Katey Sagal has been in the TV industry for decades now, and she fully understands that it’s full of ups and downs. Yet she was still caught somewhat off guard when her latest series, Rebel, was cancelled by ABC after one season. While the actress is currently waiting for news of a renewal on another entertainment platform, she does have other things in the pipeline. For instance, she’s set to reunite with former Married… with Children co-star Christina Applegate on Season 3 of Netflix’s Dead to Me.
Katey Sagal briefly appeared in the penultimate episode of Dead to Me Season 2, during which she was introduced as Eleanor Hale, the abusive and incarcerated mother of Linda Cardellini’s Judy. In the brief scene, Judy goes to visit Eleanor, who is seeking her help in getting out of prison. In a recent interview, with ET Online, Sagal explained how the character’s role would change in the third season and while confirming she’d get to work with Christina Applegate:
This season, I actually work with Christina. When I was on last season, I was Linda Cardellini's mom and you just saw me in prison. In fact, Christina called me up, I was just over at her house a couple of weeks ago, and we were so excited.
It’s no surprise that Christina Applegate would be excited to work with Katey Sagal. On all 11 seasons of Married… with Children, Applegate played Kelly Bundy, the popular and ditzy daughter to Sagal’s Peggy. The two forged strong, on-screen chemistry and seeing that on Dead to Me should be a real treat for fans of the classic sitcom. At this point, it’s hard to say what their scenes will entail but, based on Sagal’s further comments, they’ll hold some weight:
We have a couple of big scenes together, so that will be really fun. She is truly like my daughter. Like for real. So this will be really lovely to be with her.
One now has to wonder how Christina Applegate’s Jen and Katey Sagal’s Eleanor will cross paths. Could Jen go to prison to pay Eleanor a visit? Or on the flip side, could Eleanor somehow find her way out of jail and meet up with daughter’s friend on the outside? It’s a toss-up at this point, but what can be said is that given Eleanor’s unsavory nature, her larger presence in the upcoming season could potentially have some interesting effects on Jen and Judy’s relationship.
There’s no telling when Rebel fans will get word on a possible renewal for the Erin Brockovich-inspired drama. But at the very least, they can take comfort in the fact that they can definitely get more of Katey Sagal when the third season of Dead to Me eventually arrives on Netflix.
