The third and final season of Netflix’s underrated dramedy Dead To Me will hit the streamer later this month, but it took quite some time to get there. In 2020, the show returned with its second season following two unlikely friends, Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, bonding while grieving their own losses. Finally, the show was renewed for a third season which began production last year, only to be halted when Applegate received a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.
“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’”Applegate told The New York Times. The show stopped production for five months while Applegate began her treatment. “And there is no better. 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.”
The question of whether or not Applegate would be able to finish the series due to her health was raised. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks its own healthy cells, causing a wide range of painful symptoms and side effects. But Applegate did not want the disease to be the reason the show ended. “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,’” Applegate explained.
Applegate revealed she put on 40 pounds and “can’t walk without a cane” due to her condition, but cited Cardellini as her main supporter while they finished up the series, calling her a “champion, warrior and voice.” Applegate said she had an “obligation” to finish out the series, which they did earlier this year.
Even though Applegate might look a little different on screen, the actress says that she doesn’t care what people think –she’s just happy it came together and they could properly honor these strong leads. “If people hate it, if people love it, if all they can concentrate on is, ‘Ooh, look at the cripple,’ that’s not up to me,” she said. “I’m sure that people are going to be, like, ‘I can’t get past it,’” she said. “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.”
Dead To Me season three premieres on Netflix on November 17th.