Canceled ‘Bette’ Joins List of Star-Driven Casualties

CBS has canceled “Bette,” the first-year sitcom starring actress and singer Bette Midler, bringing to an end one of the more high-profile shows of the 2000-2001 television season.

A network spokesman would only confirm that the show is no longer in production. A spokesperson at Sony Corp’s. Columbia-TriStar Television division said four episodes of the series have yet to be produced. Its last scheduled episode will air Wednesday.

The show, in which Midler plays a diva not unlike herself, has been a ratings disappointment since its debut, and Midler herself had hinted at various times that she found the experience of starring in her own television show arduous.

“Bette” joins two other star-driven sitcom vehicles, NBC’s “The Michael Richards Show” and Fox’s “Normal, Ohio,” starring John Goodman, among this season’s casualties.