Another day, another scandalous behind-the-scenes drama has been revealed. In a recently-released excerpt from Maureen Ryan’s new book Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and a Call for Change in Hollywood, several Lost writers detail how toxic the work environment was, with actor Harold Perrineau’s situation particularly covered in the chapter. One of his main issues at the time was the focus on the show’s four white characters, leaving the rest of the cast with limited screen time and unfulfilling storylines. Some weeks after he voiced these concerns directly with co-showrunner and executive producer Carlton Cuse, he was abruptly told the news that he wouldn’t be returning for Season 3.
Screenwriter Monica Owusu-Breen also gave an account of how Cuse gave an allegedly disturbing description of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Mr. Eko’s death and stirred some reactions in the writer’s room at the time, including her tears of rage. Damon Lindelof is also mentioned in the exposé, reportedly shaming writers who cried because of the tough environment. Both Lindelof and Cuse have issued statements since, admitting failure in the handling of this titanic project and everything it implied. Sadly, Lost is only one of the many shows in which toxic practices got in the way of production and storytelling.
'Desperate Housewives' Had Feuds On and Off-Screen
Desperate Housewives had some real-life drama equally or more scandalous than what transpired in the fictional Wisteria Lane. The famous Vanity Fair cover feud back when the show was in its freshman season haunted the rest of its eight-year run. Fueling rumors about diva behavior, the network asked for Teri Hatcher not to be front-and-center in order to emphasize all the women were the stars of the show. The photoshoot for the cover didn’t go smoothly, as Hatcher took the coveted center pose and Marcia Cross reportedly stormed off the set as a result. Ultimately, a picture with Nicollette Sheridan in the middle was the one used, with the infamous “You wouldn’t believe what it took just to get this photo!” headline below it.
After that, the Marc Cherry and Nicollette Sheridan saga started when ABC asked the show’s creator to cut production costs. Given their previous friction, and considering the impact it’d cause on the audience, he decided to kill off Sheridan's character, Edie Britt. A year after her departure, Sheridan sued Cherry, alleging wrongful termination and assault among others. While being questioned by his attorney Cherry maintained Sheridan was difficult to work with, feuding with Hatcher, not learning her lines, and arriving late to set. In the end, most of the cast of Desperate Housewives supported Cherry, and all of Sheridan’s retrial attempts were dismissed.
When Felicity Huffman was involved in a college admissions scandal, Cherry and Eva Longoria issued letters of support in which they singled out an unnamed bully/problematic cast member from which Huffman defended them. It’s been long speculated that said bully was Hatcher as it is known Cross, Huffman, and Longoria have stayed friends. When the show was about to end, the three of them, along with newer cast member Vanessa Williams, sent the crew a goodbye gift with a card that omitted Hatcher’s name.
'Grey’s Anatomy' Has Been Plagued by Behind-the-Scenes Controversy
The longest-running medical drama has had its share of behind-the-scenes controversies. Since Isaiah Washington’s Preston Burke left Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) at the altar, Grey's Anatomy's decisions to unceremoniously remove characters from the narrative have plagued the series. Washington used a homophobic slur on-set, causing him to be fired at the end of Season 3. Izzie Stevens was a fan favorite, but when Katherine Heigl decided to remove herself from the Emmy race, not considering the material worthy enough, the crew wasn’t too happy about it. Heigl wanted to pursue her career on the big screen, which eventually led to her being written off a few episodes into Season 6. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) was also abruptly removed after coming out to Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Smith commented she was taken by surprise, as she wasn't told about her departure but that she had the notion it wasn’t Shonda Rhimes’s decision, rather the network’s.
In the book How To Save A Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy by Lynette Rice, former executive producer James D. Parriott is quoted as saying Patrick Dempsey “terrorized the set” in the last years before his departure, provoking him and Rhimes to be “at each other’s throats”. To further these claims, on a 2021 interview with Tavis Smiley, Washington accused Ellen Pompeo of accepting “hush money” to keep quiet about “how toxic and nasty Patrick Dempsey really was."
'One Tree Hill's Showrunner Came Under Fire for Harassment
In 2017, One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn was accused of harassment by writer Audrey Wauchope. What followed was an avalanche of support towards Wauchope and accusations toward Schwahn. Cast members Hilarie Burton and Danneel Harris alleged also having been harassed by Schwahn. Schwahn, who at the moment was running E!’s The Royals, was also accused by 25 members of the cast and crew of that show, resulting in his being fired.
In the podcast Drama Queens, in which Burton participates along with fellow cast members Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz, Burton commented that Chad Michael Murray stood up for her once in a bar where Schwahn was groping her. While everyone was afraid of doing something for fear of losing their jobs, Murray, being the main star of the show, acted in defense as he was untouchable. In another episode of the podcast, Bush and Burton spoke about how they were cornered by their boss to do a photoshoot for Maxim to keep exploiting the sexualization of their characters. Lenz added to the horror by saying the same boss told her she couldn’t do the shoot on account of her being "too fat."
Not Everyone Was BFFs on 'Glee'
It was known then and it is known now that Lea Michele’s behavior on the Glee set was far from amicable. Santana (Naya Rivera) was written off of the Season 5 finale because of their behind-the-scenes confrontations. Rivera wrote about it in her book Sorry Not Sorry, stating their strong personalities didn’t let them mend the friendship they once had. When fellow cast member Samantha Marie Ware called out Michele for her rudeness, Heather Morris and Amber Riley stated that, while not considering Michele a racist, she was difficult to work with, and it should’ve been called out at the time.
Creator Ryan Murphy stated in an Entertainment Weekly interview that Glee was the best and worst time of his life. They were too close since the beginning, and that led to relationships, arguments, and confrontations that affected the series. For him, “it was a great lesson in what not to do moving forward.”
'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel's Showrunner Contributed to a Toxic Culture
When Charisma Carpenter left Angel, creator Joss Whedon stated it was because her character's story had run its course, but it was always rumored that Chase's pregnancy had something to do with it. In early 2021, following the turmoil of accusations against Whedon by Justice League actor Ray Fisher, Carpenter finally spoke her truth. While filming Angel, Whedon avoided talking about the pregnancy with Carpenter and, when it finally happened, he wasn’t smooth about it. For him, it was as if Carpenter was sabotaging the show and straight up asked if she would keep the baby.
Carpenter’s allegations were supported by Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg. The latter added a concerning comment that he wasn’t allowed to be alone with her, indicating inappropriate behavior while she was a minor. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the titular Buffy Summers, had initially distanced herself from the controversy, expressing pride in playing Buffy but cutting ties with Whedon. Eventually, at The Wrap’s Power of Women Summit in late 2022, she addressed the toxic culture where “women were pitted against each other” and how in her youth she thought maybe that was the standard.
'Community' Faced Issues With One of Its Biggest Names
Some issues may also come from how the higher-ups handle situations. Sony and NBC fired Community creator Dan Harmon, expecting to bring in new showrunners who could appeal to a wider audience and increase viewership for the show’s fourth season. This was not the case, for ratings didn’t improve and Season 4 stands as the worst-rated of the show. As a result, Harmon was brought back for Seasons 5 and 6 and is slated to return for the long-awaited movie.
But maybe that was the least of Community’s issues. Chevy Chase publicly expressed halfway through Community’s run that he considered taking the role of Pierce Hawthorne a mistake. In a Huffington Post interview, he candidly stated that he took the job to still be able to provide for his family and that he preferred doing movies to television. Conversely, Harmon stated in an Uproxx interview that he enjoyed writing Pierce as a pathetic man in his twilight, maybe hitting too close to Chase’s home. Chase was absent for the last episode of Season 3, which led to a confrontation between him and Harmon at the season wrap party. To make it worse, Harmon played an expletive-filled voicemail from Chase at a comic book store gathering.
Since Harmon was fired after that wrap party, he wasn’t present for Chase’s departure. During the filming of Season 4, Chase used a racial slur on set which, according to a New Yorker piece, was not a limited incident. Following the event, he was let go, but an agreement was reached for his character’s last episodes. In the end, Harmon argues it was the level of narcissism of both him and Chase that made their feud reach those heights. Following Harmon being reinstated as showrunner, they eventually reached a deal for Chase to appear in the first episode of Season 5, as he considered it crucial for Jeff’s (Joel McHale) storyline for that season.
'The Conners' Moved On Without Roseanne
Roseanne was a beloved 90s sitcom that ended in 1997 after nine seasons and was revived 20 years later for the 2018 mid-season. The tenth season of Roseanne saw the return of all its main cast, which included Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, and Laurie Metcalf as Roseanne Conner, Dan Conner, and Jackie Harris, respectively. It was met with solid critical reception and, more importantly for the network, averaged 16-17 million total viewers. Shortly after the first episode, an eleventh season (second for the revival) had already been ordered. But a week after the airing of the last episode, Barr tweeted racist remarks about former president Barack Obama’s advisor Valerie Jarrett. Following Barr’s tweet, despite the series’ renewed success, Roseanne was canceled.
After the crew figured out a way to retool the series, a month later the spin-off The Conners was announced. The series would focus on the family as a whole. Roseanne Conner, the titular character, had obviously been removed from the narrative. In the series, she died because of an overdose of drugs she used to lessen her knee pain. The Conners had an improved critical reception and just finished airing its fifth season on May 3.
'Batwoman' Lost Its First Lead After Allegations Surfaced
Ruby Rose’s short-lived portrayal of Batwoman came to an abrupt end after the first season of the show because of a back injury while filming. In late 2021 Rose, through her social media, stated she’d never return to "that awful show." Through her Instagram stories, she accused former WB president Peter Roth of blackmailing her to go back to work after said injury. She also accused co-star Dougray Scott of berating women on set. In turn, cast member Camrus Johnson refuted the accusations and stated she didn’t leave the show, but was fired instead.
Toxicity in any workplace environment should not be the standard practice. It undermines the victims’ souls and willingness to carry out their job. Toxicity in the television industry can take many forms: discrimination, racism, harassment, and abuse, among many others. These practices stem from a culture based on inequality of opportunities and/or perpetuation of privilege.
Victims who are strong enough to tell their story risk a huge deal when coming forward. Whether they name names or keep them in the shadows, what’s true is that no allegation should go unchecked. With Lost now being a part of this list of toxic productions, we can’t help but wonder how many more will we know about in the future. Hollywood’s struggle to stand against toxic practices needs to be strengthened. People need to feel safe in their workplace. Time will let us know if the industry gets to learn from past mistakes and let them and the audience move forward to a brighter future for entertainment.