Lindsay Lohan played Bette's daughter in the pilot. When filming, the show was switched to Los Angeles, the New York-based Lohan dropped out of the project.
This show was not the monstrous success for which CBS had hoped, but it was a modest hit. Unfortunately, Bette Midler went on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) at the beginning of January 2001 and complained about how difficult the whole sitcom experience had been, which erupted into a minor Hollywood scandal. At the last minute, CBS yanked an episode that was supposed to air before the Grammys, then they abruptly flipped the schedule, premiering the brand new series Some of My Best Friends (2001) in Bette's time slot before quickly cancelling both shows. Midler cried foul and claimed she was going to pen a tell-all book about the various behind-the-scenes horrors she endured, but it never came to fruition.
In one episode, Bette is redoing a room and calls out for "Dave", who is never seen. In real-life, Bette's personal architect and designer is named David.
After Kevin Dunn quit the show, Bette Midler pitched the idea of having a different actor portray Roy each week, with stars ranging from Fred Willard to Chris Rock. CBS executives vetoed her suggestion and Robert Hays was ultimately given the part, which he only got to play in two episodes before the series was abruptly cancelled.
In real-life, Bette Midler lost an Oscar for The Rose (1979) to Sally Field, who took home the statuette for her performance as the title character in Norma Rae (1979). Throughout the series, Bette joked about a rivalry, and Field was asked to guest-star, but she declined.