Facts Of Life Revival Canceled After Backstabbing Ends 40-Year Friendship

Cohn talked about how producer Norman Lear heard an actors roundtable with Octavia Spencer, Amy Poehler, and Jennifer Aniston where they talked about how they grew up with the sitcom, leading him to reach out to The Facts of Life core cast members Cohn (Natalie), Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie), and Nancy McKeon (Jo).

They even went so far as hiring a writer and having Zoom calls about a revival.  However, the behind-the-back discussions ended up putting the kibosh on the whole project as all of the other cast members had a sour taste in their mouths about the situation.

Actor Michael Hitchcock, who appeared on the radio episode with Cohn, had some strong words about the situation saying, “There’s always a greedy bi**h.”

To which Cohn agreed saying, “She was a greedy bi**h, I’ll say it.” Though Cohn did stop short of outright naming which The Facts of Life cast member took part in the backstabbing act.

However, Cohn did say that fans could potentially figure out which The Facts of Life star was responsible, as she said you could scroll through her Instagram to see which cast members she still spends time with.

Cohn was also sad about the ending of a long-term friendship, saying, “We were united for 40 years over not talking about each other, not doing dirty, not, you know, all for one, one for all. And this kind of wrecked that, which is sad.”

On the bright side, Cohn also said The Facts of Life co-stars are back on speaking terms with them, though she noted “the trust is gone.”

So, while the stars of the series are at least talking again, it still seems like a potential revival or reunion is a long way off. At least fans have the original nine seasons of the long-running 80s sitcom to look back on fondly.

The Facts of Life first aired in 1979 and eventually ended its long run in 1988. The NBC series was created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon as a spin-off of Diff’rent Strokes.

The series followed Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) working a job as the housemother of a dormitory at a private all-girls school in New York called Eastland School. Cohn, Whelchel, Fields, and McKeon played girls who went to the school and who were under Garrett’s care.

The Facts of Life is one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s and was very popular, so there’s certainly still an audience for a potential revival or reunion.

The last time some stars of the sitcom reprised their roles was in a reunion movie in 2001 where the girls reunite for the Thanksgiving holiday. Perhaps the co-stars can find a way to move forward from this unfortunate incident in the future and put together another reunion movie at some point.

Source: Entertainment Weekly