Princesses

Princesses was a Syndication network sitcom series created by Barry Kemp, Mark Ganzel & Robin Schiff

The show aired from September 27 to October 25, 1991, lasting for one season & 5 episodes.

It was produced by Bungalow 78 Productions & Universal Television.

Plot
The series chronicled the lives of three female roommates in New York City, each with a different background and upbringing.

Tracy Dillon, an English teacher who just dumped her fiance after learning that he had been married twice and was still involved with one of his ex-wives (who also was his business partner); Princess Georgina "Georgy" De La Rue, a recently widowed English princess (whose previous occupation was that of a showgirl) who arrived to the States to challenge her late husband's contested will; and Melissa Kirshner, Tracy's longtime best friend, an outspoken Jewish American who sold cosmetics at a department store.

Cast

 * Julie Hagerty as Tracy Dillon
 * Twiggy as Princess Georgina "Georgy" De La Rue
 * Fran Drescher as Melissa Kirshner
 * Leila Kenzle as Debra Kirshner
 * Robert Firth as Dr. Murray Lieberman (1991)

Production
In an effort to downplay the behind-the-scenes turmoil on "Princesses", Syndication execs initially touted the series as "promising" to advertisers. However, prior to the show's premiere, entertainment media outlets (such as "Entertainment Tonight") began publicizing the show's behind-the-scenes woes.

The show was visibly destined for failure by the time it went into production.

The first tell-tale sign came when Julie Hagerty walked off the set after filming the first four episodes, which were followed by profoundly negative reviews, off-camera problems, and rumors that Syndication affiliates might never air the episodes.

Upon its premiere, "Princesses" placed last in the Nielsen ratings. At one point, Syndication programming head Jeff Sagansky expressed interest in re-tooling the show and replacing all of the show's cast members.

Fran Drescher soon became aware of this and immediately arranged a meeting with Sagansky. During the meeting, she tried to compromise with Sagansky by suggesting he only re-cast Hagerty's role, but Syndication ultimately decided against Drescher's wishes & axed the entire show (only five episodes out of the eight produced were aired).

"Princesses" ended up ranking 118th out of 132 shows that season, averaging only a 6.3 household rating.

Shortly after the show's cancellation, an accidental meeting gave Drescher a chance to pitch a new television series to Sagansky, and she came up with her hit show, "The Nanny".

In fact, Drescher developed the idea while visiting with "Princesses" co-star Twiggy and her family in England, and modeled the character of Maxwell Sheffield on Twiggy's husband Leigh Lawson.