Bette Midler this week gets a new TV husband.
Robert Hayes, perhaps best known for his work on the series of "Airplane" spoof films, takes over as Roy, Bette's husband on the CBS comedy "Bette," which airs Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST.
Hayes replaces Kevin Dunn, who left the series after 10 episodes when he was unable to reach an agreement over the direction of his character.
"Bette" is built around Midler, who plays a Hollywood actress attempting to balance work and family.
The program will raise the issue of her new on-air husband during its opening moments, and in the closing seconds of the telecast.
At the beginning, Midler, along with fellow cast members Joanna Gleason, James Dreyfus and Marina Malota, are sitting down watching television. The talk turns to a character change on the show they're watching.
"This is why I don't watch TV," Midler says to the others. "You get used to an actor playing a role and then they switch. I mean, how dumb do they think we are?"
Just then, Hayes walks through the door and grabs a carton of apparently spoiled milk from the refrigerator. Hayes asks how old the milk is.
"I think that milk's been in there since the last Roy," Gleason says.
While the show's title is "A Brand New Roy," the only references to the Hayes-Dunn switcheroo are made in the opening and closing moments, according to a show spokeswoman. The body of the show not released for screening unfolds without mention of the new character.
The addition of Hayes is the latest change to the struggling series. Just two episodes into the season, Malota replaced Lindsay Lohan as Midler's daughter, a change that is also made fun of during the early Hayes bit on Wednesday.
"Bette," launched with great fanfare and high hopes at CBS last fall, has yet to become a serious ratings presence.
Through last week, it ranked No. 72 overall and was averaging 9.1 million viewers in a time period dominated by ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
CBS and its broadcasting brethren will unveil fall 2001 lineups in May. So far, there's no indication whether "Bette" will be back for another round.v
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