''Bette'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

television series which premiered on October 11, 2000, on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

network. The show was the debut of

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

in a lead TV series role. Sixteen episodes were aired on CBS, with its final telecast on March 7, 2001. Eighteen episodes in total were produced, with the final two only broadcast on HDTV simulcasting and in foreign markets. ''Bette'' was created by

Jeffrey Lane Jeffrey Lane is an author, television scriptwriter, film producer and actor. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University. Career Broadway Lane wrote the book for the musical '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', which ran on Broadway in 2005 and was nominate ...

, with Midler serving as one of the executive producers.

Synopsis

The sitcom had Midler playing herself – a "divine celebrity" who is adored by her fans. To apply some ambiguity, neither Bette's last name nor that of her on-screen family's was used, to create the offset that there was some difference between the star's real-life and TV persona. There were several similarities to Midler's actual career through the show's run, as the character of Bette had – and directly performed – many of the real-life Midler's past hit songs and achievements. The core of the stories focused on Bette's personal life in her luxurious Los Angeles home. Her husband of nearly 20 years, Roy ( Kevin Dunn, eps. 1–12;

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

, eps. 16–18) was an earnest college history professor, and their 13-year-old daughter, Rose (

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

, pilot episode; Marina Malota, eps. 2–18) was bright, active, and not the least bit fazed by her mother's celebrity. Embarking with Bette on her long, wild journey around showbiz was her hardworking best friend and manager Connie Randolph (

Joanna Gleason Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She's known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife ...

). Refined Englishman Oscar (

James Dreyfus James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor most notable for roles on television sitcoms ''The Thin Blue Line (British TV series), The Thin Blue Line'' as Constable Kevin Goody, and ''Gimme Gimme Gimme (TV series), Gimme Gimme Gimme ...

) was Bette's veteran musical director/accompanist, who had an obsession with tabloid media and was always on the lookout for new, strange exploitations of Bette. During the series' run, slightly fictional Bette recorded a new album, engaged in hijinks at awards shows, won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

, made guest roles on series such as '' JAG'' and ''

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

'' (a cross promotion by CBS), and starred in a TV

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

special with

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

(who appeared as herself and was said to be a longtime friend of the Bette character; Parton and Midler are friends in real life). Other stories were out of the spotlight and closer to home; in one, Bette volunteered at Rose's school with surprising results, and in another, flashbacks were shown depicting the first time Bette met Connie, Roy, and Oscar (in that order), along with one featuring the birth of Rose.

Cast

as Bette * Kevin Dunn (eps. 1–12) and

(eps. 16–18) as Roy *

(pilot) and Marina Malota (eps. 2–18) as Rose *

as Connie Randolph *

as Oscar Many of Midler's celebrity friends appeared as themselves during the show's short run. Guest stars included

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

, George Segal,

Brenda Song Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress. Born in California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the sitcom '' Thunder Alley'' (1995), and ...

Sharon Lawrence Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence (born June 29, 1961) is an American actress who played Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the ABC drama series '' NYPD Blue''. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in ...

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

David James Elliott David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series ''JAG (TV series), JAG'', playing lead character Harmon Rabb, Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005. Early life Elliott was born David William Smith on S ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

Ashley Tisdale Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Jon Lovitz Jonathan Michael Lovitz (; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990. Lovitz starred as Jay Sherman in '' The Critic'' and played a baseball scout in '' A League of ...

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

and the ladies from rival network ABC's '' The View'' all as themselves.

Production

Recasts

When ''Bette'' went into production,

was the original choice to play Rose. After the completion of the pilot episode, Midler decided that the series would shoot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, instead of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where the pilot was filmed. 14-year-old Lohan did not want to continually commute from her family's current residence in New York City, due to the lengthy filming schedule for a TV series (typically 22 episodes per season). As a result, Marina Malota was cast in the role of Rose for the series' run. However the decision was made not to reshoot Lohan's scenes for the pilot episode with Malota in the role. Several episodes into the series, Kevin Dunn grew unhappy with the increasingly minimal role and lack of development his character Roy was facing. After filming the series' 11th episode, CBS agreed to let Dunn out of his contract. Dunn was credited for one further episode for contractual reasons. The character of Roy was left offscreen for four episodes while the role was recast. Ultimately,

was cast. In his first episode, ''A Brand New Roy'', the

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...

makes joking mention of the changes in Roy's appearance. Hays only filmed two episodes of ''Bette'' before its cancellation. One of his episodes - and another filmed before he was cast - were never aired by CBS, and his debut episode was the final to air on the network.

Cancellation

Although the series premiered to 15 million viewers in October 2000 - aided by prominently featured special guest stars in the early episodes - ratings dropped significantly by December. Midler was open about the challenges of adhering to a weekly television schedule, and was reported not to enjoy the daily process. By the time its 15th episode aired in February 2001, the series was averaging 9 million viewers. CBS officially cancelled the series on March 6, with the 16th episode airing the following day. Two additional episodes had been completed, and would air in foreign markets.

Episodes

Broadcast

United States

16 of the 18 filmed episodes aired Wednesday nights until its cancellation. Originally in the 8pm time slot, ''Bette'' was moved to 8:30/7:30c in February 2001 and aired only a few more times. Two episodes went unaired on network TV, but aired in HDTV in which it was simulcast.

International

In Australia, ''Bette'' was shown on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in prime-time on Sunday nights beginning in January 2001. ''Bette'' aired in Canada on OUT-TV on Saturday Nights in 2020. All 18 episodes aired during this run. As of April 2022, the entire series is streaming in Canada on CTV.

Ratings

Awards

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

(2001) – Nominated – "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical" – Bette Midler *

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

(2001) – Won – "Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series" – Bette Midler *

TV Guide Awards The ''TV Guide'' Award was an annual award created by the editors of ''TV Guide'' magazine, as a readers poll to honor outstanding programs and performers in the American television industry. The awards were presented until 1964. The ''TV Guide'' A ...

(2001) – Won – "Actress of the Year in a New Series" – Bette Midler *

(2001) – Nominated – "New Series of the Year" *

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

(2001) – Nominated – "Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series" – Bernard Vyzga (production designer) & Lynda Burbank (set decorator) for the pilot *Excellence in Production Design Award Television – Won – "Episode of a Multi-Camera Series" – Bernard Vyzga (production designer) & Rich Rohrer (assistant art director) for the pilot

References

External links

* (archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bette (Tv series 2000s American sitcoms 2000 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows scored by Alf Clausen