SHOW MUST GO ON

CNN answers a question posed here Monday: ABC is going to try to make a go of “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” despite the sudden death of its star John Ritter.

Braun and ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne said the sitcom will debut next Tuesday as planned and that the network will air the three episodes Ritter filmed before his death last week.

After that, the series co-starring Katey Sagal will go into repeats while writers retool it and production starts. No date was given for when the show will return to the air.

Ritter, making a TV series comeback 25 years after he starred in “Three’s Company,” became ill on the “8 Simple Rules” set and died Thursday of an undetected heart problem. He was 54.

It hasn’t been decided if the death of Ritter’s character, Paul Hennessy, will mirror what happened to the actor, ABC executives said.

Ritter’s series, which premiered last year with solid ratings, was considered a key part of ABC’s comeback effort and anchored its Tuesday night lineup of family comedies.

Interesting.

(Hat tip: Laurence Simon)

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