV Classics. However, when it came time for the final curtain call, several key stars were completely left in the dark that this beloved show was ending.
Ed O’Neill was very surprised to find out from outside sources that ‘Married… with Children’ was canceled
It was just any other day for Ed when he was staying at a bed and breakfast in his Ohio hometown. The weather was agreeable, and so he allowed himself to enjoy some time outside. He recalled, speaking on the MeSy podcast hosted by Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Christina Applegate, who played his TV daughter, that at one point a car pulled up.
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The vehicle might have been unremarkable, if not for the “Just Married” sign and tin cans secured to the back.
“I thought, ‘Oh, they, you know, just married.’ So I was standing there, and they got out of the car, and it was the husband and wife,” shared Ed on the podcast. “She was in the gown, and he was in the tux. And he said, ‘Oh my god. It’s Al Bundy, in Ohio.’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Congratulations. You got married.'”
It seemed they were to be married, maybe with children—but Ed wouldn’t anymore. An awkward silence followed before the woman said, “We’re so sorry about your show.” This prompted Ed to ask, “What do you mean?” In explanation, the man gasped, “Oh my god. He doesn’t know. It’s on the radio. You got canceled.”
Spreading the news even to a very surprised cast
Ed wasn’t the only one completely blindsided by the news that Married… with Children was canceled. Hers was a similarly thirdhand revelation. “I found out from a guy who knew a guy who worked for my assistant at the time,” she shared during the same podcast interview. “That’s how I found out. They never called us.”
Fox had announced the cancellation publically before taking any time aside to inform the cast and crew. As a result, many of them have similar, shocking stories. Co-star Katey Sagal mournfully felt that the network had a tendency to neglect Married… with Children from the start, even though it helped put Fox on the map, airing even before The Simpsons.
Ed’s own frustrating story came with some hurried sympathy from the newlyweds. “They said, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry,'” he recounted, “and I said, ‘I’d rather hear it from you.’ So yeah. I came inside. I love Champagne.” Ed theorized the handling of the show was related to high turnover higher up at Fox.
Do you remember how you found out Married… with Children was canceled and can you relate to Ed or Christina?