NEED TO KNOW
On June 6, 2025, Wendie Malick attended the Shrinking Emmy FYC event in West Hollywood, Calif.
While speaking to PEOPLE, the Hot in Cleveland actress shared why she’s hesitant about rebooting the beloved sitcom, saying it would feel “weird” without one key cast member
Malick also expressed similar reservations about revisiting her ’90s hit Just Shoot Me!, suggesting some television classics are best left untouched
Wendie Malick isn’t in a rush to coordinate a Hot in Cleveland TV reunion.
While attending the Shrinking Emmy FYC event on June 6 in West Hollywood, Calif., the 75-year-old actress was asked about former costar Valerie Bertinelli, who recently said she would love to see a reboot of the beloved sitcom.
However, Malick admits she’s still not convinced a revival is the right move, especially given the absence of one key cast member.
“I don’t know because it would be so weird without Betty [White],” Malick tells PEOPLE exclusively.
Valerie Bertinelli, Betty White, and Wendie Malick in ‘Hot In Cleveland.’
Credit: Tv Land/Kobal/Shutterstock
Hot in Cleveland premiered in 2010 and went on to become one of TV Land’s biggest original hits, running for six seasons before wrapping in 2015.
The series followed three Los Angeles friends — played by Malick, Bertinelli and Jane Leeves — whose lives took an unexpected turn after they relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, and began renting a house from Elka Ostrovsky, the sharp-tongued caretaker played by White.
Along with strong ratings, the show gave White another memorable late-career role that resonated with longtime fans and new audiences alike before she died in 2021, just weeks before her 100th birthday.
For Malick, however, the challenge of revisiting a cherished series isn’t limited to Hot in Cleveland.
She revealed that fans have also floated the idea of bringing back Just Shoot Me!, the NBC sitcom that ran from 1997 to 2003.
But she feels that the project would face a similar obstacle following the death of George Segal in 2021, who played magazine publisher Jack Gallo.
According to Malick, returning to those worlds without such key characters would be like “missing a limb.”
Betty White, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, and Valerie Bertinelli.
Credit: Everett
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Rather than trying to recreate the chemistry that made those shows successful, Malick seems more interested in preserving the memories attached to them.
The actress suggested that some television experiences are special because of the specific people and moment in time that created them.
“I don’t know,” Malick tells PEOPLE. “I think sometimes the experience was so wonderful that you want to just savor that and hold on to it and just store it in your heart.”
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