Star Christina Applegate has spent the past five years dealing with the new realities of her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, but much of her life until then was all about starring on a number of TV shows and in movies, like the wild rom-com, Anchorman. Her recently released memoir has revealed a lot about her time as one of Hollywood’s top talents, however, including some of her dating exploits. One thing she now admits to is dumping Brad Pitt during her time on Married…with Children while they attended an awards show, and the story “gets worse” from there.

What Christina Applegate Said About Dumping Brad Pitt During An Awards Show

Christina Applegate has done everything from lead acclaimed shows like Dead to Me (which you can watch with your Netflix subscription) and Samantha Who?, to proudly starring in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead and other films, and even won an Emmy for her iconic guest starring role on Friends. But, she will likely always be best known for the show that made her famous, Married…with Children.

She reflected on her life, including that time during her early career in her new memoir, You with the Sad Eyes (via Page Six), and opened up about some of her dating life as she dealt with fame while still being a teenager. The actress was 17 when she briefly dated Brad Pitt, who was around 26 and still basically unknown, but a part of Applegate’s circle of Hollywood friends. As she says in her book, she took Pitt as her date when she attended the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards to present, but someone else in the room stole her attention:

Heavy metal was incredibly popular in the late ‘80s, and Skid Row was one of the bands that racked up a number of hits back in the day. But, that was quite a while ago now, so I know you would like a side by side comparison to see what Pitt looked like then and who the Bad Moms star couldn’t take her eyes off of. Observe now, Pitt in the 1989 slasher movie, Cutting Class, and Bach in his band’s “18 and Life” music video from the same year:

They don’t look entirely dissimilar, but I guess Bach’s status as a “long-haired hunk” really flipped a switch for Applegate. At any rate, she was so enamored with the singer that she abandoned her date, which made the situation worse for both of them:

I think everyone can understand why the Se7en actor was pissed. Not only did he get dumped, but it literally happened during a very public date. To top it off, he felt he had to drive his date’s mom (who had gone with them) home afterwards! I have to say, the fact that he didn’t leave her to find a cab says a lot about the type of person he probably was, right? Applegate continued:

Though she admits that this tale doesn’t make her look great, it is true that she was very young and likely just didn’t have the presence of mind to realize how much this would suck for her date. And, if you’re wondering how things went with Bach and Applegate, well she quickly found out that he had both a long-term girlfriend and a 1-year-old kid, so her efforts to entice him went nowhere. Hindsight really is 20/20.

For almost 20 years (but just 8 seasons and some movies), Reno 911! has been cracking us up. The creators and core cast members, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenny-Silver, and Robert Ben Garant, all started on MTV's The State (along with late-season cast member Joe Lo Truglio), clearly used all their connections to bring in both up-and-coming comedians at the time (like Zach Galifianakis) and established superstars (like Kenny Rogers and Paul Reubens). Here is a list of actors who you may have forgotten played roles in the classic comedy.

Zach Galifianakis

Before he became a household name in The Hangover series, for which he delivered many of the funniest lines in the movie, Zach Galifianakis was a semi-regular contributor to Reno 911!. He played the role of Frisbee, a survivalist with a boatload of kids who lived out by the airport (and thought aliens were invading) in multiple episodes of the show in the early years.

Patton Oswalt

Comedian Patton Oswalt's career started with a slew of funny but small-ish parts in movies like Magnolia, Down Periscope, and Dodgeball. He first appeared on Reno 911! in the show's second season and went on to multiple appearances, playing multiple characters, including appearances in the two movies, Reno 911!: Miami and Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon.

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens really needs no introduction. As Pee-wee Herman, he became a Gen X (and all the generations after) icon. Reubens, who died in 2023, played the amazing character Rick, who headed up his own "citizens' patrol" which cracked up audiences, and annoyed the members of the Reno Sheriff's Department.

Paul Scheer

Paul Scheer has made it a habit to star in some of the funniest shows of the last 20 years. Shows like The League, Veep, and Black Monday have made Scheer a household name. HE also played multiple roles in Season 6 of Reno 911!

Natasha Leggero

Natasha Leggero's first role came in one of too-oft forgotten fake reality show Joe Schmo 2 in 2004, the follow-up to the original The Joe Schmo Show. From there, she appeared in the reality show MTV's The 70s House. Leggero parlayed that into three appearances on Reno 911! playing different characters, mostly getting arrested.

Ryan Stiles

Ryan Stiles is certainly most well-known for delivering some of the funniest lines on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where he's been a cast member going back to the 1990s. He also popped up on Reno 911! as a police officer charged with training the idiots in the sheriff's department on how to go undercover in Season 5.

Jamie Lee Curtis

One of the most surprising cameos in the show's history came in one of the later seasons when none other than Jamie Lee Curtis appeared as Lt. Donna Fitzgibbons, a one-eyed, no-nonsense from Sparks Sheriff's department who Dangle brings in to prank the other members of the squad. She also shares Dangle's sense of fashion.

Keegan-Michael Key

One of the funniest recurring morons the Reno Sheriff's Department has to deal with is the "hypothetical criminal" played by the great Keegan-Michael Key. He appeared a bunch of times over the years as a character who comes with hypothetical crimes he definitely didn't commit. Somehow, he seems to keep getting away with the crimes.

Paul Rudd

The ageless Paul Rudd appeared in five episodes of the show in the final seasons of the original run. He played Guy Gerricault, a very unnerving Lamaze coach for Trudy while she's pregnant. He also appeared in the first movie, Reno 991: Miami as a completely different character.

Rachael Harris

After bouncing around Hollywood for about a decade, working regularly but never really starring in anything, Rachael Harris appeared in Reno 911! as Dangle's ex-wife. She's best known these days for her role as Linda in Lucifer.

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate has an almost "blink and you'll miss it" cameo as the legendary Terry's wife. It's hard to believe Terry (Nick Swardson) would be married to anyone, especially someone who looks like Christina Applegate.

Dwayne Johnson

There isn't a bigger star on the planet than Dwayne Johnson. The Rock, as he was known in wrestling, seems to have endless energy, with movies starring him being constantly released. One such movie is the first one from this franchise, Reno 911!: Miami, where he plays a cartoonish SWAT team leader. It's a role that suits him perfectly, of course.

Ron White

Stand-up comic Ron White is one of the funniest comedians around and his character on Reno 911!, as a drunk pilot, is exactly the kind of role White was born to play. He's simply hilarious.

Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Before they played Charlie and "The Waitress" in Always Sunny In Philadelphia, real-life couple Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis played twins in a... disturbing...relationship in Reno 911!'s second season. The chemistry they are known for now was on full display in their one hilarious appearance.

Murray SawChuck

Fans of Pawn Stars will recognize Murray SawChuck (or Murray the Magician) as one of the experts Rick brings in when he needs to evaluate the value of a magic prop. He's also well-known for his stage show in Las Vegas. In his appearance on Reno 911!, SawChuck plays a magician who gets pulled over, and then pulls out a bunch of tricks, of course.

Nick Swardson

Without a doubt, the most popular recurring "criminal" on the show is Terry, played by the hilarious Nick Swardson. It's fair to say you probably haven't forgotten his unforgettable appearance across pretty much every season and movie from the franchise, but we had to include him on this list, of course.

Danny DeVito

Did you know that one of the "producers" of Reno 911! is the iconic Danny DeVito? On the show, he has appeared as himself, who is a producer of the fake show that the real show is mockumenting. How meta!

Jim Rash

Jim Rash is best known for playing the hapless Dean in the NBC sitcom Community. He's also an accomplished writer, earning an Oscar nomination for writing The Descendants, starring George Clooney and Shailene Woodley. He was one of the more "regular" recurring characters, Andrew, in the early seasons of the show, who was arrested, usually in a compromising position, a number of times. He appeared 15 times in total as the wacky character.

Michael Ian Black

Though he was never a full-time cast member of Reno 911!, Michael Ian Black, as a member of The State, is a good friend and regular cohort of many of the cast of Reno 911!. Black appeared in multiple episodes, playing multiple characters on the show, and in the movie, Reno 911!: Miami.

Ian Roberts

Ian Roberts was never part of The State, but he did cut his teeth in another legendary improv group, Upright Citizens Brigade, which he helped found with Amy Poehler, Adam McKay, and Matt Walsh. Heady stuff. He joined the regular cast of Reno 911! in the show's first final season in 2009.

Oscar Nunez

We all know Oscar Nunez from The Office and its sister show, The Paper, where his character, also named Oscar, is the lone crossover character between the shows. Before The Office, Nunez appeared in a couple of episodes in the first season as Captain Dwayne Hernandez. He appeared in a later season as "Spanish Mike" as well. He even popped up in the movie Reno 911!: Miami, as "Jose Jose Jose."

Diedrich Bader

At the same time that Reno 911! was a hit on Comedy Central in the mid-2000s, Dog the Bounty Hunter was a phenomenon on A&E. Naturally, the mockumentary about a police department had to mock the bounty hunter. Enter Diedrich Bader, famous for his roles in Office Space and The Drew Carey Show. Bader played "Tommy Hawk," modeled after the Dog (Dwyane Chapman), right down to the blonde mullet.

George Lopez

Every police department in every city has to deal with the mayor sometimes. When that mayor is a drunk, like George Lopez's character in Reno 911!, he can be maddening for the cops, but hilarious for audiences.

"Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic has the honor that no one else on Reno 911! ever had. The legendary musician and actor got to play a person from real life. Appropriately, it was another musician, Ted Nugent. Of course, it's a completely over-the-top satirized version of the Motor City Madman, but Weird Al's look is dead on.

Seth Green

Sometimes it seems like Seth Green is literally everywhere. This was especially true in the 2000s. Whether it was shows like Robot Chicken, which he also co-created, or Entourage, or, of course, Family Guy, or movies like the Austin Powers franchise and The Italian Job, Green was great. He was also hilarious in his Reno 911! cameo as the ridiculously mean boss of two sheriffs who were undercover as fast food employees.

Rainn Wilson

If we're honest here, Rainn Wilson's appearance in Reno 911! as a murderer taking the sheriffs on a wild goose chase feels like it could almost be his character from The Office, Dwight's brother, or cousin. It's honestly one of the funniest episodes of the whole series.

Debra Wilson

Debra Wilson is probably best known as the longest-serving cast member of MadTV, which included the first 8 seasons of the classic variety show. In addition to a ton of voice work in movies and TV, she's also known for playing Oprah Winfrey in the Scary Movie franchise, and for playing Dominatrix on three episodes of Reno 911! in 2008.

Brian Posehn

Yet another stand-up who played a great recurring character on the show is Brian Posehn. Posehn played Stevie the Coroner in a few episodes in the show's original run on Comedy Central. It's a perfect character for the comic, famous for his deadpan delivery. Who doesn't want a seriously funny, but deadly serious, coroner on a show like this?

Nick Krull

Another actor who plays the absolutely perfect role for his talents is Nick Krull. Krull plays an offensive shock jock who makes his name by saying the most ridiculous things. His take on Cinco de Mayo is as funny as it is offensive.

Scott Thompson

Like others on this list, Scott Thompson is a veteran of a legendary sketch comedy troupe, The Kids In The Hall. He popped up in the show's sixth season in two episodes.

Masi Oka

Masi Oka is most famous for playing the biggest hero on Heroes, Hiro Nakamura. That role earned him an Emmy nomination. He also played a more serious role as the medical examiner, Dr. Max Bergman, in the reboot of the '60s show Hawaii Five-0. Oka got to show off his comedic chops in a couple of episodes of Reno 911! as a Japanese translator.

Jeff Foxworthy

Even some of the biggest Reno 911! fans may have missed this very brief cameo. The legendary Jeff Foxworthy. Not only was it brief, but audiences never actually saw Foxworthy in the one episode in which he appeared in the third season of the show. The "redneck" comedian played Fast Eddie McClintock, the "fastest criminal in Reno, and we only very briefly hear his voice over his CB radio as he speeds away from the sheriffs in his black Trans Am.

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead is considered a classic ‘90s comedy these days, and it, along with Married... With Children, (another part she struggled with) is a big part of what made Christina Applegate a star. But things could have turned out very different for the Anchorman star.

Applegate recently talked about on her podcast MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler about how she almost turned down the role as the teenager-turned-temporary caregiver in one of those wild movies about kids getting into all kinds of ridiculous situations. Here’s why she’s glad she changed her mind and how proud she is of the cult classic today.

Applegate Thought The Movie Was ‘Too Commercial’

On the podcast, a listener wrote in to ask her to talk about the role and the movie, adding that it was one of their favorite movies of all time. As a child of the ‘80s and ‘90s, that is something I definitely understand. I remember going to the theater at the mall to see it, because all the best movies were at the mall in 1991. It was one of the must-see movies of the summer, yet it barely made any money.

Applegate admits on the show that she could get snobby about accepting roles (she famously turned down Legally Blonde), saying:

It’s something I think a lot of actors can relate to. A movie like Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead must feel like a complete sellout when you get the script. The title alone makes almost everyone cringe, and there is no way to guess what movies are going to have staying power, much less become the kind of quotable comedy classic like this one would become.

It’s easy to get snarky about the movie as an actor, and Applegate did, especially in an era like the early ‘90s when a new breed of indie directors were bursting onto the scene and putting out amazing movies. Of course, there are other considerations, like money, that always have to be part of the equation for working actors of any level of fame, something Applegate also alludes to:

Today, Applegate Is Proud Of The Movie

Of course, in the end, Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead had a complete second life at the video rental store and on cable TV. It’s filled with classic and quotable lines, as Applegate concedes, while cringing at her former self at the time:

It also continues to resonate with future generations, as any good cult classic does. Applegate may not have been happy to be in it at the time, but today, it's clearly a movie she’s proud of, and so is her daughter. Applegate says of the movie:

For this Gen Xer, it makes me happy to know that she, like so many of us, sees the greatness in Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. Sure, it might have been a bomb at the time, but it's one of those movies where the nostalgia doesn't get ruined by the movie sucking. Looking back on it, as Applegate says, “it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a rom-com, and you can’t tell me otherwise. I know what you’re probably thinking, ‘But Riley, it’s one of the best movies of the 2000s, it’s a comedy masterpiece, and it has what feels like every major male comedian in it.’ To that, I say, ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ However, when you break down the plot of this flick and the motivations of Ron, it fully centers around his love interest Veronica, and the way their story plays out makes Anchorman an indisputable and great rom-com, in my humble opinion.

Now, the beloved Anchorman is full of lots of classic comedy and jokes for the bros. However, when I watched it with a Peacock subscription, I was hyper-fixated on the love story between Ron and Veronica, and I couldn’t get over their plot, which is an absolutely wild rom-com.

Ron And Veronica’s First Date Is Classic Rom-Com Material

While Ron’s initial ask was to “squire” Veronica about town as professionals, it very much turned into a date.

Ultimately, it evolved into Ron playing the jazz flute for her. And she was clearly woo-ed by it. While the scene was so incredibly silly, it also showed Ferrell’s character outside of work and that he’s not 100% a jerk. As his performance went on, Veronica obviously longed for him and was turned on by his flute performance. Then they went to Pleasuretown…

This scene demonstrates that Veronica isn’t intimidated by Ron, and it in fact shows that they – for lack of a better term – match each other’s freak. While what brings them together is absolutely bananas, and I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt, I also totally bought that Veronica was into him. Their chemistry was palpable and so fun to watch, and as the movie progressed, I cared more about their relationship than just about anything else.

Between the forbidden love trope going on here, as Veronica got confuddled about getting romantic with a coworker, and the hilarious chemistry between Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate, it became clear to me that Anchorman was giving more than just comedy, it was giving romantic comedy.

The Enemies To Lovers Game In The Middle Of Anchorman? Iconic.

Of course, after Ron’s dog got yeet-ed by Jack Black and he missed work, Veronica went on the air for him, and things went downhill big time for them. We got way more than a third-act breakup here; we get a full-blown enemies-to-lovers story in the middle of Anchorman.

Veronica took over as anchor and Ron descended to very, very, very low levels. He was, to put it lightly, distraught as well as hot and bothered.

They were sabotaging each other's left and right. They got into a literal battle at one point. Their shenanigans got out of hand. Prank calls ensued, and teleprompter sabotages were afoot. It was ridiculous, and it was clear that their romantic feelings for each other were impacting their actions at work alongside their drive to be the main anchor on the news.

While this rivalry formed out of Veronica taking Ron’s thunder and gig, I think it was clearly amplified by their romance.

The friction created by the rivalry between Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate’s characters was so much fun to watch, and their bickering was truly hilarious. While funny was the priority here, this was also such an enemies-to-lovers storyline placed in the middle of this movie, and as a rom-com lover, this trope was so obvious and irresistibly entertaining.

Anchorman Literally Ends With Ron And Veronica Getting Back Together

Now, let’s talk about that ending. After Ron and Veronica broke it off, and she was leading the news, they collided again at the zoo when Applegate’s character ended up in the bears’ enclosure. Admittedly, there’s a lot going on in this scene as the news gangs all face off against each other and Ron tries to make his triumphant return to TV. Ultimately, though, his love for Veronica took priority and he wound up jumping into the bears’ enclosure with her.

After the news team and Baxter the dog helped save them, Ron and Veronica shared a kiss once they were finally safe and out of the bears’ home and Ron reported on the pandas. Also, it ended on a love confession, as Veronica said:

The film marks its resolve on Ron and Veronica getting together, and then going on to be co-anchors of the world news. It signifies Ron’s growth and the love these two share. When you end a movie on that note… I think it’s a rom-com.

The Only Reason Ron Evolves In This Movie Is Because Of Veronica

These two share the same dream of being a network anchor, and to achieve that dream – at least for most of the movie – Ron will do whatever he can. However, as he falls for Veronica, he evolves (not much, but he evolves) and it’s clear he cares for her and doesn't want to hurt her.

At the start of the movie, Ron would have never willingly said Veronica was his co-anchor. However, he changed for the better through this experience and fell in love while he was at it.

Think about it. Would Ron have given up that big panda story before everything he went through with Veronica? I think the answer is no. However, after his turbulent love story, he changed and he truly cared for her and couldn’t bear (pun intended) to see her hurt. Talk about evolving for the better! And it all happened because the boy was in love!

Also, while Ferrell’s performance for the most part is over-the-top and slapstick, there’s something genuine about how he plays out Ron’s feelings for Veronica. That adds depth to Anchorman’s story, and I think it’s a reason why this movie is so solid.

Ron and Veronica’s love story – while ridiculous like the whole movie – adds depth and stakes to it, and it is central to the film’s arc. Therefore, I don’t think it’s out of hand to call Anchorman -- which is easily one of Will Ferrell’s best movies and a legendary comedy overall -- the wildest rom-com I’ve ever seen.

While Friends is well known for its iconic cast of lead actors, the series also had a pretty great track record for bringing in great guest stars. From Ben Stiller to Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Brooke Shields, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and more, the series was a magnet for A-list talent. I recently rewatched Friends in its entirety with my Max subscription — not the first time, likely won’t be the last — and among the observations I made this time around was how truly perfect the casting was for two specific characters. I’m talking about Jill and Amy Green, Rachel’s sisters.

Reese Witherspoon (playing Jill) and Christina Applegate (playing Amy) don’t actually appear in the same episodes. They pop in throughout different parts of the series and wreak emotional havoc. Also physical havoc if we factor in Amy's part in what happened to Monica's plates.

Regardless, I really don’t think Friends could’ve cast two more perfect actors for these roles, and I want to talk about it…

Reese Witherspoon as Jill Green

Reese Witherspoon plays the first of Rachel’s sisters to appear on the show, when Jill shows up for two episodes in Season 6. Her performance as the spoiled and occasionally pouty sister to Rachel is memorable not just because Reese Witherspoon is Reese Witherspoon. The Legally Blonde star’s comedic talent is certainly on display, but there’s also something very Rachel-like about the way she plays the role that makes it easy to believe Jill and Rachel grew up together (and then went in totally different life-directions, but more on that in a bit).

While Jill and Rachel don’t always get along during the brief time we get to see her, it’s clear Rachel loves her sister and wants the best for her. There's undoubtedly warmth in the chemistry between Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as on-screen sisters.

Christina Applegate As Amy Green

Let’s talk about Amy. Just as Witherspoon only guest-starred briefly on the show, Christina Applegate’s presence on the series is also sadly limited to two episodes, though hers were a bit more spaced out, happening in Seasons 9 and 10. While Jill was pouty and spoiled, Amy was rude and spoiled, carelessly and seemingly effortlessly insulting anyone in her vicinity with a passing comment here and an accidental jab there. Whether it’s describing someone she's literally speaking to in the most unflattering way possible, or getting her own niece’s name wrong numerous times, no one (not even a baby) is safe from Amy’s casual slights — and every second of it is hilarious thanks to Christina Applegate's delivery.

Just as Witherspoon makes us believe without a doubt that Jill is Rachel’s sister, so too does Applegate with her portrayal of Amy Green. It's also clear that, despite their differences, or even the fact that the two came to actual blows (“Frizzy frizzy frizzy frizzy!”) at one point in an episode, Rachel loves Amy just as she loves her sister Jill.

I don’t think any other actors could’ve done these roles justice in the way that Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate do. But that's not the only reason why I love Jill and Amy's appearances...

Jill and Amy Aren’t Just Hilarious, They’re Also Both Good Reflections Of How Far Rachel Has Come

Jill and Amy’s appearances on Friends aren’t the only time we get to learn more about one of the main characters through their interactions with a sibling. Whether it’s Phoebe’s complicated relationship with her twin sister, Ursula, Joey’s protectiveness of his many sisters, or the goofy but endearing dynamic between Monica and Ross, sibling relationships factor into Friends throughout the run of the series. So Amy and Jill’s relevance to Rachel's story isn’t really a novel concept here, nor are they wasted in being opportunities to help us know Rachel better.

At the start of Friends, Rachel wasn’t all that unlike Jill in the way she didn’t seem to have an accurate sense of adult responsibilities or financial independence. We see something very similar in Jill when she first shows up complaining that her father cut her off. And while Amy is probably much more outspoken than Rachel typically is, the fact that she finds herself in engaged to a man who’s all wrong for her isn’t all that unlike Rachel and her ex, Barry. What’s more, despite her flaws, Amy clearly wants to make better choices, like her sister. Her progress is a bit slow-going, but we see glimpses of it.

Just as the casting is perfect when it comes to Jill and Amy, Friends does a great job in utilizing both characters to bring some new perspective to Rachel’s story. The series also succeeds in making Jill and Amy’s appearances hilarious from start to finish, while also feeling meaningful and even heartfelt at times. Then again, all of that pretty much describes some of the things Friends always did best.

As I mentioned earlier, you can catch all of Friends with a Max subscription. (It’s one of the many reasons Max is among the best streaming services to subscribe to.)

Think of your favorite movie character of all time. There is a good chance that the actor who ended up playing that part is not the first actor the studio approached. See for yourself by taking a look at this list of celebrities who decided to pass on a movie role that would turn out to make cinematic history.

Will Smith (Neo In The Matrix)

It is actually pretty easy for us to picture what the Matrix movies might have been like with Will Smith as Neo. However, the Academy Award winner seems to believe that Keanu Reeves was the better choice to play the chosen one in the mind-bending, dystopian sci-fi movie classic, claiming in a video on his YouTube channel that he would have "ruined it."

Jodie Foster (Princess Leia in Star Wars)

Fresh off her Academy Award-nominated breakthrough role in 1976's Taxi Driver, a teenage Jodie Foster was offered the chance to be a part of the Star Wars movies as Princess Leia Organa. As she revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the two-time Oscar winner had a contractual obligation to an unnamed Disney movie, allowing Carrie Fisher to win the role.

Tom Hanks (Jerry Maguire In Jerry Maguire)

Tom Hanks was on top of the world with two Oscar wins (for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump) when he was offered to play a sports agent down on his luck in Jerry Maguire. He ended up passing on the eponymous role from Cameron Crowe's 1996 dramedy and later told Access Hollywood (via FandomWire), "I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise," who would receive a nod from the Academy for his performance.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Patrick Bateman In American Psycho)

Christian Bale once told GQ that every one of his roles was first offered to Leonardo DiCaprio and one confirmed example is Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho. The future Oscar winner told The Morning Call that he passed on playing the sadistic yuppie because he felt the script “didn’t mean anything in the end," but rumor has it Bale's stepmom, Gloria Steinem, convinced DiCaprio that it would be bad for his post-Titanic, romantic heartthrob reputation at the time.

Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Predator In Predator)

The titular terrifying alien enemy from 1987's Predator looked a lot different when Jean-Claude Van Damme was still in the role, according to THR's oral history. The Belgian actor star actually shot some footage in the original insect-like suit before deciding he would rather not be hidden in his own movie, leading to a redesign of the costume and the casting of 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.

Jack Nicholson (Michael Corleone In The Godfather)

While we cannot imagine anyone other than Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Jack Nicholson probably would have been great in the Godfather movies. However, the three-time Oscar winner refused the offer, explaining to Movieline in 2004 (via ScreenRant) that he believed "Italians should play Italians."

John Travolta (Forrest Gump In Forrest Gump)

When speaking with MTV News (via Collider), John Travolta revealed that he had no regrets about turning down the title role of the Best Picture Oscar winner Forrest Gump and it is no wonder why. Not only did Tom Hanks embody the role to Oscar-winning acclaim but Travolta found career-rejuvenating success with Pulp Fiction in 1994 instead.

Burt Reynolds (James Bond In Live And Let Die)

In 2015, Burt Reynolds told USA Today that, when approached to be Sean Connery's replacement in the James Bond films, he believed the public would not accept a 007 with an American accent. However, he would later come to believe that, "It was a stupid thing to say. I could've done it and I could've done it well."

Eddie Murphy (Winston Zeddemore In Ghostbusters)

While appearing on The Tonight Show in 2019, Eddie Murphy was asked by Jimmy Fallon if it is true that he passed on playing Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters. The comedian confirmed that it was true but added that it allowed him the opportunity to lead an even bigger hit from 1984: Beverly Hills Cop.

John Lithgow (Seth Brundle In The Fly)

Jeff Goldblum's iconic role from David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly was previously offered to John Lithgow, who told IndieWire that he said no, not wanting to play "something so grotesque.” Having witnessed Seth Brundle's transformation into a half-human, half-insect in the intense body horror movie, we cannot say we blame him.

Tom Selleck (Indiana Jones In Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Having already worked with Harrison Ford three times before, George Lucas was reluctant to cast the Han Solo actor as Indiana Jones, opening up the opportunity for a rotation of actors, including Tom Selleck. As he recalled on Today, the actor was forced to pass on 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, due to his commitment to the CBS crime drama, Magnum P.I.

Christopher Lee (Dr. Loomis In Halloween)

While already a horror movie icon at the time for his acclaimed portrayal of Dracula and role in 1973's The Wicker Man, Christopher Lee could have added one of the all-time best horror movies, 1978's Halloween, to his resume. According to The Digital Fix, he would come to regret the decision to pass on the role of Michael Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, who was immortalized by Donald Pleasance instead.

Christina Applegate (Elle Woods In Legally Blonde)

Before Reese Witherspoon made Elle Woods an icon among fictional lawyers in Legally Blonde and among fictional politicians in the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, the role was offered to Christina Applegate. The former Married... with Children star later explained to Entertainment Tonight that she was afraid of repeating the ditzy blonde but jokes it was a "stupid move."

Emily Blunt (Black Widow In Iron Man 2)

Scarlett Johansson was perfect as Natasha Romanoff but Emily Blunt would have made a killing as the Avenger also called Black Widow. The English actor explained to Howard Stern that she could not originate the role for the MCU in 2010's Iron Man 2 because she was contractually obligated to appear in that year's adaptation of Gulliver's Travels.

Emma Watson (Mia In La La Land)

Playing Mia in 2016's La La Land earned Emma Stone her first Oscar win but the role of the aspiring actor had originally gone to another Emma: Emma Watson. The Harry Potter movies star said in a SiriusXM Town Hall interview (via Us Weekly) that her commitment to Beauty and the Beast and the hard work required to star in the musical led her to pull out.

Gwyneth Paltrow (Rollergirl In Boogie Nights)

Heather Graham made her mainstream breakthrough in 1998's Boogie Nights as "Rollergirl" – a role that was previously offered to Gwyneth Paltrow. The future Oscar winner told Howard Stern (via Us Weekly) that she passed because she feared the role, which required her to completely disrobe and simulate lewd acts on camera, would "kill" her conservative grandfather.

Jennifer Hudson (Precious In Precious)

Jennifer Hudson had previously said in her memoir, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down, that she turned down the title role of Precious because she did not want to take a role that involved her weight. The Oscar winner later retracted that statement when speaking to The Huffington Post, explaining that Was not interested in what the role, which ultimately went to Gabourey Sibide, would have required her to do at that point in her career.

Matt Damon (Jake Sully In Avatar)

Sam Worthington became a household name when he led James Cameron's astonishingly successful sci-fi epic, Avatar, as Jake Sully – a role previously offered to Matt Damon. The Oscar winner once joked to Access Hollywood that not participating in the 2009 film cost the movie "a lot."

Ian McKellan (Albus Dumbledore In Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban)

The Lord of the Rings movies' Gandalf actor, Sir Ian McKellan, could have added another famous wizard to his resume and become the Harry Potter franchise's new Albus Dumbledore. Instead, the part went to Michael Gambon after, as he told BBC News, McKellan turned it down because he couldn’t “take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me,” referring to the late Richard Harris who was a vocal critic of the actor.

Drew Barrymore (Sidney Prescott In Scream)

Given Drew Barrymore's A-list status in 1996, audiences assumed that she was the lead of Wes Craven's Scream, which could have been the case, as she confirmed on Hot Ones. However, she requested to be killed off in the beginning as Casey Becker, knowing it would shock the audience, paving the way for Neve Campbell to become a Scream Queen in the role of Sidney Prescott.

Angela Bassett (Leticia Musgrove In Monster’s Ball)

Halle Berry became the first Black Best Actress Oscar winner for her performance in Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove – a role that was offered to Angela Bassett. According to EW, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star felt the part of a Black call girl was too stereotypical.

Sean Connery (Gandalf In The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring)

Sir Ian McKellan mentions in an oral history about the Lord of the Rings series for The Independent that an earlier choice to play Gandalf the Grey was Sir Sean Connery. New Line Cinema executive Mark Ordesky notes that the former James Bond actor passed on the role of the wizard simply because he "did not get it."

Bette Midler (Annie Wilkes In Misery)

Despite having no qualms about playing an actual evil witch in 1993's Hocus Pocus, Bette Midler did have some reservations about playing Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery from 1990. The actor and singer told Variety that was interested in playing the sadistic nurse because of her violent, unfunny, and irredeemable qualities.

Warren Beatty (Bill In Kill Bill)

In 2003, Quentin Tarantino told BBC that he originally started writing the title role of Kill Bill with Warren Beatty in mind because he wanted to work with him and the Oscar winner was set to play the target of Uma Thurman's vengeful Bride for a bit. However, after realizing that David Carradine was a better fit, followed by consideration of the time commitment and martial arts training involved, the actor and filmmaker amicably agreed to part ways.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Clarice Starling In The Silence Of The Lambs)

Michelle Pfeiffer once told Today's Hoda Kotb (via People) that her reasons for passing on roles in the likes of Pretty Woman and Basic Instinct typically had to do with scheduling conflicts. However, she told The New Yorker she passed on playing Clarice Starling (which ultimately went to Jodie Foster) in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs because the “evil” in the film made her nervous.

Al Pacino (Han Solo In Star Wars)

In his memoir, Sonny Boy, Al Pacino reveals that, before Harrison Ford was cast in Star Wars, he was offered the role of Han Solo. The Oscar winner explains that he could not "make anything out of" George Lucas' script and chose not to play the pilot of the Millennium Falcon.

Bela Lugosi (The Creature In Frankenstein)

According to the book, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig (via SlashFilm), the star of 1931's Dracula had the opportunity to play two Universal Monsters in the same year, having also been offered to play The Creature in Frankenstein. However, the actor believed such a role was "beneath him," paving the way for Boris Karloff to rise up in the ranks of horror royalty as Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation.

Haley Lu Richardson (Dani Ardor In Midsommar)

Haley Lu Richardson, known for one of the best M. Night Shyamalan movies, Split, passed on the role of Dani Ardor in Ari Aster's 2019 sophomore effort, Midsommar. The A24 horror masterpiece was ultimately led by Florence Pugh, whom Richardson told Backstage she has nothing but praise for, despite not yet having the courage to watch the movie.

Julia Roberts (Annie Reed In Sleepless In Seattle)

The two most prestigious queens of the rom-com genre would have to be Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan but only one could play Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. Roberts told InStyle (via ABC News) that she was offered the part but could not do it, adding that Ryan and Tom Hanks "are just such a jewel of a fit in that."

Jamie Lee Curtis (Regan MacNeil In The Exorcist)

Jamie Lee Curtis became horror royalty with her feature film debut in 1978's Halloween but her reign could have begun earlier if not for one thing: her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis told EW that, when she was asked to audition for Regan MacNeil in 1973's The Exorcist (which would go to Linda Blair), the Psycho star spoke on the then-13-year-old's behalf and refused the offer.

Lee Marvin (Quint In Jaws)

Robert Shaw's performance as Quint in Jaws is nearly as famous as the man-eating shark itself but the English actor was actually not Steven Spielberg's first choice. The filmmaker told Vanity Fair that he previously approached Lee Marvin but the Dirty Dozen star was not interested.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Amber In Clueless)

Elisa Donovan's character in Clueless, Amber, very nearly went to the future star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Adam Schroeder, the co-producer of the 1995 high school movie classic, told Vanity Fair that the actor's commitment to the soap opera All My Children at the time forced her to recede from consideration.

Everybody's got their favorite Friends character when it comes to Ross Gellar, Rachel Green, Chandler Bing, Monica Gellar, Phoebe Buffay and Joey Tribbiani. But what about the dozens of other people who came in and out of their lives over the NBC Must See TV show's 10 seasons? Here are 32 side characters from one of the best sitcoms of all time that we still love today:

Janice Litman-Goralnik

Oh. My. God! Chandler's on-off girlfriend Janice Litman-Goralnik (Maggie Wheeler) was nothing short of iconic, and despite all the cute moments Chandler and Monica blessed us with in Friends' later seasons, there is still a contingency of the fandom that thinks he and Janice should have been endgame. 

Carol Willick

Things weren't always easy for Ross (David Schwimmer) and his ex-wife Carol Willick (Jane Sibbett), as the series opened with them navigating not just their divorce, but their unexpected pregnancy and her new relationship. However, they continued to be there for each other when needed — Ross walking Carol down the aisle at her wedding, for instance — and we couldn't help but love her too.

Julie

The six Friends had a lot of girlfriends come and go over the years, but poor Julie (Lauren Tom) was simply a victim of bad timing. She came back into Ross' life just as Rachel was finally reciprocating his years-long crush on her. Julie was never anything but sweet and kind, but nobody could have stood in the way of Ross and Rachel finally getting together.

Richard Burke

Tom Selleck was one of Friends' best guest stars, playing Richard Burke, Monica's fan-favorite Season 2 boyfriend. Forget the fact that he was 21 years older and her dad's best friend. He still fit in just fine with Monica's close-knit friend group, even if Joey and Chandler did see him more as a father figure. Their breakup because Richard didn't want to have more children was truly heartbreaking.

Gunther

No one will ever forget Gunther, the Central Perk barista with hair brighter than the sun. James Michael Tyler stood mostly quietly behind the counter for an impressive 162 episodes, secretly pining for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) the entire time.

Frank Jr.

Phoebe's half-brother Frank Jr. (Giovanni Ribisi) really seemed to prove which side of the family her wacky personality came from. Frank Jr. was hard to rein in, but he had so much love for his sister, and you can't help but smile at how enthusiastic he was to be having triplets with his wife Alice. Because he never had a dad around, and "now I always will, 'cause, you know, it'll be me!"  

Marcel The Monkey

It was certainly a unique choice of Friends to bring in a pet monkey for Ross. Marcel, who was actually a capuchin named Katie, was a hilarious companion to the newly divorced character in the first season. To this day can Friends fans even hear "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" without thinking of Marcel?

Ugly Naked Guy

It may be strange to love a character whose face we never saw, but Ugly Naked Guy provided quite a few comedic moments for the gang watching him from Monica's apartment.

Rhonda

Sherri Shepherd has said she loved guest starring on Friends as Rhonda, a museum employee who helped Matt LeBlanc's Joey (a new tour guide) navigate the lunchtime situation. Just as Joey was hurt that Ross chose to sit with the other scientists rather than him, we can all understand why Rhonda called out Peter, a fellow employee she'd known since grade school, for the same thing. After all, she shared her pudding with him. She gave him her Snack Pack!

Sandra Green

Marlo Thomas made a few appearances over the years as Rachel's mother Sandra Green, and she was at her best when she was marveling at the life her daughter had created. Sandra had never had to take care of herself, and she admired Rachel for being brave enough to not go through with a wedding to a man she didn't love.

Jack Gellar

Who was more lovable than Ross and Monica's dad Jack? The character, played by Elliott Gould, may have still shown a little favoritism toward Ross, but Jack clearly had a soft spot for his little Harmonica. Fans continue to love him for his musings on being buried at sea, selling ice on the Internet and the sun-dried tomato business. Don't tell me your heart didn't melt when he went to check on Monica (Courteney Cox) after her breakup with Richard.

Estelle Leonard

Estelle Leonard, played by a heavily made-up June Gable, was not the most talented of talent agents, as Joey struggled as an actor possibly more than necessary over the years. However, her exaggerated New York accent and chain-smoking proclivities made for consistent laughs in an unforgettable role.

David

It's hard to believe Hank Azaria appeared in only three episodes as David, the scientist who was forced to move to Minsk (which is not in Russia) so soon after he and Phoebe fell in love. I wouldn't have been upset if she'd ended up with him.

Mike Hannigan

It's hard to argue against Mike Hannigan though. Paul Rudd played a pretty significant role in Seasons 9 and 10, as his character eventually married Phoebe. Mike didn't always understand Phoebe's unconventional ways, but he always allowed her to be herself, even if that meant changing his name to Crap Bag to prove a point to Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock.

Mr. Heckles

Anybody who's ever had a noisy upstairs neighbor can likely relate to Mr. Heckles. Larry Hankin's character was a bizarre one, indeed, as he spent his sporadic appearances either telling Monica and co. to keep it down or insisting that he could have a cat/play the oboe/have birds, etc. According to "The One With the Flashback," we also have Mr. Heckles to thank for Joey and Chandler becoming roommates!

Susan Bunch

Susan Bunch gets a bad rap on Friends, and I honestly don't get it. We all know that Ross was kind of the worst, and nobody got the brunt of his pettiness more than the woman Carol left him for. While their interactions were often strained, Susan was as understanding as possible of Ross' perspective, but she never allowed herself to be pushed aside, especially when it came to Carol or their son Ben, and I love that. 

Eddie

Man alive! Who didn't love this dehydrating maniac? Adam Goldberg played Eddie, Chandler's roommate when Joey temporarily moved into his own place. Eddie didn't always have a strong grasp on reality, and there was really nothing creepier than finding out he liked to sneak into Chandler's room to watch him sleep, but Eddie sure was an amazing character who fans continue to love to this day.

Ursula Buffay

The character of Ursula Buffay originated on Mad About You, with Friends creating Phoebe as her identical twin to justify Lisa Kudrow's appearance on both NBC series. Ursula was the "evil twin" of sorts, just as flighty as Phoebe but with none of the warmth. She was still a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

Leonard Green

It was interesting to get to meet Rachel's dad Leonard Green (Ron Leibman), the man who spoiled his three daughters so shamelessly, but the best part about this character was how ruthless he could be, particularly toward Ross. "Nice hair. What'd you do, swim here?" Classic.

Nora Bing

Like many of the Friends characters, Chandler had a loving but complicated relationship with his mom Nora Bing (Morgan Fairchild), particularly because of her line of work writing erotic novels. But how fun was it for his friends to be able to meet the woman who wrote page 79 of Mistress B... well, never mind.

Jill Green

If there's one thing we learned about Rachel's sisters on Friends, it's that they're used to getting what they want. Reese Witherspoon was a joy to watch as Jill Green, who easily manipulated everyone around her, even dating Ross for no other reason than to prove to Rachel that she could. After all, the only thing she can't have is dairy!

Erica The Birth Mother

Erica (played by Anna Faris) wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but she made the process of Monica and Chandler adopting her twins extremely easy for them, despite the fact that they lied to her about their identities during their first meeting.

Erika The Obsessed Fan

Brooke Shields went way over the top to play Erika, Joey's stalker who somehow didn't understand that his soap opera character Drake Ramoray didn't exist in the real world. Her hand-licking scene lives in infamy, and who didn't love watching her throw water in Joey's face after she saw him kissing another character on Days of Our Lives? 

Paul Stevens

Things could have gotten all kinds of weird when Rachel started dating Paul Stevens (Bruce Willis), the father of Ross' girlfriend Elizabeth. Oh, and they definitely did get weird, but one can't blame Paul for giving himself that mirror pep talk before he continued his romantic weekend with Rachel. Everybody needs a little reminder that they're a neat guy (and a love machine).

Parker

Alec Baldwin guest-starred as Phoebe's date Parker in Season 8, and how could you not love how excited he got about every little thing? The brake lights were "aglow with the light of a thousand fairies!" The Long Island Expressway was "a concrete miracle!" Parker, I just want to take a mental picture of you ... click!

Pete Becker

Who hasn't dreamed of being pursued by a multi-millionaire? Jon Favreau guest-starred in six episodes as Pete Becker, and I can't even be mad that he tried to woo Monica by leaving $20,000 tips and whisking her away to Rome for pizza on their first date. Too bad their relationship couldn't withstand Pete's dream of becoming the Ultimate Fighting Champion.

Amy Green

While Rachel's sister Jill was defined by her manipulative personality, Amy Green was the very definition of self-centered. Christina Applegate's character couldn't be bothered to learn anyone's name (even Rachel's daughter Emma), constantly mistook Ross for a guy who worked at the falafel stand and somehow still thought she would get custody of Emma if something happened to Ross and Rachel. Talk about a character you loved to hate!

Judy Gellar

Christina Pickles appeared 19 times in Friends' 10 seasons as Monica and Ross' mom Judy, and while the micro-aggressions she hurled at Monica were pretty brutal, it was downright hilarious to see what aspect of her daughter's life she would nit-pick next: The un-fluffed pillow? The "easy" lasagna she made for dinner? Still not having a boyfriend? It was a lot, but it was relatable to a lot of Friends viewers.

Mr. Treeger

Sure, Mr. Treeger made Rachel cry that one time, but he wasn't exactly wrong in calling her out for being spoiled. As far as building superintendents go Michael G. Hagerty's character was a pretty nice one, not evicting Monica from the apartment she was apparently living in illegally. He also had a great storyline where he learned to dance so he could impress a woman he liked at the Super Ball.

Alice Knight

If you can get past the age difference between Frank Jr. and his wife Alice Knight (Debra Jo Rupp), and the fact that he was her student (her BEST student, obviously), the love between them was so undeniable. In pretty much all of their appearances together, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other, and that's one of the things that made Alice such a great side character.

Charlie Wheeler

Ross and Joey each had a lot of girlfriends over the series' 10 seasons, and they both dated Aisha Tyler's Charlie Wheeler. One can certainly see how they'd both be attracted to her, as she was brilliant, beautiful and pretty funny too. Frankly it was also nice to see a Black character with a major storyline.

Kathy

It's a little surprising that Kathy is so beloved by Friends fans, given the fact that she ultimately cheated on both Joey and Chandler. But the Joey situation was just unfortunate, because he was dating other people too, and Paget Brewster's on-screen chemistry with Matthew Perry was simply electric. I join many other Friends fans in wishing she and Chandler had lasted longer ... and ended differently.

Friends may have aired its final episode decades ago, but you know what they say: I'll be there for you, and that includes all of the beloved side characters that we met along the way. You can revisit any of your favorite episodes and guest stars, as all 10 seasons are available to stream with a Max subscription.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects your brain, spinal cord, and your eyes’ optic nerves. Everyone with MS experiences different symptoms and varying ranges of severity. From Selma Blair to Christina Applegate and more, here are a number of celebrities who have told their stories about what it was like when they were first diagnosed with MS. 

Christina Applegate

Known for starring in sitcoms like Married…with Children and movies like Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, actress Christina Applegate joined one of Netflix’s best shows, Dead to Me, in 2019, which went on for three seasons. Shockingly enough, Applegate revealed on Good Morning America that it was during her run on this black comedy-drama that she first noticed the symptoms of multiple sclerosis:

The Primetime Emmy Award winner endured challenges during her time on the Netflix series such as having trouble walking and even having a sound department crew member hold her legs while standing. Applegate’s debilitating symptoms may have made live-action acting a challenge for her, but the Anchorman actress said on an episode of Armchair Expert how she plans on supporting herself and her daughter through voiceover work:

Selma Blair

You may recognize Selma Blair from her roles in Legally Blonde, Cruel Intentions, and playing Kris Jenner in FX’s American Crime Story. In 2018, Blair shared with her fans on Instagram that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis: 

Blair has done plenty to raise awareness of her disease such as putting out a clothing line for people with MS and being the subject of the documentary Introducing, Selma Blair about her life following her diagnosis. She explained on ABC News that it was through telling her own story of MS she saw how important disability awareness was: 

Jack Osbourne

When TV and music star Jack Osbourne was 26, BBC reported he went through a series of tests due to losing 60% of vision in his right eye. Once the British star was told he had multiple sclerosis, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for him considering his daughter, Pearl, was born three weeks before:

With a “mild form” of the condition, Osbourne competed on Dancing with the Stars a year later, in Season 17, placing third. While the media personality was forced to leave the reality series Special Forces in late 2023 due to heart-related issues, he told Entertainment Weekly the message that he wants people with MS to hear:

Emma Caulfield Ford

Emma Caulfield Ford is most well known for playing former demon Anya Jenkins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, the American actress told Vanity Fair that she woke up one morning back in 2010 feeling like “there were a million ants crawling” on the left side of her face. While originally thinking it was all work stress, a neurologist gave her the shocking diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Ford didn’t reveal her MS publicly until 2022, in fear she wouldn’t be hired in Hollywood:

As for how Caulfield Ford is doing now, she spoke to People in March 2024 and said that her symptoms are very mild, while she still experiences slight sensitivity to heat and stress. Fortunately, she hasn’t experienced debilitating symptoms associated with MS like flare-ups, muscle weakness, and fatigue:

These celebrities are all incredibly brave and admirable for sharing their stories of first being diagnosed with a disease as debilitating as MS. Based on each celebrity's account, symptoms are unpredictable and differ in severity for each person. But, one thing these celebrity stories have in common is the ability to find a positive outlook on life and use their experiences to raise awareness of this chronic disease.

When she was 15 years old, Christina Applegate gained major recognition for playing Kelly Bundy on one of the best blue-collar TV shows, Married…with Children. While playing the beautiful older daughter of the Bundy family garnered her a Young Artist Award with film and TV roles following the sitcom’s run, it wasn’t always for the teen star. Just recently, Applegate got honest about struggling with an eating disorder before and during her time on the beloved sitcom.

The veteran actress shared her candid story during the latest episode of her podcast, MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Both hosts used this particular installment to discuss their relationships with their bodies and discuss the challenges they've experienced in that regard. With that, Applegate opened up about experiencing body image problems at an impressionable age, explaining that an encounter with a neighbor and the influence of her mother cultivated it:

A number of celebrities have spoken about their experiences with eating disorders. This year alone has seen some specifically discuss the relationships they had with food at a young age. For instance, in the middle of her Titanic success, Kate Winslet struggled with eating in order to stay thin in Hollywood, as she was made to feel looking good was connected to weight. Even more recently, Brittney Snow depicted eating disorders in her directorial debut, Parachute, which draws inspiration from the time that she herself checked into a treatment facility for one at 19. 

When it comes to Christina Applegate, after watching the documentary Decline Of The Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years and seeing the winner of Miss Gazzarri’s white minidress, she was inspired to change her Married...with Children character's clothing style. However, wearing more form-fitting dresses compared to her rock-grungy look made her eating disorder more apparent to those around her:

During that time, the Primetime Emmy winner also had to deal with the “pretty gross” sexualization of Kelly Bundy, who was written as a “dumb blonde” who typically found herself at the receiving end of sex-infused jokes. The actress admitted to being weirded out at the idea of grown men owning posters of her teen self. Her heavy association with the ditzy character also made it hard for the star to land a lot of big-screen roles outside of the long-running Fox show.

The Anchorman actress continued to say that while she was never bulimic, she would punish herself for eating and, as a whole, it was "fucking torture" for her. The perceptions of her body would increase while trying on clothes, and she recalled one specific situation, which involved a friend of hers:

Christina Applegate said it was a real struggle for her to eat normally again. It wasn’t until she was in her 30s that the Golden Globe nominee no longer felt controlled by her eating disorder. But she almost thought she was going to slip back into old habits. When Applegate was diagnosed with MS, the medication to treat the disease caused her to gain 45 pounds. She had to train herself not to let the “demon” in her head taunt her in order to prevent her eating disorder from resurfacing.

It's truly unfortunate that the fan-favorite actress had to go through such an ordeal at such a young age. However, it's inspiring that she managed to move past it. One would hope that the sentiments she shared on the podcast will serve as an inspiration for those dealing with eating disorders or body image challenges. 

Those who want to see Christina Applegate's work on Married…With Children can stream the show with a Hulu subscription. Also, stay up to date on more recent shows using the 2024 TV schedule.

Some of the greatest moments in the nearly 50-year history of Saturday Night Live involve cast members struggling (and ultimately failing) to contain their laughter, and they are not the only ones. Some of the greatest SNL hosts the show has ever had are not impervious to breaking character either. As you can see from the list below, infectious examples of major celebrities who caught a case of the giggles while on the air at Studio 8H are not in short supply.  

Adele (Africa Tourism)

Adele was a great SNL host despite a lack of acting experience, but even her famously strong lungs couldn’t hold back laughter in her Season 46 episode. It’s hard to decipher if it's Kate McKinnon’s accent or just the way she says “tribesman” that causes the singer to break in the faux African tourist ad, but once she does, never quite stops.

Ben Affleck (Iranian Film)

Out of many examples of Ben Affleck breaking on SNL, we chose the Season 38 sketch framed as an HBO First Look at an Iranian-produced dramatization of the making of his Best Picture Oscar winner, Argo, called Bengo F*ck Yourself. He first snickers about two minutes in at Fred Armisen as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad portraying Affleck and a moment later when explaining he took the part of a sound man “to be in a movie worse than Gigli.”

Christina Applegate (Matt Foley: Van Down By The River)

Everyone in the ‘90s-era SNL classic — the first appearance of the late Chris Farley as motivational speaker Matt Foley — could barely keep their composure, especially after the late comedy icon accidentally destroys a coffee table. Even before then, you can see Christina Applegate struggling to hide her laughter behind her hair.

Drew Barrymore (The Love-ahs With Barbara And Dave)

The laughter was as contagious as the unbridled passion of Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch’s recurring characters in this Season 27 edition of “The Love-ahs” set in a hot tub after notorious breaker Jimmy Fallon caused a chain reaction. Nearly three minutes in, host Drew Barrymore (as The Love-ahs’ friend, Barbara) begins her struggle to keep from giggling that lasts the rest of the sketch.

Candice Bergen (Extremely Stupid)

In SNL’s second season, Candice Bergen accidentally called Gilda Radner’s dim-witted character, Lisa, by her own character’s name, Fern, during a faux PSA sketch. All the future Five-Timer’s Club member could do is laugh as Radner then turned her planned speech about stupid people’s rights into a brilliant roast of her co-star.

Emily Blunt (Escorts)

In this 2017 bit, first-time host Emily Blunt stars alongside Leslie Jones as a pair of sex workers explaining their quirky guidelines to their clients, which involves roleplaying as a clumsy maid character she created. Twice, the British A Quiet Place star cracks up when she dons a more cartoonish British accent to say her character’s catchphrase, “Oopsy-doopsy, I muffed it up again!”

Dave Chappelle (Uncle Ben)

It’s no secret Dave Chappelle likes to shake things up when he hosts SNL, like in this sketch commenting on the recent discontinuation of food brands Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima in 2020. The comedian first cracks up when debuting his deep Dennis Haysbert impersonation and again when he breaks the fourth wall with a clearly unscripted comment that makes Pete Davidson spit out his Count Chocula fangs.

Daniel Craig (Deep Quote Game Night)

It must be hard not to break when the typically well-composed Kate McKinnon gets the giggles, which seems to be what happened to Daniel Craig about 90 seconds into the Season 45 sketch "Deep Quote Game Night." Honestly, we can’t imagine this bit about a movie quote guessing game that turns awkward would have been as memorable had the former James Bond actor kept a straight face.

Larry David (New Wife)

Larry David looks so unrecognizable in this Season 43 sketch as a boisterous business man talking up his new spouse (Cecily Strong) to his coworkers, it is amazing the SNL players involved held it together so well. The Seinfeld co-creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star causes himself to lose it completely, however, about three and half minutes into the "New Wife" sketch by the way he tells Beck Bennett’s character to “GET OUT!”

Billie Eilish (Hotel Ad)

The faux ad for a shockingly shady hotel is just one reason we’d love to see Billie Eilish return to SNL as both host and musical guest again. What makes this Season 47 bit so memorable (save a cameo from her brother and bandmate, Finneas) is the Oscar-winning singer’s frequent bouts of the giggles throughout.

Will Ferrell (Cast List)

Even a seasoned SNL veteran like Will Ferrell had to cover his mouth to hide his laughter in this sketch that was cut for time when he returned as host in Season 45. Of course, no one can contain themselves after he, as an over-serious high school theatre instructor, gets a little too close to Aidy Bryant when forcing the students to back away. 

Jamie Foxx (Maine Justice With Jamie Foxx)

Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx handles himself quite well as the bailiff in the Season 38 edition of “Maine Justice,” until it has a minute to go. All it takes is Jason Sudeikis’ uproarious judge saying the phrase “ass fire” to force the Django Unchained star to turn his head to hide his laughter, but Sudeikis kicks it up a notch by spontaneously kissing the actor’s arm.

Ryan Gosling (Close Encounter)

One of the most famous SNL breaks as of late is also our pick for Kate McKinnon’s best sketch ever: Season 41’s original version of “Close Encounter.” She has her future fellow Barbie cast member, Ryan Gosling, helplessly in stitches — just one of the host’s many breaks that night, actually — by the hilariously dry description of her otherwise horrifying alien abduction experience.

Tiffany Haddish (Whiskers R We With Tiffany Haddish)

You know comedy gold is afoot when Studio 8H brings in live animals, like in this edition of “Whiskers R We” from Season 43 that sees host Tiffany Haddish — who once auditioned for SNL — break Kate McKinnon and herself just seconds in with an unscripted, NSFW line prompted by a cat’s escape attempt. They both break again later on when a hairless feline tries to leap from McKinnon’s arms, visibly startling the future Haunted Mansion cast member.

David Harbour (Sauce) 

This Season 45 sketch starring Kate McKinnon as a frisky, elderly Italian immigrant and host David Harbour as his wife is far less messy than other sketches involving food have been. However, the Stranger Things cast member can’t help but smirk when McKinnon brings a finger dripping in sauce to his lips and inserts it right in his mouth. His laughter continues as they being to make out.

Sean Hayes (Jeffrey’s With Sean Hayes)

Many SNL hosts have fallen prey to the infectious shared laughter of notorious breakers, Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz, such as Sean Hayes in this early 2000s favorite set at elitist clothing store, Jeffrey’s. Seeing Will Ferrell ride in on a scooter about four minutes in and use an impossibly tiny cell phone really sends the Will & Grace cast member over the edge.

Kevin Hart (Barnes And Noble Firing)

It’s no wonder Tim Robinson got his own Netflix sketch series, I Think You Should Leave, with how effortlessly he cracks up Kevin Hart at the end of the Barnes and Noble-set sketch from Season 38. Robinson’s performance as the “old, useless” Carl makes it impossible for the comedian to get through his lines.

Jonah Hill (Benihana) 

The most recent time Jonah Hill played his own recurring SNL character, precocious six-year-old Adam Grossman, in Season 44 might be the best because it saw him break the most. Neither the Academy Award nominee nor Leslie Jones as his nanny can keep it together every time he taunts her by singing reggae hits. 

Janet Jackson (Corksoakers)

Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz are surprisingly stone-cold for most of the 2004 sketch as Italian winery owners explaining to tourists how they “soak corks.” However, host and musical guest Janet Jackson cracks up multiple times when she accidentally begins to say the actual suggestive phrase that “cork soaking” alludes to.

Keegan-Michael Key (The Muppet Show)

For anyone who ever got sick of Statler and Waldorf’s heckling, the Season 46 favorite starring Kenan Thompson and host Keegan-Michael Key as The Muppet Show venue security is for you. What makes it a classic is when the Key & Peele star beginning to chuckle after his aggressive assault on Statler causes record-breaking SNL veteran Thompson to break.

Adam Levine (Catfish)

This parody of Catfish likes to poke fun at how often Nev Shulman (host Adam Levine) mentions his name on the MTV reality series. About half-way through the sketch, the Maroon 5 frontman and former The Voice coach appears to break at his most animated utterance of the name, but bounces back pretty quickly by making it feel like a character trait.

Lindsay Lohan (Debbie Downer: Disney World) 

When people think of Rachel Dratch as Debbie Downer, they tend to think of this 2004 favorite set at a Disney World pancake restaurant that no one could keep a straight face during the sketch. First-time host Lindsay Lohan later revealed to Vogue that she was so overwhelmed by laughter, she decided to just walk off set as soon as she got the chance.

Julianna Margulies (Family Dinner)

This revolting 2000 sketch stars host Julianna Margulies as woman learning her boyfriend’s (Chris Parnell) dysfunctional salivary glands and weak teeth force his parents to feed him like a baby bird. By the end, the former ER cast member does the deed herself for the younger son (Chris Kattan) and can’t help but laugh the unspeakable act she just committed.

James McAvoy (New Orleans Vacation)

When James McAvoy hosted in Season 44, he experimented with almost as many voices as he used to play a man with DID in Split and Glass, but the one he used in this sketch was too much for him to handle. He can’t help but crack up nearly every time he puts on a thick, inauthentic Cajun accent to talk about he and his girlfriend’s recent trip to “N’awlins.”

Jason Momoa (Judge Barry)

When Jason Momoa makes a surprise cameo in a Season 45 sketch starring host Chance the Rapper as a courtroom judge of first impressions, he surprises himself with a hilarious flub. Both the Aquaman actor and the host can’t help but laugh when he calls himself a “paraplegic,” meaning to say “paralegal.”

Brittany Murphy (The Leather Man)

Season 28’s “The Leather Man” — which eventually goes off the rails courtesy of Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz — might actually be a prime example of the late Brittany Murphy’s exceptional talent. You can barely even tell when she breaks with the way she convincingly disguises her laughter as a quirk that fits perfectly in line with her character.

Pedro Pascal (Lisa From Temecula)

Just when you thought the internet could not love Pedro Pascal more, he earns its respect even more just by innocently succumbing to his own laughter during his Season 48 SNL episode. The most memorable instance came in this segment in when Ego Nwodim’s Lisa shakes the table with her aggressive steak cutting, giving the star of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us a case of the giggles that proves contagious.

Chris Pine (Star Trek Lost Episode)

Initially, it seems that the most memorable highlight of this Star Trek parody will be Chris Pine’s spot-on William Shatner impression, until he snickers at the awkward line delivery of the guy playing Sulu. Fun fact, according to the SNL wiki, that gentleman is production designer Akira Yoshimura, who has played Sulu in many other sketches poking fun at the sci-fi phenomenon.

Margot Robbie (Actress Round Table) 

It is no wonder why Margot Robbie would go on to star in two movies with Kate McKinnon from how the SNL star brings the laughter out of the Australian actor in the sketch from 2016. Robbie almost loses focus of her otherwise consistent Keira Knightley impression by how fictional Hollywood veteran Debette Goldry’s (McKinnon) shocking memories get the best of her.

Adam Sandler (Sandler Family Reunion) 

In a sketch where Adam Sandler is surrounded by people imitating characters from his best movies, it was Jimmy Fallon as his grandfather who finally caused the fellow SNL retiree to laugh. Apparently, as Fallon later recalled on The Tonight Show, his overlong bout of gibberish was a happy accident caused by misreading the cue cards.   

Seann William Scott (Short Shorts For The USA)

One of Will Ferrell’s all-time best sketches on SNL first aired in 2001 and sees him wear a half-shirt and a thong to work in the name of patriotism. Host Seann William Scott holds back the urge to laugh at the ridiculous and revealing ensemble from beginning to end.

Justin Timberlake (Celebrity Family Feud)

For his second time hosting, Jimmy Fallon impersonated Jim Parsons in a “Celebrity Family Feud” alongside musical guest Justin Timberlake as… Jimmy Fallon, with an incredibly enthusiastic imitation that the pop star can’t help but crack up at himself.  There is no clip of the Season 39 sketch on YouTube currently, but we recommend using a Peacock subscription to check out the whole episode.

There is sure to be more where these came from when SNL comes back for its 49th season on NBC.

In late 2022, Netflix audiences were made privy to what will likely be the last live-action performance from the always excellent Christina Applegate, with the third and final season of Dead to Me’s ode to friendship being filmed after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. But if the stars can ever align just right — presumably to spell out “NO MA’AM” — Applegate could one day soon return to the role that made her a household name, Kelly Bundy, in the form of the previously announced Married…with Children animated spinoff. While not much has been mentioned in recent months, she offered a brief update on the project while also reflecting on the less-than-savory way the character was sexualized as a teenager.

As reported back in May 2022, Sony Pictures Television was deep in the development process for an animated take on the belovedly crass Fox sitcom Married…with Children, which has long been considered one of TV’s most offensive shows. And while it seemed like more big announcements would be on the horizon, Christina Applegate shared an update with Vanity Fair that made it sound like none of the stars have been brought in for voicework or script readings. In her words: 

I’m definitely not trying to play doomsayer here, since “no news” can absolutely equal “fantastic news” in the current-day entertainment industry. If she, Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal and David Faustino are all still attached to the revival, that means the revival hasn’t been shitcanned due to reversal of decisions at the studio. There are plenty of reasons why Married…with Children’s animated return could be taking a while to come together, and I’d imagine the scripting and story-crafting process is part of it, since it’s no doubt a challenge to bring the show’s purposefully problematic characters back in ways that don’t feel extremely awkward by today’s social standards. (And it’s probably even harder now that the WGA writers strike is happening.)

Making the show animated was a way to not only showcase the Bundy family in a more ageless fashion, but also a way to adhere to the busy schedules of co-leads Ed O’Neill, who is set to play former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling in The Sterling Affairs, and Katey Sagal, who recurs on The Conners and is also reprising Leela in the upcoming Futurama revival (an offer she was quick to say “yes” to). As Dead to Me fans saw in the final season, Sagal and Applegate reunited on screen, though not as mother and daughter. Of course, that just made for an even bigger urge to see their former on-screen relationship return in any form.

Christina Applegate On Teen Kelly Bundy's Sexualization

One can easily assume that the animated Married...with Children will stand shoulder to shoulder with other taut-and-tawdry adult animated series such as Archer and BoJack Horseman, with plenty of sex-injused jokes aimed at Peg and Kelly Bundy. (Sorry, Bud.) Applegate's sitcom character was often written as a walking stereotype, as was the standard for Fox in those early days, with the actress' talent transcending such generalizations even in the earliest seasons. Even so, Kelly Bundy was more seen as a TV hottie than Applegate was seen as a comedy pro, and she said the sexualized attention given to Kelly during her teen years was frustrating, and is indeed "pretty gross" in retrospect. Here's how she put it:

As it went far too often for TV stars, Married...with Children's smash success for such a long stretch had a direct effect on Christina Applegate's career outside of the sitcom world, though not in a good way. The Anchorman vet claimed that she had "billions" of examples where she auditioned for things, was told she knocked them out of the park, and then still failed to land the roles because of the Kelly Bundy stigma. We got Don't Tell Mom [The Babysitter's Dead] out of it, which can't be denied, but that should have been one of at least a dozen mega-memorable big screen roles for Applegate through the '90s. 

While we obviously can't go back and change all that mess, here's hoping the progress on the animated revival goes quickly and gives Christina Applegate lots of laughs and love from her former co-stars as she continues to adjust to life with MS. 

Fans waiting for new Bundy adventures, to use that word very lightly, can watch all eleven seasons of the show with a Hulu subscription.

In the matter of a few years, both Selma Blair and Christina Applegate have shared with the public that they were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease of the central nervous system that an estimated one million people live with in the United States. As it turns out, Applegate’s diagnosis, which occurred while she was filming the final season of Dead To Me in 2021, was actually caught in part due to Blair encouraging the fellow actress to get tested for MS. 

Selma Blair was diagnosed with MS back in August 2018, which she made known to the public a few months later via Instagram. Since learning she was living with the disease, Blair has shared her experiences with it, along with speaking out about the importance of disability representation in media and making her documentary, Introducing, Selma Blair. 

Christina Applegate Credits Selma Blair For MS Diagnosis

Selma Blair And Christina Applegate are apparently longtime friends following the actresses both appearing in 2002 rom-com The Sweetest Thing alongside Cameron Diaz. Applegate recently spoke to the connection Blair’s diagnosis had with hers, sharing the following: 

As Christina Applegate recalled, Blair had a direct effect on the actress learning she had MS as well. A couple of months ago, the Dead To Me actress got real about how the illness is likely to see the end of her acting career considering the job frequently demands 12-14 hour days. Applegate said she hopes to do “a shit ton of voiceovers to make some cash” to feed her daughter and maintain her quality of life.

Applegate has also spoken of gaining 40 pounds since her diagnosis due to “inactivity and medications.” The fact that the actress didn’t realize what her condition was until she spoke with someone who was actively dealing with it as well goes to show that there’s still some misinformation about the disease among people and doctors as well. Applegate’s recent comments come via British Vogue’s latest cover story featuring Selma Blair. 

Selma Blair’s Latest Comments On Living With MS

In the interview, Blair opened up further about living with multiple sclerosis, sharing that it was misdiagnosed and ignored for more than 40 years. Along with Blair sharing that her condition that started showing signs when she was seven was written off, she had this to say about her own experience being a Hollywood actress with a disability back in the early 2000s: 

Blair said that prior to her diagnosis, she “gave up almost,” but since she’s felt like she’s been given a new life. Last year, she became one of the few disabled contestants on Dancing With The Stars before gracefully bowing out early and has hopes to make a cameo in Legally Blonde 3. Both these women are so brave for having these important conversations about their experiences with MS. You can check out three seasons of Applegate’s latest and possible last major performance in  Dead To Me, which is viewable with a Netflix subscription. 

Christina Applegate has received endless support from fans and colleagues, including her TV mom Katey Sagal, since announcing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2021. All this support has helped the actress as she continues to receive treatment for her illness. Dead to Me may have been her last on-screen role. As she moves on from her acting career, the TV star got candid about how she plans to make money and feed her daughter.  

The Dead to Me star recently scored her third SAG Award nomination for the Netflix comedy series. She filmed the final season while dealing with the neurological disease. Applegate couldn’t hide her excitement about attending the awards ceremony with her peers. However, this career moment might be her final as a performer. The TV icon explained to the Los Angeles Times why the SAG Awards might be her last hurrah.

The Married with Children alum professed the Netflix series as her last onscreen appearance, but that doesn’t mean she’s done with Hollywood. Applegate mentioned getting more into developing and producing more projects in her next career phase. She did spill the other avenue she will venture into following her onscreen retirement.

Of course, the sitcom vet needs to keep food on the table and a roof over her family’s head. Shifting to voiceover work is an ideal solution as Applegate appears physically unable to keep up with the demands of onscreen work similar to Michael J. Fox's battle with Parkinson's disease. Her MS diagnosis made shooting Dead to Me’s last season quite difficult for her especially as she had to lean on others – both physically and emotionally. By the time fans heard about her diagnosis, she, the cast, and the crew had been dealing with it for a while.

Despite the difficulties she faced during the final season, Applegate and the show received rave reviews and several awards nominations. Dealing with her illness while working on set led to her feeling less-than-stellar about Season 3. As she continues treatment for her MS, the comedic actress revealed that she didn’t watch the last season, including the major cliffhanger, until months after it arrives on Netflix. She opened up about what role her illness played in her decision, saying to the celebrated publication:

Thankfully, Applegate was able to separate herself from the character and enjoyed the show as a fan. She did admit to binge-watching reality shows before watching her Netflix series. The Sweetest Thing star didn’t sometime before watching the series, especially after the challenges she faced filming the final season. You can watch every episode of Dead to Me streaming on Netflix. For some more viewing options, check out our 2023 TV premiere schedule.

Those with Netflix subscriptions who enjoy a twisty dark comedy got quite a treat when Dead to Me arrived in early May 2019. The show about an angry, grieving widow trying to put her life back together as she finds a new friend with a sunny disposition who’s hiding some major secrets took the streamer by storm, so when it was announced that Season 3 would be its last, viewers were undeniably bummed. That final season is nearly upon us, but star Christina Applegate’s 2021 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis made filming the last set of episodes very difficult, and she’s now opened up about the many challenges of making the series.

What Did Christina Applegate Say About Working On Dead To Me Following Her MS Diagnosis?

The actress, who became a star as a teen when she helped Married…with Children become a bonafide TV hit with her role as dim-witted hottie Kelly Bundy, has been a recognizable presence on the small and big screen since the late 1980s. And while she’s certainly played a number of intriguing characters during the many decades of her career, Dead to Me’s caustic and frequently openly hostile grieving widow and mother of two, Jen Harding, might be one of her most complex. 

Unfortunately, the talent was presented with a very large challenge as they tied up the story with Season 3, when her MS symptoms (which began in January 2021) became a serious hurdle. As she recently told Variety:

She noted that she had to begin using a cane whenever possible, and also had to be taken to and from set in a wheelchair if she was too far away, because numbness in her feet made long walks impossible. The Samantha Who? star also noted that she would have to take breaks just to sleep, but that she kept going despite the “torture” of the pain (and others involved in the show considering pulling the plug because of seeing how difficult it was for her) because it was “too important to our hearts” and “souls” to finish the darkly comedic tale, and she knew fans were counting on a conclusion.

While it’s already pretty clear that everyone who worked on the show was both incredibly supportive of changes that needed to be made so that she could continue filming the aftermath of that reveal-heavy Season 2 ending, and worried about the new challenges she was facing, she also revealed that the crew sometimes went through extremes to make sure she could keep working:

The series clearly means a lot to the people who’ve spent several years now working on it, and the Anchorman star was able to tap into her sense of humor to ease the emotional load of working with MS for herself and those she worked with:

Though she admitted that she doesn’t know if she will be able to continue her acting career full time with her diagnosis just yet, it definitely sounds like fans will continue to see one hell of a performance from Christina Applegate as one of the best new characters from the past several years in Dead to Me Season 3, which hits Netflix on November 17. 

Katey Sagal has been in the TV industry for decades now, and she fully understands that it’s full of ups and downs. Yet she was still caught somewhat off guard when her latest series, Rebel, was cancelled by ABC after one season. While the actress is currently waiting for news of a renewal on another entertainment platform, she does have other things in the pipeline. For instance, she’s set to reunite with former Married… with Children co-star Christina Applegate on Season 3 of Netflix’s Dead to Me.

Katey Sagal briefly appeared in the penultimate episode of Dead to Me Season 2, during which she was introduced as Eleanor Hale, the abusive and incarcerated mother of Linda Cardellini’s Judy. In the brief scene, Judy goes to visit Eleanor, who is seeking her help in getting out of prison. In a recent interview, with ET Online, Sagal explained how the character’s role would change in the third season and while confirming she’d get to work with Christina Applegate:

It’s no surprise that Christina Applegate would be excited to work with Katey Sagal. On all 11 seasons of Married… with Children, Applegate played Kelly Bundy, the popular and ditzy daughter to Sagal’s Peggy. The two forged strong, on-screen chemistry and seeing that on Dead to Me should be a real treat for fans of the classic sitcom. At this point, it’s hard to say what their scenes will entail but, based on Sagal’s further comments, they’ll hold some weight:

One now has to wonder how Christina Applegate’s Jen and Katey Sagal’s Eleanor will cross paths. Could Jen go to prison to pay Eleanor a visit? Or on the flip side, could Eleanor somehow find her way out of jail and meet up with daughter’s friend on the outside? It’s a toss-up at this point, but what can be said is that given Eleanor’s unsavory nature, her larger presence in the upcoming season could potentially have some interesting effects on Jen and Judy’s relationship.

There’s no telling when Rebel fans will get word on a possible renewal for the Erin Brockovich-inspired drama. But at the very least, they can take comfort in the fact that they can definitely get more of Katey Sagal when the third season of Dead to Me eventually arrives on Netflix.

Fans of Dead to Me got some good news and some bad news recently with the announcement that the show was renewed for a third and final season. While that means that the misadventures of Christina Applegate's Jen and Linda Cardellini's Judy will wrap after only one more batch of episodes, at least viewers are guaranteed another season of the show, created by Liz Feldman, and the early confirmation of a final season means that it won't have to end on a cliffhanger. Now, Applegate shared her reaction to the news of the show ending.

Christina Applegate, who serves as an executive producer as well as star, took to Twitter to share her response, saying this of costar Linda Cardellini and creator Liz Feldman:

Based on Christina Applegate's reaction to the announcement, it seems safe to say that the news that Dead to Me will end after Season 3 isn't due to Netflix giving the axe to the dark comedy, even though Netflix has been quick to cancel other shows, even another dark comedy with an all-star cast. (Notably, Santa Clarita Diet starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant also ended after three seasons on Netflix.) Dead to Me is seemingly ending due to the decisions of the stars and creator.

That said, Christina Applegate's reaction also shouldn't get fans too excited too soon. Production across showbiz is still largely halted, so it may be a while before it's safe for production on Dead to Me to pick up again for the third and final season. While writing and planning can be done remotely, that's not the case for filming. Still, confirmation of the third season provides something for fans to look forward to!

Under normal circumstances, I would suggest May 2021 as a likely premiere window for Dead to Me Season 3. The first season released on May 3, 2019, and the second released on May 8, 2020. The production halts may make it impossible for Dead to Me to wrap on the same timeline to be ready to premiere in May 2021. The first two seasons each ran for ten episodes, so a ten-episode order for Season 3 is likely.

The renewal announcement on Twitter did say that Season 3 is "coming soon," but that may not mean much more than next year. Take a look:

For now, you can find the first two seasons of Dead to Me available streaming on Netflix. If you're in the market for some different viewing options during the wait for Season 3, you can find what's coming to Netflix in the not-too-distant future on our 2020 Netflix premiere guide. For some options beyond streaming, check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule.

Netflix's Dead to Me followed up on its wildly hectic first season by offering up one of the most nerve-wracking seasons of TV so far in 2020 (or any recent year), and managed to cap things off in a way that felt like a perfectly fitting ending from a narrative perspective, even if some characters were left in dangerous predicaments. Fans need not worry any longer about whether or not Jen's story will continue, because Netflix has confirmed Season 3 is happening! That said, the news isn't all as rosy as Judy's outlook on life.

Before diving into the more disappointing side of things, let's celebrate Dead to Me's future with the show's announcement post on Twitter.

Okay now for the sad update: Dead to Me Season 3 will be the dark dramedy's final season on Netflix. The streaming service and creator Liz Feldman apparently came to an agreement that the best case scenario for the Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini-starring series was for this third batch of episodes to serve as the final arc in these characters' highly tumultuous lives. Woe is me!

Here's how Liz Feldman explained it in the official announcement:

Now to flip it back around with some MORE good news. Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman has now entered into a new overall deal with Netflix, with the show's third season being the first project created under the agreement. While it's not clear just yet what else will come from this deal, fans can expect to see several new Feldman projects popping up in the coming years, even if she will be serving as a producer in some cases and not necessarily as the creator or showrunner. However it goes, audiences will likely come out on top.

Of course, there's a lot now riding on Liz Feldman and Dead to Me to really stick the landing with Season 3. Not to get too into spoiler territory, but Season 2 ended in such a big and cataclysmic way that it's hard to tell exactly how new episodes will kick off. It does seem like star James Marsden will be returning as still-living twin Ben Wood, but he might be trying to make an escape of some kind after nearly destroying his life, as well as that of others. However it goes, though, we definitely need to see Katey Sagal returning in some capacity. (And while we're at it, maybe that long-rumored Married with Children revival can happen once Christina Applegate is finished with Dead to Me.)

Both current seasons of Dead to Me are available to stream now on Netflix, with Season 3 likely premiering at some point in 2021. To see what else is already confirmed for the streaming service this year, please head to our 2020 Netflix premiere schedule.

Running for 235 episodes over the course of a full decade, Friends was a hugely popular and beloved sitcom in its day, and while there were many perks that came along with that status (including a total lack of fret during renewal season), the most rewarding for the fans was that the show managed to attract some major guest appearances. While binge watching the series on HBO Max, you can’t go more than a few episodes without seeing a major star show up – some of them just being part of a quick bit, and others getting their own minor arc to play out.

Naturally, some of the guest appearances/roles are better than others – and that’s what we’re here to sort out today. After having gone back through all nine seasons of Friends and weighed all candidates against one another, we’ve come up with this Top 10 ranking for your enjoyment. Read on for our selections and reasoning, and then hit the comments section with your own picks.

10. Danny DeVito

Thanks to Danny DeVito’s role on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, fans have the opportunity to regularly laugh at the actor’s antics as a repellant mess – but the truth is that he’s been playing that bit for decades, and a prime example can be found in the Friends Season 10 episode “The One Where the Stripper Cries.” DeVito plays said stripper, and he gets big laughs as he goes from confident dancer to blubbering mess during Phoebe’s bachelorette party. This kind of part has definitely become a trope in modern sitcoms, but this remains a particularly fantastic example of the joke.

9. Dakota Fanning

In the early aughts, no child star had the sparkle that Dakota Fanning did, which goes a long way in explaining why she was landing prominent roles opposite stars like Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. One of her best early performances, however, is in Season 10 of Friends when she essentially serves as a therapist for Joey in the episode "The One with Princess Consuela." The dumbest member of the main cast is upset by the fact that everything in his life is changing, and Dakota Fanning’s Mackenzie proves to be quite the excellent sounding board and helps him get past his issues.

8. Dan Castellaneta

Pop culture history will forever remember Dan Castellaneta as the voice of Homer Simpson, but not to be totally overshadowed are his super funny live-action performances – including his part as The Zoo Keeper in the Friends episode “The One After the Super Bowl: Part 1.” It’s only a bit part, with the character surreptitiously meeting with Ross to discover the whereabouts of Marcel The Monkey, but it’s fantastic material built on Castellaneta’s work. As proven by his many, many years playing Homer, the guy knows how to play dumb perfectly, and his negotiations with Ross is a prime example.

7. Bruce Willis

Meeting a significant other’s father is always a nerve-racking situation, but it’s definitely made more nerve-racking when said significant other is your former college student, and said father is a guy that looks like Bruce Willis. None of us would want to be in that situation, which makes Ross’ late Season 6 arc quite relatable – and it helps that there are some great laughs injected into the three episodes where the Die Hard star appears. Not only is it great to see Ross butt heads with Willis’ Paul Stevens (ultimately earning the upper hand when he witnesses what we’ll call Paul’s mirror exorcises), but it’s also funny to see Willis turn into an emotional mess when his character’s relationship with Rachel opens him up a bit and creates a flood of tears and pain.

6. Hugh Laurie

Of the guest stars mentioned on this list, Hugh Laurie’s is probably the briefest, but it’s so brilliant that it not only demands inclusion on this list, but gets placement in the middle of the pack. His character doesn’t even have a name (he’s credited simply as “The Gentleman on the Plane”), but he stands out because he’s one of the few characters on Friends to call out a member of the main cast on their awfulness. 

In “The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2,” Rachel finds herself sitting near him on a plane to England ready to stop the wedding of the man she loves – but after hearing her recount her story to other passengers, The Gentleman explains why she is in actuality a bad person who should feel bad about what she’s doing. His last line is also a perfect kicker: “And by the way, it seems to be perfectly clear that you were on a break.”

5. Jason Alexander

Phoebe’s unyielding optimism is one of her most important and best traits, but what happens when she is confronted with a person who has a claim at the title for Most Depressed Man On Earth? That’s the basic set-up in Season 7’s “The One Where Rosita Dies,” which finds the ray of sunshine taking a sales job hocking toner and winding up on the phone with Jason Alexander’s Earl.

It never feels good to laugh at a person’s pain, but you can’t help it when you watch Alexander’s performance as Earl is a man eternally lost in a gray void who can’t even get the attention of his co-workers when he loudly announces his plans to kill himself. Plus, while he’s life hasn’t changed much by the end of the episode, he does find a new lease on life because Phoebe convinces him via fate that “the universe cares” about him, even if nobody else does.

4. Reese Witherspoon

With films like Cruel Intentions, Election, and Pleasantville on her resume, Reese Witherspoon was already very much a proven talent before her two-parter on Friends as Rachel’s sister Jill, but her work on the sitcom practically created a perfect runway to her time as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Jill is basically proto-Rachel, which is to say that she still has all of the terrible qualities of which Rachel worked so hard to rid herself – and it works for some chuckles as she works to seduce Ross to get revenge on her sibling, while also exercising prime spoiled brat material.

3. Julia Roberts

Being part of Friends’ big two-episode post-Super Bowl event in 1996, Julia Roberts’ guest spot got a big spotlight, but it also proved to earn every bit of the hype, as her revenge-seeking role in "The One After the Super Bowl: Part 2" ultimately makes for one of the best moments on the entire show. While she doesn’t hint at it early on, Roberts’ Susie Moss is a character eager for payback against Chandler for pantsing her in elementary school – and she successfully capitalizes by leaving the jokester in a restaurant bathroom naked with the exception of a pair of woman’s underpants. It’s super funny and memorable… not to mention an impressive get for a series in only its second season.

2. Christina Applegate

Sitcoms usually give their main stars one celebrity sibling at most, but Friends took a different route with Rachel, and it clearly worked as both of her sisters make this list. Admittedly Christina Applegate’s Amy Green isn’t a whole lot different than Reese Witherspoon’s Jill, in that they are both immensely vapid and spoiled twits, but we give the edge to Amy (and not just because she has the good sense not to date Ross). 

In “The One With Rachel's Other Sister” she proves to be a pitch-perfect instigator, riling everyone up about who will take care of Emma if anything were to happen to Ross or Rachel, and that’s then followed up by the awesome babysitting adventure in "The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits"… where she proves exactly why she definitely should never have custody of a child.

1. Brad Pitt

Obviously you all knew that Brad Pitt was going to be featured on this list, but how many of you guessed that he would be featured in the top spot? His appearance is a one-off, playing Ross’ old, formerly obese high school friend Will Colbert, but the role is special for a few reasons: 1) It’s one of the show’s famous Thanksgiving episodes; 2) he was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time; 3) the part gets huge laughs primarily because of how much Will hates Rachel and how much venom he spits at her. Pitt has always been primarily recognized for his dramatic work, but his time on Friends perfectly demonstrates how super funny he can be too.

Friends is now available for subscribers to stream in its entirety on HBO Max, and the series is also available for purchase on digital platforms, Blu-ray, and DVD.

Spoilers below for Dead to Me Season 2, so be warned!

To be expected, the grief-filled Netflix dramedy Dead to Me featured quite a few emotional and hair-raising twists during its second season. But arguably the biggest surprise of all was the previously undisclosed guest star Katey Sagal, who was brought in to portray Judy's incarcerated mother Eleanor for the final pair of Season 2 installments. Sagal had previously played an outlaw mom in Sons of Anarchy, of course, but her appearances in Dead to Me definitely hearken back to her Married with Children days, where Christina Applegate was her TV daughter.

It was an important trip for Linda Cardellini's Judy to visit her mother, whose fate was previously a light mystery to Dead to Me fans. Katey Sagal's reveal was a spectacular one, obviously, though Judy and Eleanor weren't exactly on the same emotional wavelength. According to showrunner Liz Feldman, Judy's mother was added far earlier in the Season 2 writing process, and they were trying to find an actress who both had a passing resemblance to Cardellini and could also deliver a performance with equal parts comedy and grit.

Liz Feldman was apparently quite tickled whenever Katey Sagal's name came up in contention for the role of Judy's mom, considering the actress' long history with Dead to Me's star and executive producer Christina Applegate. Here's what Feldman told TVLine about the casting decision.

Christina Applegate and Katey Sagal starred on Married with Children together for eleven seasons, with the Fox sitcom ending in 1997. The actresses have remained close friends in the many years since, though they haven't often shared the screen again during that span. Unfortunately, they didn't get to appear in any scenes together in Dead to Me Season 2, either, but it was worth the sacrifice to see Sagal playing such a shifty and fairly unlikable character in the face of Judy's inherent brightness and optimism.

Have faith, though! Even though Judy appears to cut ties with Eleanor after her second prison visit, and even though Netflix hasn't officially made a decision about Dead to Me Season 3 yet, showrunner Liz Feldman is keeping the door open for the possibility that Katey Sagal and Christina Applegate could very well share a scene together in the show's future. In her words:

Judy's issues with Eleanor's abandonment came to the forefront during their scenes together, but let's not forget that Jen also shed some tear-filled light on her own mother's fate after her big confession to Perez. In fact, it was partially their bonding over missing mothers that convinced Perez to let Jen return to her life so that her own children wouldn't have to say goodbye to their own mom.

If Katey Sagal does cross paths with Jen in Season 3, I certainly hope Christina Applegate's character gets to put Eleanor in her place, as opposed to developing a relationship with her behind Judy's back. Obviously the latter approach would create the most drama, but Judy doesn't deserve all that!

Katey Sagal has been keeping busy as a recurring star on ABC's The Conners, and she has an in-development project going with Grey's Anatomy's showrunner Krista Vernoff, so it remains to be seen how much time the actress will have to take on roles in any other shows. Let us know in the comments what you hope will happen.

Dead to Me Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix, as is the acclaimed first season. For those in need of more to watch after that pulse-bounding binge, check out our rundown of Netflix's May standouts, and bookmark our Summer 2020 TV premiere schedule.

Major spoilers below for Netflix's Dead to Me Season 2, so beware!

Dead to Me was easily one of 2019's biggest breakout debuts on the small screen, with Netflix providing the perfect binge-friendly platform for the pulse-pounding murder-mystery fronted by esteemed TV vets Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. Season 2 recently debuted and, to the surprise of no one, Applegate's Jen Harding and Cardellini's Judy Hale remained mired in stressful situations and shocking close calls. By the time the finale's credits started rolling, Dead to Me seemed to wrap up several major plotlines, only to punctuate everything with near-tragic TV irony.

So much happened in Dead to Me's final act that we need to break it all down to see where things left off for Jen, Judy, James Marsden's Ben and more, and how it would all play into Season 3 if Netflix makes the decision to renew it. (The biggest twist of all would be if the show gets cancelled after that jaw-dropping finale.) Let's start off with that oh-so-worrisome discovery.

Steve's Body Was Discovered

After spending the early chunk of Season 2 stored inside Jen's garage freezer (and was nearly chomped on by rats), Steve's body was later painstakingly transported out into the woods and buried by Jen and Judy. All was well on that front for a while, and it might have stayed that way if it wasn't for a meddling jogger and her bone-sniffing dog. Alas, the authorities located and dug the body up, offering the bleakest resolution for his family and "business" associates.

Unfortunately, few details about the finding were revealed, so it's not exactly clear whether or not evidence from Steve's corpse can directly tie Jen to the crime. There's bound to be at least ONE incriminating detail, though, right? Could that broken piece of Henry's bird still be wedged in Steve's head?

Judy Learned The Truth About Steve's Death

In a reversal of Judy confessing that she'd killed Jen's husband, Jen made the hard choice to tell Judy the truth about how Steve died; that his assault on Jen wasn't a physical one, but rather a verbal and emotional one. Having considered herself the cause of Steve's death, Judy was initially crushed and thrown for a loop that Jen had been lying for so long.

But as someone only too familiar with Steve's insults and anger, Judy was able to find it in her heart and head to forgive Jen without any of the completely justifiable histrionics that Jen reacted with in Season 1. And Judy's faith in Jen's redemption was strengthened by the latter's attempt to turn herself in. If Dead to Me reaches Season 3, it will be interesting to see how that relationship continues developing without at least one of them keeping murderous secrets.

Perez Apparently Let Jen Get Away With Steve's Murder

After one guilt-easing confession, Jen wrote emotionally charged letters to Judy, Charlie and Henry before arriving at the doorstep of Diana-Maria Riva's Detective Ana Perez in order to continue spreading the news about Steve's death. At any other moment, it might have landed her quickly in jail. However, Jen caught a grief-stricken Perez soon after her beloved ex Michelle packed up and moved out.

For what it's worth, Jen tried showing Perez where she buried the body (keeping Judy's name out of it), but failed to remember where it was located. But while driving back to town, the women bonded in part over the power of motherhood, having both lost their mothers while young. And after Nick Prager alerted her of the case blowing wide open concerning Steve's illegal operations, the detective made the unpredictable choice to avoid standard procedure by giving Jen a free pass. The big question, though, is whether or not that immunity will remain intact now that Steve's body was found, and whether or not Perez's choice will come back to haunt her in a potential Season 3.

Drunken Ben's Hit-And-Run By Jen's Stop Sign

Obviously, Dead to Me had to stun viewers with a monumental zinger in the end, and boy, did it. The increasingly fractured Ben, who'd already lost a lot of his optimistic verve after Jen's romantic dismissal, took an even deeper emotional dive after getting the news about Steve's body. Purposefully hiding the update from his mom (played by the great Frances Conroy), Ben hit the road with his new friend, a bottle of whiskey. Sadly, Ben plowed into the car Jen and Judy were driving, meant as a gift for Charlie, and proved himself no more morally stable than his brother by quickly driving away from the accident.

Both Judy and Jen were still alive when the episode cut out, so creator Liz Feldman gets credit for not leaving us with that kind of cliffhanger. But Jen is no doubt going to be very peeved in Season 3 when she grasps that the crash was partially due to the new stop sign that she'd fought so hard to get installed. Considering how many traffic and security cameras there are in the area, it's likely that Ben won't get away with his actions, but that's assuming he doesn't get into an even worse accident after fleeing the first one.

The Cops Having Steve's Phone May Be Bad News For Charlie

Fuckin' Charlie, man. The impulsive teenager nearly ruined everything for everyone by stealing Steve's car from storage to go on joyrides with a vindictive fling. While he miraculously escaped all of that without repercussions, Charlie wasn't done making dumb decisions. While still in possession of Steve's bag o' goodies from the car, Charlie used the phone to unwittingly call Jere Burns' Howard Hastings, which proved the police chief was in cahoots with Steve and the Greek mafia.

Charlie eventually did the "right" thing by giving the bag to Judy, who then took it to Prager at the police station. Obviously this was a smart move, since it was the wrap-around proof needed to posthumously nail Steve and others. However, as soon as they look into the info on Steve's phone, they'll discover Charlie's phone call (and possibly his fingerprints), thus prompting deeper questions into the situation for Season 3 that Judy probably won't be able to bullshit her way through.

No More Money Problems For Jen And Judy...For Now

As cool and interesting as Judy's "hole in the heart" art was from a visual perspective, the paintings were quite important for a far different reason. It turned out the canvases were used as storage for the huge piles of cash that Steve was dealing with. After finally getting her paintings back, Judy liberated all that money from those hiding spots. She not only shared the lucrative AF news with Jen, but the money as well, which was used to pay off Jen's house with her mother-in-law Lorna. Not to mention the car they got for Charlie.

While the money situation could possibly be a non-starter issue for Dead to Me Season 3, it's more likely that someone dangerous will come looking for all those stacks of cash, whether it's the increasingly suspicious Prager or someone directly involved with the Greek mafia. Considering so much of it is already gone, Judy would need to stumble across another dramatic payday to make up for the lost funds.

Charlie Found Jen's Letters

Even after the car debacle, Charlie once again set himself to get nominated as Most Frustrating Teen Snoop of the year in the finale. Though he was only attempting to mooch a joint from Judy's not-so-secret stash, Charlie happened upon the letters that Jen wrote before attempting to turn herself in. It wasn't clear whether she kept them as a reminder of the turmoil, or if she wanted blackmail-esque collateral in the case of her and Jen's friendship imploding in Season 3.

Regardless of why the letters were kept, Charlie found them. It would be nice and respectful if he put them (and the weed) back in Judy's cigar box, of course, but that's just not the way Charlie is wired. Chances are, he's going to read all three and learn some very disturbing truths about both his mom and Judy, whom Charlie was never too keen about in the first place.

Judy Already Cut Ties From Her Mom Again

Dead to Me's penultimate Season 2 episode set up the surprising reunion between Judy and her mother Eleanor, whose existence was a big mystery for viewers prior to that. As portrayed by Sons of Anarchy and The Conners vet Katey Sagal in a surprise guest role, Eleanor was living not-her-best life behind bars, and it clearly wasn't her first rodeo. Eleanor lightly preyed on her daughter's vulnerability, and Judy nearly became convinced that she would free herself from immoral burdens by joining her mom in jail.

Of course, by their second meeting, Judy had learned about what really happened to Steve, and she could more clearly recognize her mother's selfish machinations. Though she now had the money to help Eleanor find solid legal representation, Judy didn't offer it, and also refused to pen a letter of recommendation. She left her mother stranded in a way similar to how Eleanor left Judy behind as a child, and felt all the better for it. This storyline may not continue in a third season, but I'd love to see Katey Sagal return to cause chaos in Judy's life in the outside world.

Dead to Me Seasons 1-2 can be streamed right now on Netflix. Stay tuned for more updates about a potential Season 3, and keep your fingers crossed in the meantime. While waiting to hear more, check out our Summer 2020 TV schedule for more awesome shows on the way.

Despite ending in 2004, Friends has maintained a surprisingly strong grip on people who have zero problems repeatedly watching all 236 episodes. To the point where hypothetical Friends-themed karaoke bars would be filled with people performing classic quotes like "Dear God, this parachute is a knapsack!" Thankfully, the show's licensing has gone wild, giving fans tons of merch to obsess over, such as the excellent Funko Pop collectibles celebrating the six main Friends characters: Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey. (As well as Marcel, Duck and Chick.) But, uh, we need a lot more than that.

As excellent as both of the Friends Funko Pop sets characters are, especially the Joey figure wearing Chandler's clothes, it's still strange that the second series only featured different versions of the core sextet, rather than any of the many memorable side characters that had us laughing during the ten-season stretch. Rather than complaining about that or the lack of Friends on streaming platforms, I'm going to gather all the Fun Bobby vibes I can to point out the 14 Friends Funko Pops that I can't believe haven't been made yet.

1. Dr. Drake Ramoray

This Friends Funko Pop is no mere alternate take on Joey Tribbiani, but rather a tribute to his Days of Our Lives neurosurgeon whose brawn outmatched anything involving brains. Speaking of, the Drake Ramoray figure should definitely have some stitches across his head as a reminder of the brain transplant that brought the character back to life, five seasons after he'd fallen down an elevator shaft and was presumed dead. He should also have his trusty stethoscope, and perhaps a slip of paper featuring the name and number of Brooke Shield's dangerously obsessive Erika Ford.

2. Janice Litman-Goralnik

Oh. My. God. How in the world did Janice not get immediately fast-tracked for a Funko Pop doll the moment they were brought into existence? In the first place, these collectibles don't make any noise, so Janice's ear-gouging laugh wouldn't be on aural display. Second, without a Janice figure, who's going to make Funko Pop Chandler's balls crawl back into its body? A Mattress King sign would be a nice accessory for this. Or maybe she's missing one of her shoes, in reference to Chandler limply taking one as leverage during their Season 3 break-up.

3. Mike Hannigan

With the exception of his quasi-nemesis David (Hank Azaria), Paul Rudd's Mike is easily the best boyfriend-turned-husband that Phoebe ever had, despite their relationship being based on one of Joey's lies. Obviously, the most ideal look for Mike would be to have him wearing a shirt, or perhaps a sports jersey, that depicts his name as being "Crap Bag," which he proposed as his new name when Phoebe changed hers to "Princess Consuela Bananahammock." (In an episode that featured an early TV appearance from Craig Robinson.) Plus, Rudd needs more Funko Pops, since his only other one is for Ant-Man.

4. Copy Place Chloe

No other tertiary character has been at the middle of as many serious Friends debates as Angela Featherstone's short-lived character Chloe, as she was the woman that Ross slept with when he was under the assumption that he and Rachel were on a break. It wouldn't make much logistical sense to have her Funko Pop be in possession of the long-ass letter that Rachel wrote to Ross at the beach house, but it would be so fitting nonetheless. Perhaps she could come with an attachment of Ross' apartment door to hide behind.

5. Eddie Menuek

Maybe Adam Goldberg's Eddie wasn't generally the worst roommate in the world, but he was definitely the worst replacement for Joey. Not only because he felt comfortable watching Chandler sleep, though that is a high qualifier. The Eddie Funko Pop should definitely be holding either a fruit dehydrator or, at the very least, a platter of dehydrated fruit. Perhaps Eddie could even have a wet fish tail dangling out of his pocket, since that's how he chose to transport his pet after being kicked out of the apartment.

6 & 7. Amy & Jill Green

It's our first Funko Pop pairing! Here we've got Rachel's two sisters, Amy and Jill, played respectively by Christina Applegate and Reese Witherspoon. Each sister only showed up for two episodes apiece, and Applegate and Witherspoon never actually appeared together in the same one. So this would create the perfect opportunity for fans to have all three Green siblings together, so long as Jill doesn't try to make out with Ross and max out anybody's credit card. I'm thinking Amy should either come with a broken china plate or a tiny ear-piercing kit.

8. Russ

Like Dr. Drake Ramoray, Russ is no mere double of a previously released Ross Funko Pop, but a full character on his own. It's just...one that happens to look a lot like Ross, or perhaps Bob Saget (or even Fun Bobby, if we're just talking jackets and hair). The Russ collectible should definitely have a bigger nose and chin than Ross, and would also be pretty cool if he had a tattoo of Lauren Tom's Julie somewhere, since those two ended up getting together after Rachel broke up with him.

9. Carol Willick

As Ross' first wife who divorced him after embracing her latent lesbianism, Carol was truly one of a kind. (Also, because Ross was sober and got her name right at the altar, which wasn't the case for his other weddings.) Carol is a no-brainer for Funko Pop collectibles because they could release the main version based on Jane Sibbett, who portrayed her in all but one episode, and the company could then follow that with a limited release of Anita Barone's Carol, who was only used in a single episode. Then, of course, they could release a dual-character package with Carol and Jessica Hecht's Susan on their wedding day. $$$!

10. Charles Bing (Helena Handbasket)

If we're being real here, this entire list could have featured solely Funko Pops based on all the parents of the Friends leads. But the parent who would create the most magnificent looking figure is obviously Chandler's cross-dressing father Charles – stage name Helena Handbasket – as played by Kathleen Turner. Like quite a few elements from Friends' ten-year run, Charles is a particularly un-P.C. character, but considering the Funko Pop would only need to convey Turner's glorious visage, as opposed to the character's backstory, it'd be less awkward to revisit on a daily basis.

11. Charlie Wheeler

First appearing in Season 9 as further proof that Ross is the worst at making dinosaurs sound cool, Aisha Tyler's paleontology professor Charlie was a romantic interest first for Joey, then for Ross, and then her ex-husband Benjamin Hobart again (as played by Greg Kinnear). Beyond Tyler being great in everything, Charlie also deserves a Funko Pop figure for being the only recurring black character of note that Friends ever had. It might be overkill to have Charlie holding a picture frame with photos of Joey, Ross and Hobart in it, but not the same kind of overkill as pairing Charlie's Funko Pop with a limited edition version of Gabrielle Union's Kristen Lang.

12 & 13. Frank and Alice

Admittedly, I briefly thought about adding Phoebe's sister Ursula to this list, the sibling far more worthy of inclusion is Giovani Ribisi's Frank Buffay Jr., who would obviously need to be paired up with his wife and former home-ec teacher Alice, as played by Debra Jo Rupp. The lovingly ditzy and naive characters were excellent every time they appeared, so what better to add as "accessories" than the triplets that Phoebe served as the surrogate for. (I would actually go for a whole Friends Pop Funko set just based on that hospital, complete with the Fonzie-loving Dr. Harad, the barely post-pubescent Dr. Oberman, Patrick Fabian's hunky Nurse Dan, and Iqbal Theba's doctor who tends to Joey's "kidney stones.")

14. Estelle Leonard

Along with Kathleen Turner's Helena Handbasket, June Gable's Estelle Leonard would make for the most distinct looking Funko Pop figure, what with her wild curls, her colorful and/or patterned jackets, and a cigarette always in hand. As Joey's endlessly questionable agent, Estelle wasn't the most prominent character, but she was definitely a fan-favorite up to and beyond the character's death in Season 10. The collectible should definitely have a green phone receiver put against her ear, and if they wanted to go dark with it, she could be holding a copy of the obituary that Phoebe read to learn of her death.

These 14 characters were larger than the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Friends Funko Pops we can't believe already on the market, but there are definitely still tons of characters not mentioned here that also deserve to get their own standalone figures in the future. Maybe we'll get around to tackling those one day. Until then, stay patient for Friends' return to streaming once the HBO Max streaming service goes live in May.

Now that more than a handful of TV revivals have proven themselves to be extended successes, barely any of yesteryear's classics are off the table for potential returns. One rightfully qualifying example is the good-taste-eschewing sitcom Married with Children, ran for 11 seasons on Fox until 1997. Fans' requests for Married with Children's return definitely go back further than the recent revival trend, but now is the perfect time to make it happen, thanks to Modern Family ending its run on ABC.

Below, we'll go over the reasons why now is the best possible time for Fox to bring a Married with Children to audiences, starting off with the main man himself.

Modern Family's Ed O'Neill Now Has Time For Married With Children

In the 22 years that spanned between Married with Children's end and Modern Family's debut in 2009, Ed O'Neill's biggest TV role was playing Joe Friday for the all-but-forgotten 2003 reboot L.A. Dragnet. (His most memorable roles, perhaps, were on John from Cincinnati and The West Wing.) I'm not trying to typecast the Emmy-nominated actor or anything, but it's time for him to return to the role that started his legacy, hand in his pants and all.

While it would have been great had Ed O'Neill agreed to take on some kind of Married with Children revival in the past decade, his Modern Family schedule would have made it extremely difficult for the actor, now 73 years old, to have lent his talents and full attention to a completely different show for anything more than a one-off special. But without ABC's 20+ episode seasons locking him down for so many months of the year, he's free to return to Married with Children's Chicago setting, whether it be for only a few episodes or a bunch of them.

Katey Sagal's Sitcom Chops Are As Strong As Ever With The Conners

After Married with Children wrapped in 1997, it wasn't long before Katey Sagal landed her next iconic role as Futurama's Leela, and she followed that up with stellar runs on 8 Simple Rules, Superior Donuts and (my personal favorite) Sons of Anarchy. Most recently, Sagal has enjoyed a recurring role on ABC's The Conners, and while her role isn't wholly used for comedic value, it's still clear how much command the actress has in any given show, in any given scene.

Katey Sagal does have a new project in the works with Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krysta Vernoff, which would obviously be a bump in the road to Married with Children if it goes forward. But considering her role on The Conners isn't made to appear in every episode, she would seemingly have the time to rock a red 'do as the luxuriously trashy Peggy Bundy.

Christina Applegate Could Probably Fit Married With Children Around Dead To Me

At this point in her career, Christina Applegate definitely doesn't need for Married with Children to return to television, but audiences would not doubt love to see what she could bring to the role of Kelly Bundy with 22 additional years of acting experience. Applegate has been an audience favorite no matter what show she takes on, from Jesse to Samantha Who? to her Friends episodes to Up All Night.

Currently, Christina Applegate has amassed tons of audience and critical acclaim for her darker turn as Jen Harding on Netflix's grief-infused dramedy Dead To Me, which she's also an executive producer on. That said, the streaming series only runs for ten episodes per season, with Season 2 on the way later this year. Though Netflix productions take longer than those of a linear network drama, it would still presumably give Applegate a decent-sized window between seasons where she could fittingly reprise the role of Kelly Bundy for Married with Children.

David Faustino Definitely Has The Time And Energy

While that header might have come across as an insult at David Faustino's expense, it definitely isn't meant to reflect negatively on the actor and radio DJ's steady career. Rather, it highlights the fact that Faustino has long been arguably the biggest proponent for Married with Children's return to TV in some shape or form. After all, it was his pitch about grown-up Bud Bundy that everyone seemed ready to return for a few years back, though nothing ever came of it, presumably because life is evil.

David Faustino's TV roles haven't been quite as prominent as those of his Married with Children co-stars, but the actor has supplemented that with work in the music industry, both as an MC and as a producer. Not to mention his long-running gig as a radio DJ, currently for Dash Radio. And if Married with Children fans weren't already amped to see Bud Bundy back on the small screen, Faustino stoked that fire in 2019 by battling fellow sitcom child star Joey Lawrence on an episode of Drop the Mic.

The Bundys Need To Experience Woke America

With the exception of maybe the Griffins of Family Guy and the Reynolds of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and a select few others), Married with Children's Bundy clan is one of the most morally deficient and repugnant families in TV history. Which, of course, is part of what made them so highly popular during the show's eleven seasons. Married with Children was part of the first big wave of primetime programming on the still-new Fox network, along with The Tracy Ullman Show (which birthed The Simpsons) and 21 Jump Street. Fox had little problem with pushing envelopes at the time, but what about in 2020?

So many of the family's actions are fairly toxic and off-putting by today's standards, with Al's No Ma'am club arguably being the poster child for those issues. While Al was often too self-deprecating and somewhat faithful to Peg to become a full #MeToo monster, his leery nature (which definitely rubbed off in all the wrong ways on Bud) and antagonistic nature against overweight women would make him and instant target for cancel culture in the current climate. Think this season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but if Larry David also hated himself as much as everyone else.

As such, I would absolutely LOVE to see how Married with Children's creative team would handle Al Bundy living in a world filled with neo-feminism, Twitter tirades, amateur pornography and online shoe stores. It would be equally interesting to see how Peg would survive in such an all-inclusive world as well, though she wouldn't be able to smoke in as many public places.

As far as the kids go, I would assume that Bud never came out of his room as soon as Internet porn went live, and that Kelly is still trying to figure out how a coiled phone cord into a cell phone. But if the characters had evolved intelligently enough, it would be equally interesting to see how they transitioned into full adulthood, and whether or not they were able to find and maintain the love and marriage spoken of in the iconic theme song.

Modern Family is set to wrap up its own 11-season run with a two-part finale on Wednesday, April 8. It's not extremely likely that any big Married with Children news will break before that happens, but I've got the old Dodge's engine ready to rumble in the garage if any news breaks. In the meantime, every episode can currently be streamed on Hulu.

Spoilers ahead from Netflix's Dead to Me Season 1.

Who else is ready for more heavy metal rage with Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) in Dead to Me Season 2? The Netflix series is now filming for a release at some point in 2020. Jen and Judy had quite a dramatic first season -- as strangers turned best friends turned enemies turned back to allies/accessories to dead Steve (James Marsden) floating in the pool.

Linda Cardellini shared a photo from the Dead to Me Season 2 table read, showing her holding hands with Christina Applegate, Thelma & Louise-style (without driving off a cliff together, I hope):

Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman shared a photo from the set of Season 2, quipping, "these ladies are killing it!!"

And once again I am obsessed with Judy's wardrobe. Dead to Me Season 2 will be worth it just to see what she wears each episode.

Dead to Me Season 1 ended in a different way than Liz Feldman originally envisioned. It remains to be seen if Dead to Me ever shows what she previously planned. Instead, Jen apparently shot Steve and now he's floating dead in her pool. But at least we also got Judy and Jen on the same page, which was not the case for most of the 10 episodes of Season 1.

Christina Applegate earned a 2019 Emmy Awards nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series as Jen, a real estate agent and mom mourning the death of her husband Ted, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Linda Cardellini's Judy was the one who accidentally killed Ted, but Jen didn't know that for most of the first season. The two ladies met up and became friends through a grief support group. Ultimately, many truths came out about Judy, Ted, Steve, Jen, and the rest of the supporting characters.

Dead to Me's Liz Feldman said Netflix was mostly wonderful about the show, but she got pissed at a note suggesting the character of Jen be less angry to make her more likable. Here's part of her response to that idea:

Aha! So we know Jen will not exactly soften in Dead to Me Season 2. Good. I also like that Jen and Judy no longer have major secrets from each other, although they are keeping secrets from just about everyone else. Having them conspiring on the same side should make Season 2 a lot of fun.

The 10 episodes of Dead to Me Season 1 arrived on Netflix in May 2019 and can be streamed right now. Netflix doesn't always talk about how many viewers it gets, but the streamer did say Dead to Me was viewed by 30 million subscribers in its first month. According to THR, Netflix considers a "view" to be an account watching at least 70 percent of an episode or film.

Stay tuned for a date announcement and teaser/trailer for Dead to Me Season 2. Here are the dates we know about for upcoming Netflix originals. Keep up with everything still to come on TV this year with our handy 2019 fall TV premiere schedule.

The stars and creator of Netflix's recent headline-grabber Dead to Me have something considerable to celebrate. Their freshman series has gotten renewed for Season 2, so it's not dead to anyone!

Jen on the darkly comedic thriller, is excited to be doing another season. The news comes roughly a month after the series made its debut on the streaming giant. (Lucifer’s showrunners previously revealed that's the time window Netflix usually allows for when deciding on a rewnewal.) Applegate shared her reaction on Twitter, which expresses her affection for co-star Linda Cardellini. Check it out below:

Linda Cardellini tweeted back, “I love you!” along with some feel-good emojis. Christina Applegate didn't even mention the show or its Netflix renewal, but everybody knew what the deal was.

Cardellini also quoted Netflix’s tweet announcing the news in her own post, adding some full-blown confetti cannons. You can see it here:

They have a lot to celebrate. After debuting last month on Netflix, the pre-summer TV release quickly caused a buzz among viewers who heavily praised the two actresses for anchoring the genre-bending and plot-twisting series.

Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate were joined in their celebratory tweets with two from Dead to Me’s creator. Liz Feldman shared the news and a window for Season 2’s release date. Check it out:

That tweet should assuage the fear that Dead to Me fans would have to wait two years to find out what happens next for Jen and Judy. Season 1 ended on a massive cliffhanger, after all, and Liz Feldman also sent out a promising tease in another tweet.

Cannot wait to show you what we’ve got brewing...

It turns out that the first season was not initially supposed to end the way that it did. Liz Feldman revealed that factoid in a recent interview, admitting that she did not want to divulge the original ending because it could still get used. Had Netflix not renewed the series for a second season, it would have meant leaving the show in a significant lurch.

Could that original ending for Season 1 come into play? Dead to Me fans will have to wait until 2020 to find out for sure. That is not too painful of a wait. Before you know it, Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini will be back in action.

It is lovely that the actress duo is so close in real-life, considering what they go through together on the show. Dead to Me centers around the pair playing characters who meet in a support group and become unlikely friends. When Season 1 begins, Christina Applegate’s Jen has lost her husband in a hit-and-run murder. She is in hot pursuit of finding his killer.

At the same time, Linda Cardellini’s Judy is keeping a secret that could undermine everything she is building with Jen. Throughout Season 1, Jen and Judy’s burgeoning friendship is threatened by the potential emergence of the latter’s secret. Season 1 ended with a shocking climax, which means its follow-up could go a number of ways.

One celebrity fan who will be excited by this renewal news is Ellen DeGeneres. The host of The Ellen Show, where Liz Feldman worked for a number of years, shared her love for the dramedy on Twitter:

Christina Applegate has since replied with "Thank you sweet, wonderful lady!! Love you!!!" Imagine how excited Ellen DeGeneres has to be about Season 2.

There will be more to celebrate when an exact premiere date for Dead to Me Season 2 gets revealed. For now, the general aim of a 2020 release will have to suffice. The first season of Dead to Me is currently streaming on Netflix, along with other upcoming TV premieres. There is more to come in June.

Amy Adams has to make a confession to make: she constantly calls people by accident. She's sorry about it too. The Academy Award-nominated actress is connected to many people in the sunny town of Hollywood. Sure enough, Adams has lots of high profile contacts inside her phone. Well, when she calls other people, her cheeks intercept the call, and she finds herself calling random celebrities by accident. The one person who ends up getting the most accidental calls from Adams? Christina Applegate, since she's at the top of the contact list. Here's what Amy Adams had to say about these embarrassing situations to Seth Meyers. Also, Christina Applegate isn't the only high profile person to get these random calls from Amy Adams.

As Amy Adams elaborates in this clip from Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Sharp Objects actress not only feels bad about calling Christina Applegate by accident so many times (she jokes that it's close to 300 times in the past two months), but Adams also think it's a bit rude on her part to not talk to Applegate on the spot or explain herself during these random and unprovoked phone interactions. But this is something the acclaimed actress wanted to make a point to apologize for in her most recent appearance on the NBC late night talk show. Hopefully, that clears the air up a little bit. Christina Applegate isn't the only celebrity who is getting random cheek-dialed calls from Amy Adams. Jennifer Aniston is also getting them as well, according to Adams. More specifically, Aniston is getting FaceTime calls from Adams while she's in the bedroom. Talk about awkward.

While Amy Adams is embarrassed about the whole thing, at least she has a good sense of humor about the whole thing. And if it happens again in the future -- and it sounds like it will -- hopefully Christina Applegate, Jennifer Aniston and the rest of the misdialed celebrities know why that's the case.

Check out the Late Night With Seth Meyers clip below.

Meanwhile, Amy Adams can currently be seen on HBO's acclaimed mini-series Sharp Objects, which is based on the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn. The actress also serves as an executive producer on the series, for the first time in her career. Additionally, Amy Adams will soon be seen in Adam McKay's upcoming untitled Dick Cheney biopic (rumored to be titled Backseat) later this year. She will play Lynne Cheney in the anticipated forthcoming film opposite Christian Bale's Dick Cheney and Sam Rockwell's George W. Bush. She is also attached to Joe Wright's The Woman in the Window and Pablo Larrain's The True American, both of which are expected to be released next year. Adams also made a cameo in Justice League.

Looks like Christina Applegate is making a return to television. After starring on shows like Married...with Children, one of the longest running sitcoms on Fox, and the more recent Up All Night, Applegate will once again be gracing the small screen. Her new show will air on Lifetime, and it sounds like it will be a more dramatic turn for the actress who is most prominently known for comedies.

According to Deadline, Christina Applegate has joined Your Time Is Up with actress/writer Kathleen Robertson working on scripting duties. Your Time Is Up is said to be a family story in a similar vein to Six Feet Under, and depicts a disheveled psychologist trying to resume her life after a family tragedy. The psychologist, which will be played by Applegate, uses her unconventional upbringing as inspiration for a less than traditional approach with her patients. No word yet on when the dramedy will hit the airwaves, but it's set to air on Lifetime.

Christina Applegate is a veteran of TV, having played Kelly Bundy on Married...with Children. The show aired from 1987 to 1997, making it one of the longest live-action sitcoms to ever air on Fox. Applegate played the dimwitted but lovable Kelly for 10 seasons, eliciting happy "Woooo's" from the audience whenever she would enter a scene.

Christina Applegate's career has mostly turned to movies, but she has starred on a few short-lived television shows. In 2007 she starred in Samantha Who?, a critically loved series that was nonetheless canceled after two seasons. Applegate headlined as Samantha Newly, a woman who gains amnesia and, after seeing what kind of person she was, sets out to right her wrongs.

She also starred as the lead of Up All Night, an NBC sitcom co-starring Will Arnett. The show followed two new parents, their newborn, and the various ways they have to balance having a child with their former party lifestyle. The show only aired one season, and was frequently plagued with trouble. In its last days, it tried to make a format switch to a multi-camera comedy, but the plug was pulled before that could happen.

Since her days on Married...with Children, Applegate has held a number of film roles. She notable played the female lead in comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Vacation, and Hall Pass. She can most recently be found in the film Bad Moms as an uptight and domineering leader of the PTA.

There's no date on when Your Time Is Up will premiere, but keep checking in with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere schedule to learn when your favorite shows are returning.

It's hard to imagine anyone playing Elle Woods other than Reese Witherspoon. The Legally Blonde role is one of the performances that put the eventual Oscar winner on the map, after all. Apparently, Christina Applegate shied away from the opportunity to play the role, and though it sounds like she has mixed feelings about passing on the part, she also had a specific reason. If you're familiar with her Married... With Children character, you may be able to guess why...

Christina Applegate spoke on the subject with ETOnline, and from what the Vacation star says, she was afraid of repeating herself after Married... With Children.

Applegate added, with a smile, that it was a stupid move. But she went on to express support for Reese Witherspoon, who went on to take the memorable role:

As we said, it's really hard to picture anyone else playing the role of Elle Woods. There's so much of Reese Witherspoon's charm, confidence and humor in the character. Thinking of Applegate in the part conjures the image of a sorority version of Kelly Bundy, and then it just seems like a very different movie. If Applegate had concerns about repeating herself or being typecast, maybe she made the right choice. She's certainly proven she's capable of playing different kinds of comedic roles.

Beyond that, maybe it's just too hard to picture Christina Applegate as the ditzy blonde that isn't Kelly Bundy. Applegate's character evolved throughout the course of Married... With Children, perhaps much more than any other character in the Fox series. She started out sarcastic and rude, then seemed to get ditzier and ditzier as the series progressed throughout its eleven-season run.

We won't argue with Christina Applegate's reasoning for wanting to steer clear of this kind of character after Married... With Children wrapped up, but if we're comparing Kelly Bundy to Elle Woods, it seems necessary to point out that Witherspoon's character may have started out superficial and a bit clueless, but she was always smart. She just applied that intelligence to sorority activities and her undergrad education in fashion merchandising. Kelly Bundy, on the other hand, would've needed a bit more than a cram-session to pass the LSATS. But if she and Elle Woods had one thing in common, besides their blonde locks, it's a signature move. For Elle Woods, it was the Bend and Snap. For Kelly, it was the Bundy Bounce.

After Married... With Children wrapped up in 1997, Christina Applegate went on to share screen time with Legally Blonde's Selma Blair in The Sweetest Thing in 2002. And she shared a screen-sister in common with Reese Witherspoon when she played Rachel's sister, Amy, in Friends. (Witherspoon played Rachel's other sister, Jill). Her feature credits also include Hall Pass, Going the Distance, and of course, she memorably played the role of Veronica Corningstone in Anchorman (and the sequel). Most recently she's playing Debbie Griswold in Vacation, which arrives in theaters this weekend.

Ed Helms doesn't have to be in the zone as Andy from The Office to get his Princeton a capella jams on. The latest Vacation trailer, featuring the actor as an all-grown-up Rusty Griswold, kicks things off with his rendition of Seal's "Kiss From A Rose." As you can imagine, it all goes down hill for the family from then on. Watch the new footage below.

The first Vacation trailer was pretty NSFW, flaunting potty language and Chris Hemsworth's massive Asgardian package. This new look, first released on Yahoo Movies, is relatively tame, though there's still moments involving brotherly shenanigans, an implied suicide and lots and lots of poop.

The Vacation reboot isn't exactly a reboot. It's more of a continuation. Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) both make an appearance in this film, though they won't be going on a trip. It's all about their son, Rusty, and his family. He remembers the good times he had bonding with his parents and sister on the road to Walley World, and he wants the same for his kids and wife.

Of course, much like this first vacation, this one does not go as planned. They encounter all manner of distractions along the road, including run-ins with the police, crashing the "Honda of Albania," crashing with Rusty's sister Audrey and her super sexy friend Stone Crandall, and bathing in a pool of sewage. There's nothing that'll bring a family together more than covering each other in human waste...or witnessing a fight. The Griswolds find themselves a rival family and Rusty throws a few punches in his action scene with the other dad, played by Ron Livingston. Though they seem terrified of this crazy family, if it comes down to Livingston or Helms, I'd bet Livingston would emerge the victor.

There are also plenty of throwbacks to the original Vacation. This Vacation trailer features Rusty's son in the back seat flirting with a girl in another car. This mirrors a classic scene Clark has in the original film, where he's eyeing a woman in a sports car in the next lane. His flirting led to crashing the car, while Rusty's other son, Kevin, comes in to ruin his brother's chances by throwing a plastic bag over his head.

Joining Helms for this adventure are Christina Applegate as his on-screen wife, Leslie Mann as his sister, Hemsworth as Mr. Crandall, Skylar Gisondo and Steele Stebbins as his sons, as well as some familiar faces like Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Pena and Nick Kroll. John Francis Daley (known for his longstanding role of Dr. Sweets on Bones) and Jonathan M. Goldstein co-directed this film and co-wrote the screenplay.

Vacation will hit theaters on July 29.

The new Vacation came out of Las Vegas CinemaCon with real heat, screening a sizzle reel for theater owners and distributors that got the industry excited for the July comedy. Here with a sampling of what they saw is the totally NSFW red-band Vacation trailer, complete with Chris Hemsworth’s gigantic penis.

What you’ll notice, right off the bat, is that this new Vacation, written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, embraces the legacy of the original National Lampoon’s Vacation, opening with footage from the 1983 comedy. We then learn that this will be a natural sequel to the original, and not a reboot, as some might have thought.

Ed Helms, then, plays Rusty Griswold, the version of the character played by Anthony Michael Hall opposite Chevy Chase in 1983. There are a few meta jokes about how those who don’t know the first Vacation can still enjoy this, and how the new movie will stand on its own. After that, we’re off to the races. In an effort to recapture the magic of his favorite family vacation, Rusty (Helms) piles his brood into their car for a cross-country trip to – where else? – Wally World.

Along the way, we get a number of jokes that borrow directly from the original film, or feel like they are in the same tone as the first Vacation film. Seeing the Griswold family bathing in fecal matter? That has the makings of a National Lampoon’s movie. Remember when a dog peed on Clark’s sandwich? Toilet jokes tend to get a laugh. Then there’s the supermodel-in-a-sports-car gag, only this one ends much differently. (I though that was Derek Jeter’s girlfriend, Sports Illustrated model Hannah Davis, behind the wheel, but she isn’t credited on IMDB, so maybe not?)

From the looks of Vacation, it wants to model itself after the in-on-the-joke tone of the 21 Jump Street movies, which openly acknowledge that they are delivering one thing (a reboot) while playfully tweaking our expectations. More than anything, this movie needs to remind us why we liked the first Vacation, making Rusty Griswold a Clark-esque anti-hero… a suburban shlub who is TRYING to do right by his family, even though he can’t really get out of his own way.

Vacation heads down Holiday Road and to a theater near you on July 29.

It looks as though the further adventures of the Griswold family will head to theaters fashionably early. It is being reported that the fumbling family farce, headlined by star Ed Helms, will once again put the ol' family Truckster back on the road a little more than two months ahead of its original schedule.

According to a scoop by The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is moving the release date of the upcoming franchise revival, simply titled Vacation, from its originally set release of October 9th up to the more vacation appropriate July 31st. The move represents a big vote of confidence from the studio regarding the film’s ability to compete in the ultra-competitive summer movie season amongst some big-budget bonanzas. It certainly stands as a surprisingly auspicious sign for the movie, possibly due to good reactions from early screenings, considering that this once-beleaguered sort-of-sequel had been held up in developmental purgatory for years and even experienced delays well after receiving the greenlight.

In the film, it looks as though we’ll see the baton of the overzealous dad - who fruitlessly attempts to treat his family to an unrealistically idealized cross-country family trip (once again) to the magical land of Walley World - passed from Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold to his son, Rusty Griswold, played this time around by Ed Helms. He’ll be joined by Christina Applegate, who plays Rusty’s wife, Leslie Mann, who will fill the role of his sister, Audrey, plus Chase and Beverly D’Angelo, who will return to reprise their roles as the elders of the Griswold clan. Additionally, stars like Chris Hemsworth, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, and Regina Hall, amongst others, will show up.

The film continues the continuity of the original series that (barring the made-for-DVD stinkers) consists of the 1983 seminal comedy classic National Lampoon’s Vacation, followed by the similarly-branded European Vacation in 1985; the perennial holiday standard Christmas Vacation in 1989; and the less-celebrated Vegas Vacation in 1997. The last of these saw the "National Lampoon's" label finally dropped. The franchise has seen some big name writers and directors take helm of the franchise, including both Harold Ramis behind the camera and the late John Hughes with the pen, but their shoes will be filled by an interesting duo of actors-turned-writers in John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, who will both serve as co-writers and co-directors.

For Daley, the former star of TV’s Bones and Freaks and Geeks, the gig comes as the culmination of a creative resume that he has been quietly building while still acting, with work on scripts like the Horrible Bosses films and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. For Goldstein, whose screenwriting credits run far deeper, the foray behind the camera will be territory just as new for him as it is for Daley, since neither of them have actually directed a feature length picture. Based on this latest move by the studio, though, signs seem to point to them doing just fine.

Vacation will begin a new generation’s pilgrimage to see a moose. Will it have moviegoers whistling "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" out of their assholes? We shall certainly see when the film hits theaters on July 31st.

When Sons of Anarchy premiered this week, it brought back TV’s most hardcore mother. Gemma Teller is a role that actress Katey Sagal seems born to play, though it’s the opposite good/bad mother of Peg Bundy, her similarly iconic role on the long-running sitcom Married With Children. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like if Jax Teller and Bud Bundy shared the same air, it happened this week in Los Angeles (sort of), as Sagal was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and her Married With Children cast reunited to honor their former co-star.

After a brief speech from FX Networks CEO John Landgraf, actors Ed O’Neill, Christina Applegate and David Faustino took the stage to share a memory or two about their history with Sagal. Predictably, O’Neill makes a marriage joke right away about the rarity of someone in Hollywood saying something nice about their ex-wife. (Cue studio audience laughter.) He recalls the show by bringing up his and Sagal’s chemistry and saying he never laughed as hard in his life. Take that, Modern Family!

“None of us thought we’d get out of there,” joked Christina Applegate, referring to the Fox series’ eleven seasons on the air. She glorifies Sagal’s physique, which she said has only gotten better since they first met, when a 15-year-old Applegate thought Sagal had the greatest “white t-shirt and jeans” body she’d ever seen. As well, the younger actress speaks highly of her TV mother’s matronly ways through all those years, admitting she saw her work family more than her real one.

Faustino doesn’t say much other than Sagal has always been an inspiration for him. It was quite amusing when Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler was announcing their names, as he wasn’t quite sure if Faustino was going to also say something or not. The way he says “Is David coming up, still?” is classic.

Here’s the crew together again in still form, just in case you didn’t want to watch the video from Variety.

“Over the years as I’ve done my job,” Sagal says during a particularly poignant stretch of her acceptance speech, “I’ve realized more and more that my job is a service job. As actors, we help others to access their emotions. We make people laugh and cry and wonder and remember, and feel their big feelings. We help great storytellers to tell their stories. And of course, we help to sell soap.”

What’s your favorite Peg Bundy memory? Hopefully it wasn’t “when she briefly mothered that kid Seven that disappeared without a trace.”

Aside from directing visually striking adventure movies like Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim, Mexican director Guillermo del Toro has also developed a reputation in animation as a producer. Having worked on Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots and Legends of the Guardians, del Toro is gathering together a star-studded voice cast for his newest animated endeavor Book of Life.

THR reports Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna and Christina Applegate have signed on to topline the film, while Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, Cheech Marin, and Danny Trejo will co-star along with Kate del Castillo (Under the Same Moon, Hector Elizondo (Last Man Standing, opera singer Placido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre), Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included), stand-up comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and radio personality Ricardo “El Mandril” Sanchez.

You may have noticed much of this cast is made up of Hispanic performers, which is a savvy move from the film's producers as Spanish-speaking audiences are proving an incredible force at the box office. This demographic's massive turnout for the Paranormal Activity spurred Paramount Pictures to create a spin-off made specifically for this audience. And more recently, the release of Derbez's Instructions Not Included stunned box office watchers by snagging the #5 spot opening weekend, besting Elysium, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, all of which were in more than 2,300 theaters while Instructions Not Included was showing in just 347. Considering this, Derbez casting in Book of Life is no surprise.

Jorge R. Gutierrez and Doug Langdale wrote Book of Life, and the former will also direct. The pair previous collaborated on the 2007 cartoon series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, on which Langdale was head writer and Gutierrez was co-creator alongside his wife Sandra Equihua. "We wanted to make a beautiful, funny, action-packed cartoon," Gutierrez said of the kids cartoon that centered on a young boy pressured to follow in his father's footsteps as a superhero, or take after his grandfather and become a supervillain. In case you're unfamiliar with this short-lived series, check out a trailer for it below:

It seems Book of Life will follow similar themes of Gutierrez's high-energy kid show. The synopsis released to THR reads:

At present, it's unclear whether Tatum or Luna will voice Manolo. However, we do know 20th Century Fox Animation is producing the picture in conjunction with Reel FX Animation and promises a "unique visual style" to be on display in Book of Life along with popular pop songs that will be given new takes courtesy of Brokeback Mountain composer Gustavo Santaolalla.

Book of Life is now in production, and is slated to hit theaters on October 17th, 2014.

Ladies and gentlemen: Meet the new Mrs. Griswold.

Former

[[ up all i night ]] <=""> co-star Christina Applegate is in discussions to join New Line’s Vacation remake-reboot project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She would be cast opposite The Hangover standout Ed Helms, who’ll actually be playing Rusty Griswold in the new film. The role was originated by Anthony Michael Hall in Harold Ramis’ 1983 comedy, though Jason Lively, Johnny Galecki, and Ethan Embry played him in the later sequels. Rumors also continue to swirl that Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are coveted to reprise their roles of Clark and Ellen, Rusty’s clueless parents.

One way to help get us excited for a resurrection of the Vacation property is to cast Applegate as Helms’ wife, who THR says “may be losing interest in him.” The Married With Children actress is frequently funny on screen, and can hold her own against big-screen partners like Will Ferrell (as seen in Anchorman and hopefully the upcoming sequel). She’d be an instant boost to a reboot most probably don’t see the need for. Wouldn’t it just make more sense to give Helms and Applegate their own comedy, and not try to tie it directly back to the Vacation series? Let the movie try to stand on its own two feet instead of inviting comparisons to a movie that worked well 30 years ago?

The new Vacation will be co-directed by Horrible Bosses writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. And if you’d like to remember what the real Griswolds were like, here’s that strange Old Navy commercial that recruited different actors from the comedic franchise for a recent Christmas ad. Enjoy!

[[ up all i night ]]

Things are looking really bleak for NBC's Up All Night. That in itself isn't exactly huge news. Last fall we learned that NBC was switching the single-camera comedy to a multi-camera comedy for the remaining episodes of its second season. And about a month ago, it was reported that series creator Emily Spivey was exiting the series. Now comes word that star Christina Applegate is departing the show as well, which could mean the end of the comedy, though they're reportedly looking to replace her.

Deadline posted the news, stating that the Lorne-Michaels-produced comedy, which focused on a married couple with a new baby, is still being "re-conceptualized" and they haven't filmed any of the planned remaining five episodes of Season 2. From Applegate's statement, it sounds like she doesn't feel the changes made to the show are a good fit for her, creatively.

Her departure from the series is certainly unfortunate. In fact, considering she's one of the leads, playing the role of Reagan, the wife to Will Arnett's character Chris and best friend to Maya Rudolph's Ava, it's a devastating blow for the series, which probably can't use any more bad news. Deadline says some are saying "the show is now dead," but other sources say the series might be looking at Lisa Kudrow (Friends) as a potential replacement. That would certainly be an interesting shift. But if they do replace Reagan, between the format change, the showrunner change, and now this, assuming Up All Night does finish out its second season, it's surely going to look like a very different show.

We'll post an update if there are any new developments on this. In the meantime, Christina Applegate fans will get to see her back with Ron Burgundy in the anticipated Anchorman sequel.

One of the best new shows of the season is NBC's Up All Night. The network raised more than a few eyebrows with their mid-season schedule but one move that shouldn't be scrutinized was moving the new sitcom to Thursday night. The show is a much better fit with 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and The Office than Whitney. To be fair, smelly gym socks are a better fit for that comedy line-up than Whitney. Either way, it's nice to see NBC throw some support behind at least one good show and, with the latest guest star announcement, it's only getting better for Up All Night. It seems Will Arnett's Chris has a brother.

TVGuide reports that Dean Winters will be playing the fraternal addition to the series. The article doesn't specify whether Winters' Casey will show up once or recur but since they failed to mention it, that probably means it's simply a single episode appearance. For now that is, because with Winters' track record, especially as Liz Lemon's on again-off again boyfriend Dennis Duffy on 30 Rock, it's pretty much guaranteed to be hilarious. In fact, Winters' Duffy figures quite prominently in Katey's article on the best episode of 30 Rock, "Tracy Does Conan" and with good reason, since he's easily my favorite recurring on that show. How can you not love the beeper king? It's kind of funny since Will Arnett also plays a recurring character on the Tina Fey sitcom and his Devon Banks is scheduled to make another guest appearance this season.

With what we know of Arnett's character on Up All Night, him being an ex-hockey player and a man's man, it's probably safe to say that their sibling relationship will swing into rivalry. I'm only speculating but I can definitely see these two roughhousing - I mean just look at Winters' amazing Allstate Insurance ads and tell me him and Arnett as brothers aren't going to get physical. Anyway, no specific date on when 'Mayhem' will appear on the series but it's sometime later this season. I'm looking forward to it. As for now, this week's Christmas episode, titled "First Christmas," features it's own special guest stars in Jason Lee and Blythe Danner. Here's a preview (also from TVGuide) that has our leading couple run into some annoyingly festive neighbours. Sadly the guest stars are not featured, so it looks like you'll have to tune in...

Up All Night currently airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Come 2012, it will be in its new slot, Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET. It stars Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Mya Rudolph. Created by Emily Spivey.

Anchorman is coming to Blu-ray next week, August 31st, in the so-called "Rich Mahogany Edition" (a title that makes me sad nobody released a "Rich Corinthian Leather" edition of Wrath of Khan while Ricardo Montalban was still alive) available exclusively at Best Buy. Yesterday we linked to Movieweb's post of Maya Rudolph's audition for the role of Ron Burgundy lover/nemesis Veronica Corningstone. Today we've got an audition clip starring the woman who actually landed the role, the lovely Christina Applegate. Not to mention a t-shirted Will Ferrell, sadly lacking the proud Burgundy 'stache.

For the Ferrell fans in the house, the "Rich Mahogany Edition" is a two-disc Blu-ray set including several versions of the movie, almost an hour of new bonus features, collectible trading cards, and a book entitled "The Many Months of Burgundy." You can pick it up at Best Buy next week for a MSRP of $29.99. You can check out the disc specs below the video.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Rich Mahogany Edition)

Note: New special features are bolded.

Disc One

• Commentary with Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Bloopers
• ESPN Sports Center Audition - Ron Burgundy

Disc Two

• Wake Up Ron Burgundy
• Feature Introduction by Will Ferrell and Aaron Zimmerman
• Raw Footage "Good Takes"
• "Afternoon Delight" music video
• "Afternoon Delight" Recording Session
• Public Service Announcements
• Awards Speech
• AMC Loews Happy Birthday
• Rebecca Romijn
• Jim Caviezel
• Burt Reynolds
• Cinemax: The Making of Ron Burgundy
• Reel Comedy: Anchorman
• A Conversation with Ron Burgundy
• Cast Auditions
• Table Read
• Rehearsals
• Playback Video
• Commercial Break
• Trailers (HD)

Exactly how many characters can manage to fit into the Farrelly Brothers' Hall Pass. We've already got Jason Sudeikis, Owen Wilson and Jenna Fischer in the lead roles, and Stephen Merchant, J.B. Smoove, Amanda Bynes, Derek Waters and Nicky Whelan have all managed to find supporting roles as well. Now there's another actress to add to the pile-- Deadline Hollywood reports that Christina Applegate will join the cast as well, playing one of the lead wives.

I'm not sure who's married to who, if it's Applegate & Wilson or Applegate & Sudeikis, though I'm voting for the latter for no apparent reason. Applegate's sitcom Samantha Who? is wrapping up its run this season, so it makes sense for the actress to try her hand at movies once again. We're in desperate need of some fresh blood for romantic comedy heroines anyway. Welcome back to the fold, Christina.