Cybill Shepherd Recalls Long Drive To Get 'Cybill' Out
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Sep 11, 2008
Cybill Shepherd feels a sense of vindication in getting her sexy "Cybill" show out on DVD next week. "It took 10 years to talk them into it," says the actress, whose 1995-1998 series scored solid ratings and critical acclaim throughout its run, but was abruptly cancelled by CBS. The plug was pulled in the wake of behind-the-scenes strife (writer Alan Ball has called it "torture" to work on the show, for example) and clashes with network censors.
Cybill Shepherd Recalls Long Drive To Get 'Cybill' Out (Image: Wenn)
"There was never really an ending for the show. People were surprised it had gone off the air. It was never syndicated," Cybill says. "It was very disappointing to me and the fans who loved the show." The disappearance was so complete, "There was footage I wanted to get of a musical number we'd done for the last episode, and I was told it was in a salt mine in Utah. I thought my career had gone into a salt mine in Utah," recalls the actress with a laugh.
Eventually, the series did turn up on the Oxygen network. Cybill was able to obtain copies for her personal archives. "My daughter Ariel had just returned from college and saw these books filled with DVDs of the 'Cybill' show,' and we sat down and watched them. She encouraged me that another generation would really appreciate them."
Shepherd is quick to acknowledge pushing the envelope of what was then considered acceptable on TV -- and then some. "We broke a lot of rules. We had two menopause episodes …The censor said no to our using the word 'vagina,' so we said, 'How about vulva?,' and he said all right, because he didn't know what it was. After it aired, the network said, 'Thank you for the ratings, but never do that again.' From that point on they watched us like hawks," she says.
Shepherd's been hurrying from one assignment to the next with roles on "The L Word," "Psych" and, come Oct. 6, a guesting on "Samantha Who" -- in addition to making a string of independent movies. She'll head to Greenwich, Conn., later this month to make a yet-untitled drama with Shirley Knight.
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