" We realized we were never going to be able to veil it , realistically . "
There are plain MASSIVE spoilers ahead for several pop TV shows .
This mail service also contains credit of pregnancy departure .
1.First, duringLaw & Order: SVUSeason 8,Mariska Hargitaywaspregnant, so instead of writing it into the series, they cleverly hid her pregnancy onscreen. However, when she left for maternity leave, the series created the storyline where Benson takes a job undercover, and Stabler gets a temporary partner named Dani Beck.
2.DuringThe X-FilesSeason 2,Gillian Andersonwas pregnant. So, the series has Scully get kidnapped and abducted in the episode “Duane Barry.” A few episodes later, she mysteriously reappeared in a hospital.David Duchovnywas the first person onThe X-Fileswho knew about Gillian’s pregnancy. Gilliansaidshe “confided” in him first because she was “terrified” of telling the producers.
3.Melissa Fumerowas pregnant twice while filmingBrooklyn Nine-Nine.While her first pregnancy was simply hidden onscreen, her second one was written into the series when Amy got pregnant in Season 7. Initially, the writerswanted to elongateAmy and Jake’s fertility struggles, but when Melissa told them she was pregnant, they cut the storyline short.
4.InIt’s Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaSeason 6, Dee is suddenly pregnant, with the gang spending several episodes trying to figure out who the father is, with it ultimately being revealed that Dee was a surrogate for another couple. The storyline was created to incorporate Kaitlin Olson’s real-life pregnancy. Rob McElhenney, who is married to Kaitlin IRL,told TV Guide, “We realized we were never going to be able to hide it, realistically. So we knew we had to embrace it and put it into the show.”
5.Melissa Rauch’s pregnancy was written intoThe Big Bang TheorySeason 11, with Bernadette surprising Howard by revealing that she’s pregnant with their second child. The series also wrote that Bernadette was put on bed rest to accommodate Melissa’s pregnancy. After opening up aboutsuffering a miscarriageprior, the series wrote the bedrest storyline so Melissa would take is easy on set during her pregnancy.
6.In9-1-1Season 5, Maddie suddenly left her baby at the firehouse and told Chimney she was leaving alone. The storyline was created to accommodate Jennifer Love Hewitt’s real-life pregnancy. She was absent from the show for eight episodes until shereturnedlater that season. Upon her return, Maddie revealed she was seeking treatment for postpartum depression.
7.Charisma Carpenter was notably pregnant duringAngelSeason 4. Her pregnancy was written into the series by having Cordelia get pregnant, give birth to an evil being, and then end up in a coma before she ultimately dies in the 100th episode. In 2021, Charismaallegedthat creator Joss Whedon asked her if she was “going to keep it,” referring to her unborn child. She also said, “He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me following the season once I gave birth.”
8.ForThe Vampire DiariesSeason 7, creator Julie Plec and the writers hadthought of the ideathat the twins Jo was pregnant with before dying would magically transfer to another random person, who would eventually find Alaric. However, they scrapped the idea — thinking it was “too crazy” — until Candice King told them she was pregnant IRL. So, they brought the storyline back, but had it be Caroline who found herself pregnant with Alaric’s twins.
9.Zooey Deschanel was pregnant duringNew GirlSeason 5. In order to hide her pregnancy, the series had Jess end up being requested for jury duty for several episodes so that Zooeycould go on maternity leave. During this time period, Megan Fox joined the cast as Reagan.
10.InFriendsSeason 4, Lisa Kudrow’s real-life pregnancy with her first child was notably written into the series. Phoebe offers to be a surrogate for Frank and Alice and gives birth to their triplets. Looking back on filming the season while pregnant, Lisarecalled, “The six of us would do a huddle backstage and just say, ‘All right, have a good show, love you, love you, love you.’ And when I was pregnant, then they would say, ‘Have a great show. Love you, little Julian!'”
11.Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy actually sped up Booth and Bones finally getting together onBonesin Season 7. Creator Hart Hanson revealed that the show was planning on doing a season where Booth and Bones grapple with their attraction for each other, but they “changed everything” once Emily told the writers that she was pregnant, and they made it so Bones was pregnant on the show, too. Hesaid, “We threw out half a season, perhaps more, and inserted that they were going to have a child.”
12.Lesley Ann Brandt was pregnant for about half of the filming forLuciferSeason 2. At the start of Season 3, instead of writing in her pregnancy and maternity leave, the series had Maze go off on a bounty-hunting spree, thus explaining her absence. Inan interview with SELF, Lesley said she was “still performing modified stunts” while pregnant.
13.InHow I Met Your MotherSeason 4, Barney whispers adirty joketo Lily one night at the bar. Then, Ted remarks that they didn’t see Lily for a few weeks. Lily’s disgust over Barney’s joke was written into the show because Alyson Hannigan went on maternity leave after giving birth to her first child. Her pregnancy was hidden on screen up until this point.
14.DuringGrey’s AnatomySeason 6, Ellen Pompeo was pregnant with her first child, Stella Luna. So, the series decided to put Meredith on bed rest after she volunteered to give her father part of her liver. Ellen onlytookfour weeks off after giving birth to her daughter before returning to work onGrey’s Anatomy.
15.Also inGrey’s Anatomy, creator Shonda RhimeswroteChandra Wilson’s real-life pregnancy into Season 2, which is why Bailey was pregnant with Tuck. The storyline ultimately led to the showcoining the term"vajayjay," which Bailey says to George while giving birth. Reportedly, the networksaidthe show used the word “vagina” too much and so the writers came up with another term.
16.Moira Kelly waspregnantwhile filming the beginning ofOne Tree HillSeason 1. The show elected to hide her pregnancy on screen; however, when it came time for Moira to give birth and take a break from the show, the series simply created the storyline that Karen goes to Italy for a six-week cooking program.
17.Jane Leeves’ first pregnancy was written intoFrasierin the form of a Season 8 storyline where Daphne begins to gain weight and becomes addicted to food. There was an episode that was literally called “Hungry Heart.” Then, Daphne leaves to go to a spa in order to lose weight, and she returns after Jane gave birth IRL. The storyline was seen as cringeworthy and was criticized by viewers.
18.InWynonna EarpSeason 2, Melanie Scrofano was pregnant, so creator Emily Andras wrote her pregnancy into the series. Wynonna suddenly finds out she’s pregnant, and her pregnancy is magically sped up to coincide with how far along Melanie was in real life. Despite being pregnant, Melanie continued to do many of her own stunts. Speaking about incorporating her pregnancy into the show, Melaniesaid, “I was relieved and I felt empowered.”
19.Phylicia Rashad was pregnant duringThe Cosby ShowSeason 3. The show notably took extreme measures to hide her pregnancy on screen, and even wrote in random storylines for Clair, like her having a pinched nerve so she’s on bed rest. In fact, for the episodes where Clair was in bed, the showreportedly"scooped out the mattress" so her stomach wouldn’t show. The show also had Clair go out of town to explain Phylicia’s absence for five episodes.
20.InMad Men,Betty’s weight gain storyline in Season 5 was used to hide January Jones’s pregnancy. However, she laterrevealedthat she was actually only pregnant “under the fat suit for one episode.” The storyline wasmetwith criticism from both fans and critics.
21.And finally, onMarried…with Children, Katey Sagal’s pregnancy was written into Season 6. However, midway through the season, it was revealed that Peg wasn’t really pregnant, but it was all a dream Al had. The reverse in storyline happened after Katey’s child died, so the writers scrapped Peg’s pregnancy following the news. In 2017, while promoting her memoir, Kateyspokeabout her daughter Ruby’s stillbirth “at almost eight months,” saying, “It was a very difficult thing … I could not wrap my brain [around it].”
