Overdoses, relapses, and rehab doesn't sound like a recipe for a successful
comedy - but Chuck Lorre pulled it off for eight seasons with his smash hit "Mom."
If you've ever dreamed of making it in showbiz and need a bit of inspiration, check out Chuck Lorre's
story. Lorre, the creator of "Mom," along with a host of other hit sitcoms, spent many years broke
and struggling before finally breaking through in his mid-30s. As he told the Lansing State Journal:
"I remember vividly what it's like to put 38 cents
in the gas tank and drive to my second cousin's house, so they would feed me."
Before hitting it big in television, however, Lorre spent some time dabbling in another
creative profession – songwriting. And if you're wondering whether any of his songs
became well-known, we've got four words for you: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Yes, if you've ever gotten the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" theme song stuck in your head,
you can thank Lorre, who co-wrote the catchy song that helped define the franchise. As
for his comedy-writing dream, that didn't really happen until he got
a job writing for the groundbreaking sitcom "Roseanne," a major break that opened doors,
launching him on a career trajectory like no other.
After Roseanne, Lorre went on to become one of the most successful sitcom creators in history,
responsible for the hits "Grace Under Fire," "Cybill," and "Dharma and Greg."
But Lorre really hit the jackpot with "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory,"
the pair of megahits which gave him the Hollywood cred to make "Mom" happen. And
even though Lorre is a rarity – a sitcom svengali with multiple mega-hits under
his belt – any aspiring writer can find inspiration in his rags-to-riches tale.
Before "Mom," Anna Faris was best known for her roles in comedies like "Just Friends,"
"The House Bunny," and the "Scary Movie" franchise. With her distinctive comedic
chops and bubbly blonde persona, she was the first actor CBS approached for "Mom."
Faris told PopSugar that her husband at the time,
actor Chris Pratt, actually read the script for "Mom" before she did,
and by the time he got to the second page he was convinced the role was perfect for her, saying:
"Honey, whatever you're doing, stop now and read this."
Even though television has come a long way since the days where everything edgy was on HBO,
Faris and Janney agreed that "Mom" dealt with risky issues for a network
sitcom during a joint interview with Larry King. When King asked
Faris if she was ever surprised by the content of the show, she revealed that
she was constantly shocked by how far the writers were willing to push it, saying:
"On a weekly basis when we get the new scripts I always say, 'Are we sure CBS is okay with this?'"
Before "Mom," Allison Janney was best known for
her role as White House press secretary Claudia Jean Cregg, also known as CJ, on "The West Wing."
Fans may be surprised to learn that she didn't have her breakthrough role
on the "West Wing," until she was 40, which is pretty unusual by Hollywood
standards. Janney did have a steady stream of supporting movie and TV roles before then,
but nothing as big as "The West Wing," which eventually led to "Mom."
On "Mom," Allison Janney's character,
Bonnie, had long, flowing auburn hair. Her coif actually became synonymous with the character,
which was a bit ironic considering that it's not even Janney's real hair. Yup,
the actor was wearing a wig the whole time — and her co-workers didn't even know!
Janney's real hair is actually a beautiful shade of natural silver,
and when she showed up on set without the wig one day, the producers apparently freaked.
During an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Janney told the tale.
“'What are we gonna do, you should've asked us before changing your hair!' I'm like,
guys, I've been wearing a wig since season one, but nobody knew it!"
As a recovering addict himself, "Mom" was a very personal show for Chuck Lorre,
who got sober himself at the age of 47. As he told TV Guide:
"Sobriety is a big part of my life, and it's been that way for almost 13 years…I'm
eternally grateful I've been able to find this in my life."
"I am trying so hard. I quit drinking, I'm going to meetings…"
As far as how his personal recovery journey relates to "Mom," Lorre told IndieWire:
"Broken people trying to repair their lives,
I can relate to that. I think we're all in the process of doing a little mending."
"Excuse me, no one's going to be snorting any fat rails while I'm here."
And, as Janney told IndieWire in another interview:
"It feels like a very grown-up show for [Chuck Lorre]. I had no idea that we
were going to be going to the places that we've gotten to go with 'Mom.'"
In showbusiness, like any other business, success breeds success. And in Chuck Lorre’s case,
having so many hits on his resume gave him the freedom to take on riskier stuff — in
other words, shows like "Two and a Half Men" gave him the freedom to make "Mom."
Lorre told IndieWire that to challenge himself creatively, he needed to tackle
something different, something that would force him to step into new areas of comedy.
"I am at a point in my career where I can take some chances...If you're going to experiment,
do something that is meaningful to you. If you fail, you did something meaningful to you."
And with "Mom," he did just that.
"Someone's spoiling themselves."
"It's for my mom. She's a drug addict who just got out of jail."
"aw!"
Back in the 1970s, legendary TV producer Norman Lear was a household name. He had many creations
to his name, but none as groundbreaking as "All in the Family," which dealt with
topical issues and proved that TV sitcoms could be intelligent and thought provoking.
Chuck Lorre often credits Lear for inspiring him to create similarly edgy sitcoms – proving
to the world that television doesn’t have to be predictable, and it doesn’t need to
be insulting to the intelligence of the audience. In an interview with Variety,
Lorre said that with "Mom," he wanted to tell stories that could take place
in what he calls a "Norman Lear world," in other words – realism, rather than fantasy.
"You know the definition of insanity…"
"Yes I know the definition of insanity I live with you!"
Lear, now 100 years old and someone Lorre considers a friend,
brought a reality to the sitcom format that had never been seen
before. And much like Lorre has done with "Mom," Lear made history tackling tough
subjects on TV as well. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lear noted:
"People will tell you you can't do just about anything — mention abortion,
have a gay character, write funny about cancer. You do it anyway."
"Christy Plunkett. Jill's sponsor. But I'm not 'sponsible for this."
It was a big surprise to the viewers of "Mom" that the character of Jodi, played by Emily Osment,
had a fatal overdose and died on the show. At that point, Jodi had reached six months of sobriety.
Lorre has said it was decided that Jodi would have an overdose when she was first introduced
to the show. He explained the reasoning behind this in an interview with TV Insider:
"Recovery from addiction is fragile. The one day at a time trope is sadly true;
it's a vulnerable state of being that requires vigilance. You can't ignore it."
The entire cast of "Mom" was heartbroken when they read the script and realized that Jodi was
going to die on the show. Not only did they love the character, but they loved Osment as well.
It was a challenge for the writers of "Mom" to figure out how to bring tragedy to the
show and then go back to being a comedy, but ultimately, Jodi's death showed that life goes on.
Laughter is contagious, and the shared experience of laughing can make a comedy even funnier. This
is why it was so hard to shoot "Mom" when the COVD-19 pandemic took away its live audience.
"Something I said changed the course of your life for the better."
"Feels like it."
"Are you listening to this?!?"
Veteran TV director James Widdoes, who helmed episodes of "Mom," agreed with that assessment.
Speaking to Variety, he called shooting the sitcom during the pandemic a "logistical
challenge" like no other. Gemma Baker, the co-creator of "Mom," told Deadline that
not having a live audience was one of the hardest parts of finally ending the series.
"An audience was so much a part of what we did and this whole season we missed them.
It really was a huge loss to not have that energy and feedback and laughter. It would
have been great if we [could've] ended the season in front of a live audience."
When Anna Faris announced she was leaving "Mom" after seven seasons, it was a big shock,
to say the least. And while it's hard for a show to survive when a lead character leaves,
it isn't unheard of. Similar to Chuck Lorre's other hit sitcom, "Two and a Half Men," "Mom"
was able to hang in there for a little while longer, putting out one more season.
However, co-creator Gemma Baker wishes they could've done more with Christy, telling Deadline:
"There were so many things that we wanted to address that we didn't get
a chance to…if we had a little more time we would have gotten a chance…"
One storyline fans missed out on was seeing how Christy would've done at
Georgetown University Law School. Baker described how she imagined it:
Christy would've faced some challenges – but ultimately would've overcome them.
Baker went on to tell Deadline how she envisioned closure for Christy:
"I like to think that [Christy] got into a happy
and healthy relationship and that she is still a part of her mother's life."
Fans can have
a lot of power when it comes to saving a show. Case in point? The original "Star
Trek" series. About to be canceled after the second season, NBC's deluge of letters
from fans begging the network to keep it on saved it. The cop drama "Cagney and Lacey"
has a similar story – after it was canceled, a letter writing campaign kept it on the air.
And when "Mom" was officially canceled in February 2021, fans mobilized with a
50,000 signature petition. And those fans who were in recovery were particularly passionate. To them,
it was important for the show to remain on the air, because of the fact that so
many addicts were struggling during the pandemic. As the petition stated:
"'Mom' has been a crucial voice in de-stigmatizing addiction. This show has no doubt saved countless
lives by promoting substance abuse recovery and encouraging people to seek help."
While the show did end up going off the air,
the spirit of "Mom," and how it gave a voice to people in recovery, will carry on.
A lot of sitcoms have endings where everything ends up just fine,
and everyone lives happily ever after. But for a show like "Mom,"
having everything wrapped up with a neat little bow at the end just wouldn't work.
"My name is Bonnie, and I'm a grateful alcoholic."
Co-creator Gemma Baker also didn't want a convenient ending for the show,
telling the Hollywood Reporter:
"Because of the nature of the show, it didn't feel truthful to have an ending
where everything is tied up, because the show has always really been about
reality and characters showing up for life on life's terms."
"I think it's true what we say here, 'don't leave before the miracle.'"
"Yuchh."
Baker recalled how the finale was hard to put together because they wanted to bring the show
to a close in a way that was meaningful and that did the best for the characters
and the audience as well, a challenging feat even under the best of circumstances,
made more difficult by the sudden departure of the lead.
"We'll be there, every step of the way." "Damn straight."
But it could also be seen as fitting, how, in the
end, the characters and the creative staff had to make the best of a tough situation,
and deal with life – on life's terms.
"FORGIVEN."