The most devastating moment of Geena Davis’ career: “I was so bummed”
The entertainment industry is a rocky business where you’re never as secure as you think you are. Sure, you might land a role in a beloved television series and think you’re set for a few seasons, but even widely-loved shows get cancelled or characters get killed off when you least expect it. This is something that Geena Davis has experienced, leaving her “so bummed.”
Of course, actors have contracts, but it’s unlikely you’ll ever meet a star who hasn’t been turned down, fired, or had no choice but to step down from a role following a show or movie’s cancellation. If something doesn’t have the potential to receive good ratings or sizable profit – or perhaps an important cast or crew member gets themselves cancelled – it’s not unheard of for a whole project to be chucked in the bin.
Look at the recent disaster that was Batgirl, which was abandoned in 2022, losing $99.8million in the process. Evidently, if something needs to be cancelled, it’ll get cancelled.
For the Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis – who appeared in many great movies during the early years of her career, like Tootsie, The Fly, Beetlejuice, and Thelma and Louise – there was a project that she didn’t want to witness facing the wrath of cancellation, but that was the disappointing way the cookie crumbled.
Davis’s career in cinema declined in the 2000s, but she has since dedicated much of her time to television. From The Geena Davis Show, which she led between 2000 and 2001, to appearances in Will & Grace, Grey’s Anatomy, The Exorcist and GLOW, Davis found a new lease of life on the small screen.
Her greatest television appearance came in 2006 with The Commander in Chief, however, it was this award-winning series that inevitably faced cancellation, much to the dismay of Davis. Despite the show earning countless nominations and winning Davis a Golden Globe, this wasn’t enough to prevent it from being cancelled after 17 episodes.
The show follows Davis’ Mackenzie Allen, the United States vice president, who unexpectedly steps up to the post after the President dies in office. Thus, Allen becomes the first female president, and the show follows the ups and downs of her presidency and family life. She starred alongside Donald Sutherland, Kyle Secor, Harry Lennix, Ever Carradine, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and the show received rather positive reviews.
Yet, it was hit with cancellation after ratings began to decline. A few showrunner changes did nothing to help, resulting in ABC’s decision to force the first female President of the United States to step down from her position. Talking to AARP, Davis revealed her love for appearing in television shows, stating, “I love TV.” She continued, “I don’t enjoy having my ass cancelled. I was so bummed when ABC’s Commander in Chief went off the air. As President Allen, I had a very short administration.”
Davis was understandably disappointed that she had to retire the character so soon, but she had a good run as Allen, picking up her first Golden Globe in the process.
