Jenna Fischer Dropped From “Man With A Plan” Because Of Matt LeBlanc’s “Ego”?

Jenna Fischer was not dropped from the new show “Man With A Plan” because of Matt LeBlanc’s “ego,” despite a report from one of the tabloids. Extreme Entertainment can bust the story.

LeBlanc and Fischer were cast as husband and wife in the upcoming CBS series. But after the pilot was reviewed, the network decided to re-cast Fischer’s role. And now it’s alleged in this week’s Star that it “may have been the ‘Friends’ actor’s fragile ego” that caused Fischer to get the boot.

“I could see Matt being intimidated by Jenna and feeling overshadowed by her, since she had a successful show more recently than he has,” a so-called “source” is quoted as saying. “People were afraid to ask Jenna about her time on ‘The Office’ because they were worried about upsetting Matt.”

The alleged tipster goes on to claim that after her firing, “Jenna couldn’t understand why things fell apart.” But the magazine also describes her as being “aghast at Matt’s antics,” and now “thinks she ultimately dodged a bullet.” Adds the supposed snitch, “Jenna may be out of a job, but she’s probably thankful she doesn’t have to be put up with him!”

Extreme Entertainment would now like to highlight a few key phrases from this report: “May have beenthe ‘Friends’ actor’s fragile ego.” “I could see Matt being intimidated.” “She’s probably thankful.” These aren’t facts. They’re speculative statements.

And they prove that while Star rarely knows what’s going on with celebrities, the tabloid also seems to have little knowledge of the TV industry and pilot season. Casting changes are actually fairly common after a pilot is competed, and have occurred with a laundry list of shows over the years, including others during this development cycle. For instance, nearly the entire cast aside from two actors is being changed on another CBS show, “MacGyver.”

And such re-castings aren’t up to the series’ stars, but network executives and producers. LeBlanc may be one of the new show’s executive producers, but these things are group decisions and many considerations, such as focus group feedback, are involved. This one simply came down to a lack of chemistry between the two leads. LeBlanc’s “ego” had nothing to do with it.