Greed is just a fact of life, and according to “Facts of Life” alum Mindy Cohn, a “greedy b–ch” is the reason a would-be reboot never came to be — and never will.
Cohn, who played Natalie Green in the “Diff’rent Strokes” spinoff, discussed the drama, which occurred during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Norman Lear had approached the “Facts” cast about a reboot amid renewed attention to many of his productions thanks to some star-studded live specials.
“What happened was not cute,” the “Palm Royale” actress, 58, said during her appearance on “Jeff Lewis Live” Wednesday. “One of the girls … went behind our backs and tried to make a separate deal for a spinoff just for herself and devastated the rest of us. … For a 40-year ‘friendship and sisterhood,’ there was a tidal wave of emotion around it.”
Borrowing a phrase from fellow guest Michael Hitchcock, Cohn confirmed, “She was a greedy b—h.
“I’ll say it. … We didn’t [talk to her] for a while,” continued Cohn, noting the cast now has “no desire to ever work together” and any possibilities of a reboot are “very dead.”
“A couple of people can’t move past it. Don’t want to move past it. … We were united for 40 years over not talking about each other, not doing dirty … all for one, one for all. And this kind of wrecked that, which is sad. Really sad,” said Cohn. “It always freaks me out that people will do that … throw friendships, deep true friendships, under the bus for a dollar.”
While Cohn said she won’t reveal which actress ruined the reboot, she said, “I think you can guess,” noting it was probably obvious given who does and doesn’t appear much on her Instagram page.
The Emmy-nominated sitcom, which aired on NBC from 1979 to 1988, also starred Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon and the late Charlotte Rae.
