Fran Drescher Says Getting Into Stand-Up Comedy Is Just Another Way to ‘Spread My Wings’ (Exclusive)

You’re never too old to try something new, as Fran Drescher is proving by taking a crack at stand-up comedy. “This is just another opportunity for me to spread my wings and do something that’s different and challenging so life doesn’t become boring to me,” the Saturday Night Fever star revealed to Closer Weekly in an exclusive new interview, on newsstands now.

“It’s the most dangerous thing for me because it’s without a net,” the 61-year-old dished at the West Coast debut of Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, 1963–1983 in Los Angeles on March 22. “There’s no take two.”

She’s drawing material from her own life for her latest act, which can be seen on the current Showtime special Funny Women of a Certain Age. Fran said that the special — which she joked she was “really excited about it until I heard the title” — tells her story of “being single.” “It’s being older, it’s my career, it’s my parents, it’s my health — I talk about the whole thing,” said The Nanny star, an ovarian cancer survivor. Fran admitted she gets nervous before doing a stand-up set but added, “It makes life more interesting if you push the envelope.”

Besides working on her Showtime project, Fran has had her hands full after getting cast as one of the leads in the comedy pilot Uninsured, joining Adam Pally, Abby Elliot, Jessy Hodges and Amer Chadha-Patel. The show’s storyline focuses around young parents (played by Adam and Abby) who are forced to take care of the male lead’s’ parents after they’ve found themselves in a large amount of debt.

Fran will be playing the role of Linda, the mother and grandmother who spends as much time doting on her kids and grandkids as she does letting people know she’s from Brooklyn. If you’re interested in watching Fran star in Uninsured, stay tuned for an update on the show’s future premiere date!

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