Who’s the Boss? is a classic sitcom that lasted for eight seasons, from 1984 to 1992. There had been interest in bringing back the characters with a new sequel series. However, the production has just received an important update. Interestingly enough, there had been other attempts to give the series a spin-off over the years.
The Project Had Been In Development Since 2020
The original series starred Tony Danza as Tony Micelli, a baseball player who becomes a housekeeper for advertising exec Angela, played by Judith Light. Alyssa Milano played Tony’s daughter Samantha while Danny Pintauro played Angela’s son Jonathan. Katherine Helmond also played Angela’s mother Mona, who many fans joked was the real “boss” of the show.
Interest in developing a Who’s The Boss? revival first became known in 2020, with the project going to Amazon Freevee. Danza and Milano were notably set to reprise their roles from the original series for the project.
In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Milano confirmed that she “was very skeptical about this.” However, she explained that, “then I spoke to Tony…and I got kind of excited.”
However, fans might not be getting a follow-up with Tony and Sam anytime soon. TV Line confirmed that Amazon MGM Studios would no longer develop the series. At the time, it was announced that another Amazon spin-off, a Bosch spin-off revolving around Detective Jerry Edgar, had also been shelved.
This Wasn’t The Series’ First Attempt At A Spin-Off
Many crew from the Netflix revival of One Day at a Time were attached to the Who’s The Boss? project. These included executive producer Mike Royce and writer Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. Before his death, Norman Lear was also attached as an executive producer.
Interestingly enough, there had already been quite a few attempts at Who’s The Boss? spin-offs during the series’ run. The episode, “Charmed Lives,” which featured Fran Drescher and Donna Dixon, was intended as a backdoor pilot.
There were also attempts to spin the Mona character off into her own eponymous show. The story, which was featured in a two-part third season episode, revolved around her helping her brother run a Manhattan hotel. In the end, however, the showrunners decided it was best to keep Mona on the main show.
A third attempt to create a spin-off proved somewhat more successful. Entitled Living Dolls, the series revolved around a modeling agency for young girls. Leah Remini, who appeared in the series, appeared in a backdoor pilot for Who’s The Boss?, in which she played a friend of Samantha’s. The series also notably served as Halle Berry’s acting debut. However, the series ended up only lasting one season.
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