While the summer TV schedule makes it easier to block out memories of all the recent cancellations and series endings, some are harder to shake than others. CBS fans are still missing NCIS: Hawai’i, for instance, and a similar wave of “save this show” energy has surrounded the conclusion of the quirky detective dramedy So Help Me Todd. But for all that Season 2 addition Heather Morris is upset and disappointed it’s over, she’s grateful her biggest worry over landing the role never came to light.
When So Help Me Todd was canceled ahead of its Season 2 premiere, stars like Marcia Gay Harden shared disappointed reactions to the news, and Morris is no exception in that respect. Speaking with Collider, the actress addressed the creeping tension she had upon being hired, and how it tied back to the first time she and Skylar Astin were in the same TV show. In her words:
I honestly was super nervous. When I first got the call that I got the job, I was internally freaking out because I was like, ‘OK, listen, Skylar Astin is on this. He’s from Pitch Perfect, and you’re from Glee.’ I was spiraling thinking that they were gonna throw a song at us out of nowhere and make us sing together. For some reason, I got in my head that they were gonna make us sing either live on television or it was gonna be a storyline of us singing. Luckily, we didn’t do that, but I was just like, ‘Holy crap. Could you imagine if they put two of the two of us together and made us sing on TV?’
Now, I think many Pitch Perfect and Glee fans out there would have gone absolutely bananas to see Astin and Morris share a song-and-dance sequence on So Help Me Todd. Given their characters Todd and Judy were on a romantic journey in Season 2, it could have been a fun rom-com send-up, something more sincerely romantic, or even something wholly plot-related, and sparks would have flown.
Unfortunately for some, but very favorably for Heather Morris herself, showrunners Scott Prendergast and Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter never went down that melodic rabbit hole. Could it have happened in Season 3? Considering the bulk of Astin’s TV characters sang songs with or to romantic foils — from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to Zoey’s Extraordinary Playbook to Grey’s Anatomy, kinda-sorta — the seeds were planted for such a sequence to bloom.
Though she may be appreciative that her vocal talents weren’t put to the test on the CBS series, Heather Morris is as disappointed as anyone that So Help Me Todd’s plug was pulled, and is holding out the hope that a third season could happen with the right studio benefactor. In her words:
Unfortunately, we didn’t get picked up for Season 3, which I’m super bummed about because we have such a great fan base. I’m kind of hoping we get an unexpected call tomorrow that maybe the fans advocated quite enough that we got picked up.
At this point, we know So Help Me Todd wasn’t canceled due to ratings solely and specifically, and that the decision was made in part due to CBS’ already filled primetime schedule, and in part due to behind-the-scenes conversations related to an impending Paramount buyout, which Marcia Gay Harden addressed. So it’s not the wildest idea in the world to think that Season 3 could actually happen one day. Maybe if the Glee vet could just sing “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Fans can catch Heather Morris in her limited run of So Help Me Todd episodes with a Paramount+ subscription, and she’ll soon be seen in David Moreton’s feature drama Do You Want to Die in Indio?
