Lacey Bridges
“Once Upon a Time… we would’ve cancelled a show upon the lead actress leaving”.
It’s likely not going to be a case of Happily Ever After for an ABC staple.
Series star Jennifer Morrison is leaving “Once Upon a Time” – and yet the show will go on. For some reason.
Sure, it worked for “Valerie” (later reworked into “The Hogan Family”) when it’s lead decided to abruptly exit the show, but can you name any other show that continued to go from strength to strength as a result of losing it’s star? “Spin City”? nope! “News Radio”? Not at all! “Roseanne” without John Goodman? That definitely didn’t work. Even “Beverly Hills 90210” couldn’t sustain those initial, bonza ratings after the original crew started to leave.
I don’t blame Morrison, she’s in her right to want a break – particularly having done six years on the show, but for ABC to even consider continuing doesn’t seem smart. But even she seems to think the show will work with her gone. Sweets, I don’t know if that’s true…
“It just felt like everything had come to a really nice place for Emma, and (Horowitz and Kitsis) had set themselves up to really revamp the show with new people in a really interesting creative way,” Morrison tells Deadline. “It felt like time for me to come home.”
Morrison has negotiated to appear in one episode of a prospective season 7. Is it enough to keep viewers engrossed?
