Christina Applegate recently shared how the last season of Netflix’s Dead To Me came together following her 2021 MS diagnosis. The actress was determined to finish the project—on her own terms.
Applegate’s MS Diagnosis
Applegate first revealed her MS diagnosis on Twitter in August of 2021, but she managed to keep a sense of humor about the ordeal.
Many fans assumed the actress wouldn’t return for the third and final season of Dead To Me, in which she starred alongside Linda Cardellini. However, in an interview with the New York Times, Applegate shared her determination to finish the third season of the show.
Applegate Wanted To Finish Netflix Show ‘On My Terms’
“I had an obligation to Liz [Feldman, Dead To Me’s creator] and to Linda, to our story,” Applegate explained. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms.’”
The show’s production was already put on pause to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Applegate shared that this break was really important for her. “There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better.’ And there is no better,” she shared. “But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”
Applegate: ‘This Is the First Time Anyone’s Going To See Me The Way I Am’
The actress shared the many changes that happened when she did return to set, from needing to use a wheelchair to having a crew member hold her legs off-camera for certain shots.
“This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” Applegate said of her new normal. “I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”
She continued, “I’m sure that people are going to be, like, ‘I can’t get past [the changes].’ Fine, don’t get past it, then. But hopefully people can get past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.” Applegate’s openness about her MS journey has been inspiring for many around the world, and her fans can’t wait to see the last season of Dead To Me.
