Wedding Bells Will Ring For ‘The Nanny’

A successful television show has an ongoing personal relationship with its audience. The people start tuning in because they like the actors or the premise. But over time, even popular shows can get stale, become predictable. Viewers start to slip away.

That’s when major shake-ups are ordered: NBC’s “Mad About You” gave birth; “Ellen” came out on ABC; at CBS “Murphy Brown” got cancer; and a preschool moved next door to “Cosby.”

Now add CBS’ “The Nanny” to the list: Fran Fine will finally bag her boss, Maxwell Sheffield.

“In the name of competition, it’s necessary to play our trump card,” says “Nanny” star Fran Drescher. “We’re lucky that we have one to play. We have to give the audience something new and thrilling to watch.”

The potential thrills will start March 14, when Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) pops the question to Fine, climaxing with a May wedding. In keeping with how these things develop in real life, expect a baby to follow next season.

As shake-ups go, the change in “The Nanny” is a natural evolution. Sexual tension has proven audience appeal, but five years is a long time to keep that ball in the air.

“I feel very bullish that the public is ready for this,” Drescher says. “It will, in some regards, allow us to get back to the roots of the show, where (Nanny Fine) is a fish out of water.

“She’ll still be a blue-collar girl in a blue-blood world.”

Drescher says she thinks that with this plot twist the show has a couple of more seasons left in it, though it’s currently struggling for ratings in its 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot.

And no matter what Fran’s marital status, Drescher says, the show will always be called “The Nanny.” “I don’t ever want to change the name of the show,” she says. “I can’t bear the thought that they would call each other anything but Sheffield or Ms. Fine.”

Even as a married couple?

“Well, that will be their pet names for each other,” Drescher says.