Trivia / Grace Under Fire

• Hostility on the Set: One of the many ways the show resembled Roseanne, although it was even worse here as at least Roseanne Barr got along with her cast. By contrast, Grace Under Fire's cast suffered from Brett Butler's antics the most:
  • The rumour that most persistently dogs the show (it was never officially confirmed by the actor but is widely considered credible) is that Brett Butler flashed Jon Paul Steuer, the 12-year-old boy playing her son, after she had gotten breast implants. (She apparently showed off her new breasts to just about everyone on set, but she probably should have drawn the line at her underage co-stars.) As a result, Steuer's parents pulled him out of the show after the third season, with the network quietly paying off the remaining two years of his contract in lieu of the incident being made officially public (or to prevent a costly and embarrassing lawsuit).
  • Julie White, who played Butler's character's best friend, left the show in disgust at her antics at the end of the following season, necessitating a separation between her now-absent character Nadine and Wade, played by Casey Sander (who stayed behind). As had been the case with Steuer, White saw the remaining year of her contract paid up despite her departure.
  • Not to say that the writers got off easy. Chuck Lorre probably thought creating his own show would insulate him from The Prima Donna antics of his star like what he had faced over on Roseanne. (He probably should have talked to Matt Williams first...) He faced Creative Differences with Butler almost instantly and Carsey Werner sided with her over him, so he was out by the end of the second season. Lorre, undeterred, dusted himself off and created Cybill, presumably thinking that a washed-up has-been like Cybill Shepherd wouldn't give him any trouble. (Should have talked to Glenn Cordon Caron first...) Lorre ultimately left Carsey Werner for good and formed his own production company, thinking that doing so and being his own boss rather than working for someone else would allow him to actually control the production, as he would only be reporting to the network this time, and didn't think they would overrule him. (Unfortunately, however, this proved not to be the case, as when Lorre co-created Two and a Half Men for CBS, the network constantly sided with series star Charlie Sheen over him whenever Sheen got into trouble. In addition, Lorre also witnessed CBS relieve fellow producer Donald P. Bellisario of his showrunning duties on NCIS due to Creative Differences with series star Mark Harmon.)
• The Other Darrin: Quentin was played by three different actors: Noah Segan in the pilot, Jon Paul Steuer in the first three seasons, and Sam Horrigan in the last two.
• Reality Subtext: Grace, like Brett, was a recovering alcoholic.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Lady Madonna" sung by Aretha Franklin, a cover of the well-known The Beatles song (which has never been officially released in any format). Replaced with the Thematic Theme Tune "Perfect World" in later seasons and in syndication.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Sudden Age Lift aside, Sam Horrigan did have a strong resemblance to Quinton's previous actor Jon Paul Steuer.
• Troubled Production: Brett Butler's substance abuse problems and struggles to get clean caused a good deal of production issues. Julie White quit for this reason. It was alleged this was also why Jon Paul Steuer left. In addition, during the first season, Butler constantly feuded with Chuck Lorre over Creative Differences, which ultimately led to Lorre being demoted to creative consultant in the second season before leaving for good in the third season. Tops of all, Brett's stay in rehab in 1997 delayed production for Season 5, which prevented new episodes from premiering until the end of November. Brett ended up relapsing again, which (combined with falling ratings) prompted ABC to cancel the show three months into Season 5.
• Writer Revolt: Vega$, as part of ABC's forced Crossover, amounted to little more than cameos by the other shows' characters.

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