Billy Gardell on 'Mike & Molly' Ending: 'We're Just Trying to Get Through It'
Tough goodbyes. In December it was abruptly announced that the hit CBS comedy, Mike & Molly, was coming to an end after six seasons. The cast got a chance to comment on the cancellation during the NBC special honoring James Burrows, which aired on Sunday night.
Star Billy Gardell, who plays police officer Mike Biggs, opened up to Jane Lynch about wrapping the show, saying, "We're just trying to get through it, because we have that same sense of family. I'm Irish: I'll cry and then I'll hit you.”
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The series, which also stars comedy breakout Melissa McCarthy, started in 2010. Back in December when the cancellation was first announced, the Spy actress tweeted, “I was shocked and heartbroken when @CBS canceled #MikeAndMolly. I would have shot this show for 50 more years. I’ll miss my 2nd family.”
In January, McCarthy told ET, “It’s really heartbreaking… I burst out crying … That’s my second family. I’m going to miss it so much, I almost can’t talk about it, but you know what? It’s not very often that you get six years with people that you really do truly love and good work that you’re proud of. I think they wrote a hell of a show.”
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Gardell echoed that sentiment on Sunday night, adding, “We're just kind of huddling together like we have since the very beginning."
The special televised event was a tribute to legendary TV director and producer Burrows, who has helped create some of the biggest series to date including Friends, Cheers, Will & Grace, Taxi and Fraiser.
Most of the stars of his hit shows came out for the special, which was hosted by Andy Cohen, offering insight into Burrows’ methods.
“Literally, that was my first experience of rehearsal with him was Jane [Leeves] and I were working on a bit, and from across the sound stage, he said, ‘What are you doing?’ We said, ‘Rehearsing,’ and he said, ‘Cut it out!’” Fraiser star David Hyde Pierce recalled.