How Ed O’Neill found out Married With Children was cancelled

Television audiences loved the sitcom “Married… with Children” for 11 seasons but when the time came for the show to end, at least two of the cast members were kept in the dark about it.

Ed O’Neill, who played curmudgeonly patriarch Al Bundy on the show, recently guested on the “MeSsy” podcast hosted by Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Christina Applegate, the latter of whom played his on-screen daughter Kelly Bundy on the series.

During their time together, O’Neill recounted how he found out “Married,” which ran on Fox from 1987 to 1997, was cancelled.

O’Neill recalled how he was back in his Ohio hometown at a bed and breakfast, enjoying the outdoors, when a car with a “Just Married” sign and tin cans pulled up.

“I thought, ‘Oh, they, you know, just married.’ So I was standing there, and they got out of the car, and it was the husband and wife,” he said. “She was in the gown, and he was in the tux. And he said, ‘Oh my god. It’s Al Bundy, in Ohio.’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Congratulations. You got married.’”

Then came the awkward moment. “The woman said, ‘We’re so sorry about your show.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And the guy said, ‘Oh my god. He doesn’t know. It’s on the radio. You got cancelled.’”

The “Modern Family” star then explained how the newlyweds felt so bad, they invited him inside for some Champagne.

“They said, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry,’ and I said, ‘I’d rather hear it from you.’ So yeah. I came inside. I love Champagne.”

Applegate said she could relate to O’Neill’s story, remembering she found out about the cancellation of the show “from a guy who knew a guy who worked for my assistant at the time. That’s how I found out. They never called us.”

“Married… with Children” also starred Katey Sagal and David Faustino, and followed a working class family led by Al Bundy, a shoe salesman. The series was beloved for its biting and sometimes crass humor. It was nominated for seven Primetime Emmys over the course of its run.

Applegate and Sigler’s “MeSsy” podcast focuses on living with a disease they both share, multiple sclerosis. They launched the podcast series earlier this year.