Apparently someone was very unhappy with the way things were going with Up All Night. Christina Applegate has flat out bailed on the show ahead of its planned midseason premiere which will feature a shift from single-camera to laugh track mode. There are no words to really explain how major this is other than the program might be scrapped entirely. That is way too premature to say for sure, but it would be pretty much impossible to keep the show going without its biggest star considering ratings were already in the toilet. NBC thinks they might be able to get someone like Lisa Kudrow on board, but she might prefer to stay where she is with her low-budget Showtime series Web Therapy. Comments from Applegate come after the jump.
“It’s been a great experience working on Up All Night, but the show has taken a different creative direction and I decided it was best for me to move on to other endeavors. Working with Lorne Michaels has been a dream come true and I am grateful he brought me into his TV family. I will miss the cast, producers and crew, and wish them the best always.” – Christina Applegate via Deadline
At the end of last year, when this format change was revealed there were no real hints that something like this could happen. Applegate actually showed up on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the show back in November during which she appeared supportive of the transition. Here is the footage from that which begins at 1 minute 10 seconds in.
Up All Night was scheduled to return in either April or May, but that might prove to be a challenge given what just happened. Series creator Emily Spivey left the show last month as did former showrunner Tucker Crawley. It is safe to say that should the sitcom eventually return to air, the show would be pretty unrecognizable.
As for Christina Applegate, she might have been looking for an out anyways in favor of pursuing her film career. The Hall Pass star should receive a boost in December when she reprises her role as Veronica Corningstone in the much-anticipated Anchorman sequel.