‘Cheers’ Farewells Diane (Press, 11 July 1988)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: ‘Cheers’ Farewells Diane (Press, 11 July 1988)
On 11 July 1988, Shelley Long makes her final appearance on the popular television series "Cheers", where she portrayed Diane, a pretentious barmaid, for five years. The climactic episode reveals that Sam and Diane are approaching marriage, yet their relationship appears to be deteriorating. Long's departure from the show was motivated by her desire to focus on a full-time film career and to start a family. When she announced her decision to leave the series the previous year, the show's producers faced significant anxiety about the future of "Cheers" without its leading female star. They understood that they needed to create a new character with equal appeal to keep the show's momentum. The regular cast members reacted differently to the news. Ted Danson, who plays Sam, acknowledged that while Long's choice was significant, it ultimately would benefit the show by adding a new dynamic. He compared the change to the past adjustment following the death of Nick Colasanto, who played Coach, suggesting that the show was resilient enough to adapt. George Wendt, who portrays Norm, expressed his confidence that "Cheers" would continue to perform well in ratings, having consistently ranked in the top 10 in America. He jokingly referred to a far-fetched storyline involving Cliff, a fellow character, suggesting he would undergo a sex change and transition to a waitress role, although this was not taken seriously by producers. To fill the void left by Long's departure, the production team decided to introduce Kirstie Alley as the new female lead. The change promises to reveal new developments within the storyline in the following week's episodes, indicating a shift in the show's dynamics as it moves forward after Long's exit.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand