Kristen Johnston And Chuck Lorre Lament Mom Cancellation, Discuss How Leanne Is Thematically Similar

When key members of Mom's creative team — including prolific sitcom producer Chuck Lorre — reunited to build a new show around Leanne Morgan, they knew they wanted to surround the stand-up comedian with trusted performers they worked with on previous projects.

That included Ryan Stiles, who for 11 out of 12 seasons recurred as Dr. Herb Melnick on Two and a Half Men, and Kristen Johnston, who for four out of eight seasons starred as recovering addict Tammy Diffendorf on the aforementioned Mom.

"Multi-cam is an interesting hybrid form," executive producer Nick Bakay tells TVLine. "It's very strange, and it can be very elusive, so people who are proven in multi-cam are very valuable.

"To go to war with everything unknown, you need extra kismet. If you have some people you can plant your flag with, it lets you go forth. We knew that with Kristen, in particular, having had many years on Mom with her," that she would be the perfect scene partner for Morgan.

In Leanne, which is now streaming on Netflix, our title character is thrown for a loop when her husband Bill (Stiles) leaves her for another woman. Johnston co-stars as Leanne's sister Carol, who helps her navigate this new (and unexpected) chapter.

In that regard, Leanne is thematically similar to Mom. Whereas the previous show was about found sisterhood, this show is very much about sisterhood — and both shows are about women of a certain age having to start their lives anew.

"That's the dramatic through line," Lorre points out. "How do you start over? Can you start over? And the answer is yes — with support [from] family and friends who care for you and want you to survive and succeed. Both shows have that element of hope that you can crawl out of the ashes and start again." 

Adds Johnston: "There are women of a certain age who are starved for this kind of [show]. When Mom was cancelled, there was a group of feral women in my mentions on social media that were so mad... and I think [Leanne] fills that hole.

"I love what it says about sisterhood," she says. "At the end of the day, they have each other. They're very different people, but they come together in the most important way."

Watch our interview with Morgan, Johnston, Lorre and Bakay above, then grade Leanne Season 1 via the following poll.

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