Christina Applegate says doing the third and final season of Dead to Me after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is the hardest thing she’s ever done. The 50-year-old actress, also known for Married With Children and Anchorman, was diagnosed with the central nervous system disease, which disrupts the flow of information within the brain as well as between the brain and body, while in final production. season of the Netflix show in the summer of 2021. The show took a five-month hiatus so it could begin treatment. She told The New York Times in a new interview that coming back and pushing to the end took a lot. “I had an obligation” to finish telling the story, which has earned her two Emmy nominations, Applegate said. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s stop. We don’t have to finish it. Let’s put some episodes together [with previously recorded footage]. I said no. We will, but we will do it on my terms.” Applegate had to bend to establish these terms as a seasoned actress since she was in kindergarten. Because the truth was that he could no longer do what he had always done. When they stopped production, “There was a sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine to make her better,’” he said. “There’s no better. But it was good for me. I had to process the loss of my life, the loss of that part of me. So I needed that time. Although it’s not like I came out the other side like, ‘Wow, I’m very well.” She didn’t find acceptance either. “No. I’m never going to accept that. I’m pissed off,” she said. When she returned to the set of the dark comedy, her mobility had diminished. He needed a wheelchair to adjust. She had trouble navigating the steps to her trailer. Her body radiated on set, especially in the heat. A sound engineer had to hold her legs up, out of camera range, to take pictures. She could no longer film the footage of her entering a room because she could not do so without assistance. She would have to open doors in scenes just to lean on them to hold her up. The story continues With the final season coming out on Netflix on November 17, Applegate said: “This is the first time anyone’s going to see me for who I am. I put on 40 pounds, I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I’m very aware all this is good”. Applegate, a mother of one, isn’t sure she’ll ever watch the final season, saying it’s too painful. But she wanted to finish it for her co-star Linda Cardellini, who has become a close friend and taken on the role of on-set advocate, as well as show creator Liz Feldman. “Whether people hate it, whether they love it, whether all they can focus on is, ‘Oh, look at the cripple,’ that’s not up to me,” Applegate said. “I’m sure people will be, like, ‘I can’t get over it.’ Well, don’t pass it up, then. But I hope people can look past that and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.” Applegate and Cardellini became fast friends playing Jen and Judy, whose on-screen relationship is complicated – an unlikely bond between a widow and the woman who accidentally killed her husband. In an additional unfortunate twist, this season sees Applegate’s character dealing with illnesses, which makes it especially difficult. The story was set up before her diagnosis and some scenes were just “crazy” to do. Applegate praised Cardellini, calling her “my champion, my warrior, my voice” and “mama bear” on set as she worked through her lowest moments. For her part, Cardellini said she “just wanted the best for the person I love and care about and have the honor of working with.” On social media, Applegate shared photos this week of her new line of spades, which she called her new normal. She told the NYT that looking back before her diagnosis, there were signs of the disease. She talked about being off balance while filming a dance scene and her tennis game was off. She recalled being self-critical, thinking she just needed to work harder, a mindset she carried throughout her life with a successful career spanning decades. “I wish I had paid attention,” he said. “But who was I to know?”
