Following in Howie Mandel’s footsteps, Beth Lacke wants to make a deal with you: This Thursday at 8:30 p.m., try something new by giving her FOX sitcom, HAPPY HOUR, a shot. “If you don’t laugh, don’t tune back in,” says the forthright beauty who plays opinionated Kelly Ripa wanna-be Amanda on the comedy. “You won’t laugh at anything I do. I’m horrible, but everybody else is hilarious.”
Seeing as HAPPY HOUR is pitted against America’s newest sweetheart (UGLY BETTY), the country’s most popular castaways (SURVIVOR) and the man of steel (SMALLVILLE), viewers may be surprised to learn that FOX’s freshman sitcom is indeed still open for business. “The cast showed up Monday for a table read and everyone started freaking out because ‘Brilliant But Cancelled’ said we were cancelled.” Luckily for the HAPPY crew, rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated. Despite having been benched for three weeks in order to make room for baseball playoffs, Amanda and her fellow lushes will belly up to the bar again on Thursday, November 2. “My Mom can’t wait for new episodes because she keeps watching the same three over and over.”
The big question, of course, is whether anyone other than Lacke’s mom will tune in “It’s a little scary,” admits the actress. “On the positive side, FOX believes in our show and ‘TIL DEATH to take on these giants. But on the negative side,” she concludes with the perfect delivery of a born comedian, “they’re giants!”.