When a television actor becomes pregnant, the writers have two options: either write it into the show by making the character pregnant as well or find clever ways to hide it. Often, hiding an actor’s pregnancy can be awkward, which is why writers may opt to instead have art imitate life, which keeps the production from having to come up with the many creative ways shows have hidden an actor’s pregnant belly. In television, actors are often committing multiple years of their life to a project, so naturally, many actors have become pregnant during the run of a show, causing said pregnancies to be written in.
Pregnancy storylines and labor/birthing scenes have been prevalent in television regardless of the show’s genre, and an actor’s real-life pregnancy can occasionally be the reason for this. Many writers have had to completely adjust a character’s arc for a season or more when an actor becomes pregnant, sometimes for worse, sometimes for better. Here are 10 times an actor’s real pregnancy was written into a television show:
10 Kaley Cuoco (Based On A True Story)
Kaley Cuoco leads the cast of Based on a True Story, Peacock’s newest hit, as Ava, a true-crime enthusiast who feels as though she and her husband’s lives are falling apart. When she finds out that their family friend is a serial killer, they blackmail him into co-creating a podcast about it. In the original script, Ava and her husband Matt had no children, but it was added in when Kuoco became pregnant. This decision improved Based on a True Story as Ava’s pregnancy makes the stakes much higher, especially with their financial situation. Kuoco had her first child with actor Tom Pelphrey in March 2023.
9 Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother)
Alyson Hannigan had two children during How I Met Your Mother’s 9 seasons, but only one was written into the show. In How I Met Your Mother season 5, both Hannigan (Lily) and Cobie Smulders (Robin) were pregnant, but these pregnancies were hidden rather than making their characters pregnant as well. To do this, Lily oddly disappeared briefly at the end of HIMYM season 4, uncharacteristically offended by a dirty joke Barney told, when in reality, Hannigan was on maternity leave.
Fortunately, the How I Met Your Mother writers had a better idea when Hannigan became pregnant during the filming of season 7 by simply making Lily pregnant as well. At the end of the season, Marshall and Lily finally welcomed their first child, Marvin Eriksen. In May 2012, Hannigan and her husband, Alexis Denisof, who has appeared on both How I Met Your Father and its spinoff How I Met Your Father, welcomed their second child.
8 Lisa Kudrow (Friends)
While television shows usually have to get creative when it comes to hiding an actor’s pregnancy, the writers of Friends had to get creative in figuring out how to write Lisa Kudrow’s pregnancy into the series. Phoebe Buffay is best known for her humor and bohemian lifestyle, so making her become a mother alongside Kudrow in Friends season 4 when she hadn’t settled down would’ve been out of character. Instead, Phoebe served as a surrogate for her half-brother and his wife, allowing Kudrow to not have to hide her pregnancy with her son Julian.
7 Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy)
When Lucille Ball became pregnant during I Love Lucy season 2, a decision was made that tested and changed television. In 1952, The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters would not allow anything that could be considered sexually suggestive on TV, including any discussion of pregnancy. When the idea of hiding the pregnancy was brought up, Ball’s real-life husband and co-star, Desi Arnaz, demanded it was written in instead.
The Code didn’t even allow for the word “pregnancy” to be in a script, so they substituted it with “expecting” and “with child,” naming the episode in which Lucy reveals her pregnancy to Desi, “Lucy is Enceinte,” the French word for pregnant. The episode, “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” was filmed months before Ball actually gave birth, but her C-section and the broadcast were scheduled for the same day, drawing in an unprecedented number of viewers. It was a groundbreaking decision that changed the way television approached and portrayed an actor and character’s pregnancy.
6 Jenna Fischer (The Office)
The Office’s most-beloved couple, Jim and Pam, had their first child in season 6, and while the writers planned for Pam to have a second child eventually, Jenna Fischer’s own pregnancy during the filming of season 8 made it an easy choice for everyone involved. Pam’s pregnancy coincided with Angela’s, creating a hilarious baby rivalry in The Office, but Angela Kinsey wasn’t pregnant at the time. She had been pregnant during The Office season 4, but that pregnancy was hidden. The birth of Jim and Pam's son happened off-screen, and Fischer gave birth to her first child in September 2011.
5 Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill)
One Tree Hill’s Haley James Scott had a surprising teen pregnancy storyline in season 4, but when she became pregnant with her and Nathan’s second child in season 8, Bethany Joy Lenz was pregnant with her first. On her Drama Queens podcast with co-stars Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush, Lenz spoke about wanting to do Jamie’s birth scene in One Tree Hill season 4 justice, having not given birth herself. By the time of Lydia’s birth in One Tree Hill season 8, Lenz had welcomed her own daughter.
4 America Ferrera (Superstore)
America Ferrera starred in over 100 episodes as Amy Sosa in the NBC workplace sitcom Superstore and had two children during its run. When Ferrera discovered she was expecting her first child during the filming of Superstore season 3, the writers decided to have Amy experience a surprise pregnancy. This was somewhat controversial, as it caused hardships for Amy’s character. After Amy finally left her marriage, Ferrera's pregnancy meant Amy was pregnant with her ex-husband's child while trying to manage her new relationship with Jonah.
Ferrera’s second pregnancy with her daughter, who was born in March 2020, caused her to exit Superstore in the season 5 finale. Ferrera’s exit was just as surprising as Amy’s pregnancy, but fortunately, everything worked out just as it had in the series as Amy was able to return before it ended in season 6. In the Superstore finale, Amy and Jonah got back together, and a flashforward revealed that they were married and had a son together.
3 Caterina Scorsone (Private Practice & Grey’s Anatomy)
Caterina Scorsone is a rare example of an actor who had not one but two pregnancies written into television shows. Scorsone entered the Grey’s Anatomy universe through its spinoff Private Practice, and during its fifth season, Amelia goes through a heartbreaking pregnancy following the death of the baby’s father. To make matters worse, Amelia’s baby was born without a brain and died shortly after birth. In real life, Scorsone was pregnant with her first of three daughters.
Scorsone was pregnant again during Grey’s Anatomy season 13, three seasons after she’d made the leap to the parent series once Private Practice was canceled. However, this pregnancy wasn’t written into the show. It wouldn't be until Grey’s Anatomy season 16 that Amelia and Scorsone were pregnant at the same time again through a surprise pregnancy for Amelia and Link. After the devastating loss of her first son, Amelia is now the proud mother to Scout Lincoln.
2 Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon A Time)
Similarly to Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, Ginnifer Goodwin became pregnant with her co-star and real-life husband’s baby during Once Upon a Time season 3. Goodwin and Josh Dallas fell in love on the set of the ABC fantasy drama series and welcomed their first of two sons in May 2014. In a true case of art imitating life, Goodwin’s first pregnancy was written into Once Upon a Time as she and her husband’s characters, Snow White and Prince Charming had their second child, Neal. However, her second pregnancy was hidden during the show’s later seasons.
1 Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Melissa Fumero had two children during Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s 8 seasons, with her second pregnancy being written into season 7. When Fumero was pregnant with her first child, Amy’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 3 prison storyline was cleverly used to help hide it. Rather than Fumero having to hide her bump, Amy went undercover as a pregnant inmate. By the time of Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 7, Jake and Amy were happily married and Fumero was pregnant once again, offering the perfect reason for the characters to have their first child together.
Source: Drama Queens podcast