Jenna Fischer Out of CBS Comedy Due to Lack of Chemistry With Matt LeBlanc
No chemistry? No go.
Jenna Fischer is being replaced on the upcoming CBS multi-camera comedy, Man With a Plan, due to lack of on-screen chemistry with Matt LeBlanc.
“Look, recasting on pilots happens all the time,” CBS entertainment president Glen Geller said Wednesday (via The Wrap).
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“She is a phenomenal actress,” he continued, making sure to praise The Office alum. “It just wasn’t the right actress for the right role, ultimately, when we saw the pilot.”
Man With a Plan centers on a contractor (LeBlanc) who starts spending more time at home when his wife (formerly Fischer’s role) goes back to work and discovers that parenting is the toughest job out there.
If you’re expecting behind-the-scenes issues or clashes between the stars, that wasn’t the case here. Geller emphasized that it was simply an on-screen issue.
“It was fine,” he said when asked about Fischer and LeBlanc’s connection onscreen. “We think we can do better in terms of chemistry between the two of them.”
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Footage of Man With a Plan, which included Fischer, was shown to ad buyers on Wednesday afternoon at Carnegie Hall in New York City for CBS’ annual Upfront presentation. Watch the sneak peek below.
Fischer knows her way around TV chemistry as one-half of The Office’s most beloved couple, Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly. Earlier this year, she revealed that there was “real chemistry” between her and John Krasinski.
“There’s like a real part of me that is Pam and a real part of him that’s Jim and those parts of us were genuinely in love with one another,” she said during a January appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
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Krasinski, who is married to Emily Blunt, responded to Fischer’s eyebrow-raising comments.
“I think that was wildly misquoted or taken out of context. I’m sure she was trying to say something nice about how genuine the acting relationship was,” he said, adding, “I think we both feel it’s such an honor to be a part of that relationship.”
Man With a Plan will air Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.