Valerie Bertinelli Blasts TV Land For Canceling ‘Hot In Cleveland’ Before Its Time
Valerie Bertinelli’s TV Land sitcom ended four years ago, but she’s still angry about how it went out. The 58-year-old actress, who starred as Melanie Moretti for six seasons on the comedy hit Hot In Cleveland, told the Wrap that she is still fuming over TV Land’s decision to cancel the top-rated show back in 2015.
“I’m still p*ssed off that TV Land canceled us. I think it was the stupidest thing they ever did.”
Hot in Cleveland debuted on TV Land in 2010 and, at the time, it was the highest rated telecast in the network’s 14-year history. The sitcom — which also starred Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White — was TV Land’s first scripted series. Bertinelli, Leeves, and Malick played three pals from Los Angeles who unexpectedly landed in Cleveland and rented a home from a sassy landlord, one played by White. The show was touted as a modern-day spin on The Golden Girls.
After Hot in Cleveland was canceled, Bertinelli — who started her TV career in the 1970s as a teen sitcom star on the original One Day at a Time — told Global News that she and her co-stars were grateful for their roles on Hot in Cleveland because middle-aged and older actresses often have trouble finding meaningful acting jobs.
“Then they canceled us because they wanted to put on younger shows,” Bertinelli said of TV Land.
"You're my friends. You're my family. You really are the loves of my life." -Melanie #NationalBestFriendsDay pic.twitter.com/7T6sTWPyrL
— Hot in Cleveland (@hotnclevelandtv) June 8, 2015
Although Hot in Cleveland was canceled before its time, the show was able to wrap up nicely and to give all of the characters a happy ending. Show creator Suzanne Martin told the Hollywood Reporter that the four women on the show “deserved happy endings.” She also said that when Bertinelli read her character’s speech for the series finale, the whole cast cried at the table reading.
While Martin had hoped that Hot in Cleveland would go on for eight seasons, she told THR that — in a strange way — she felt that it was time to wrap up when it did.
“I think TV Land’s new direction was a big part of it,” Martin said of the cancellation in 2015. “We’ll see if that ends up working… I would have been happy to do more seasons, but it felt a little like it was time. We’re so proud of everything we did. Betty is healthy and everyone is good. So maybe it was best that it ends with everything on a high note.”
Valerie Bertinelli moved on from her TV Land acting gig to host the Food Network shows Valerie’s Home Cooking, Kids Baking Championship, and the upcoming Family Food Showdown. But for those still missing Bertinelli’s show, the complete DVD set for the Hot In Cleveland series can be purchased on Amazon — or can be streamed via Amazon Prime Video.
