The actress told ET on Monday that talks are being had about bringing her beloved sitcom back for a revival season.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the classic sitcom The Nanny, and star Fran Drescher is opening up about the show’s lasting popularity and potential revival.
“People really love that show,” Drescher told ET at Revolution, Broadway Sings for Pride’s Annual Charity Concert, in New York City on Monday. “It’s unreal.”
Reflecting on her favorite memories from shooting the popular sitcom — which ran for six seasons between 1993 and 1999 — the 60-year-old star fondly recalls how the show gave her the opportunity to explore and follow her life’s passions.
“It was a turning point for me in my career without question,” Drescher said, explaining how the exposure and new-found level of fame gave her the “ability to leverage celebrity for the greater good and [for] the things that I’ m passionate about.”
Now, in the age of the sitcom revival, the chance to bring The Nanny back to TV is more possible than ever, and Drescher says that discussions are being had.
“We’re talking about it. Peter and I are talking about it,” Drescher said, referring to ex-husband and collaborator, Peter Marc Jacob, who co-created the sitcom with her. “We’re working on a very big project. It’s going to be very exciting for the fans, but I’m not at liberty to announce it yet. But it’s gonna be big.”
If a revival were to get the greenlit, Drescher said that, over the last 20 years, her character would likely have become much more involved in social issues.
“She would’ve maybe gotten involved in more things [that] Fran Drencher is involved with,” she said. “All kinds of things from environmental issues, to health, to civil liberties, that’s what I think Fran would be doing now– opening her big Queens mouth for the greater good.”
The show, which was loosely based on Drescher’s personal life and her experience growing up in Queens, New York, followed Fran Fine, an unwitting nanny to the three children of millionaire British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield.
While the series ends with Fran and Maxwell getting married and having kids of their own, Drescher says that a revival couldn’t simply be a continuation of the same storylines.
“The thing is our show will be the same characters 20 years later. We can’t just pick up where we left off,” she said. “But in a way, that could be really good because the show could have a whole fresh bend to it.”
In the wake of the ongoing Roseanne cancellation, some fans have suggested a Nanny revival could be a perfect nostalgia replacement, and Drescher joked, “I’m not mad at that suggestion.”
“I mean, I’m waiting to get the call,” she added.
If The Nanny did get picked up for a revival season, it would join the ranks of beloved sitcoms like the aforementioned Roseanne, as well as Will & Grace and, most recently, Murphy Brown, which also aired on CBS and came to an end one year ago The Nanny’s big series finale.
