Why did Debra Winger Greene leave The Ranch?
Introduction
Actors leaving TV shows or movie franchises is nothing new.
They get a better deal, end up being tired of the same thing for years, or have arguments with the cast or producers.
While there are a million reasons for that to happen, as a viewer, it never hurts any less to see your favorite character depart their fictional world.
In this article, we’re going to talk about one of those missing in action cases where actors’ characters disappear without a trace from the storyline.
Ever heard of The Rach?
If you have, then you’re likely to fondly remember Maggie Bennett, the family matriarch and bar owner.
But, did you ever notice she disappeared during the last season?
Of course, you did!
Do you know why?
If not, keep reading to find out.
Who is Debra Winger Greene?
@Getty
Debra is a sitcom, TV, and stage-based actress.
Born in the state of Ohio in May 1955, Debra’s choice to go into acting mostly developed from a big accident she had when she was younger.
As the daughter of a Jewish family, and as is common for Jewish teens that live outside of Israel, she took a trip back to the motherland when she was 17.
While there she toured a Kibbutz (a typical Israeli agricultural collective where young people live and work for weeks or months at a time) in order to bond with her roots.
When she returned to the United States at 18 she was involved in a life-threatening car crash that left her partially paralyzed.
She had suffered an intense brain hemorrhage which also left her blind for around 10 months.
After she miraculously recovered, however, she vowed to do everything in her power to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress.
And so, shortly after her vision and movement returned, she moved to California to make it big in Hollywood.
She’s been married to her second husband, Arliss Howard (an actor and director) since 1996 and has two children.
One from her second marriage, and another to her first marriage to actor Timothy Hutton.
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What is The Ranch?
@Getty
The Ranch was a comedy-drama series starring Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, who had shared titular roles together in That’s 70s Show.
It ran during a span of 4 years between 2016 and 2020.
The series showed the daily life of brothers Colt and Rooster Bennett and their job helping run the family ranch in Colorado.
In the show, we also see Maggie, the siblings’ mother played by Debra Winger Greene, and a few other recurring characters played by big names like Elisha Cuthbert and Wilmer Valderrama (a true That’s 70s Show reunion!).
While viewers loved the show and it garnered some very passionate fans, critics considered it quite average.
The famous actors front lining the show and their incredible ability to command the screen didn’t seem to be any match to a lukewarm plot and not-so-entertaining dialogue.
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Why did Debra Winger leave The Ranch?
@Getty
The answer to this question has not been an easy thing to dig up, and in fact, we’re disappointed to have to say there’s no concrete proof as to why she left the show.
But, what we can confirm is that her abscess from the hit sitcom had been brewing much longer than most of us had assumed.
When the trailer for the last season came out, Debra’s character was suspiciously absent from it.
While her character hadn’t appeared in every single episode of the series, she was still very much considered a regular on the show.
Adding to the fuel was the fact that during an interview Debra did with Andy Cohen on his show Watch What Happens Live.
In it, they were taking live calls from fans phoning in, and someone asked Debra if The Ranch would be coming back for another season.
She said it would be returning for 20 additional episodes, but that she may or may not be in them.
Some speculate that it was a disagreement with Netflix officials given that the streaming service never made any public comments regarding her departure.
While we might never know exactly why Debra left the show, we do know her character will be greatly missed.
Where is the actress now?
Debra Winger attends a screening of “Three Christs” – @Getty
Since leaving the show in 2020, Debra Winger has had a few new cool projects lined up – both on film and television.
She will be appearing in a new comedy-drama show named Mr. Corman as Ruth Corman.
The show will follow Josh Corman (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt), a public school teacher in San Francisco, and will touch on his daily life at his job and at home. Debra will be playing with his mother.
When it comes to the big screen, she took on the part of Theresa Dyne in the crime-comedy drama Kajillionaire.
The movie was a pretty big success, with high critical acclaim and even a nomination for the 2021 GLAAD Media Awards.
When it comes to future work, she’s stated to appear in the movie With/In Volume 2 (update – it was released in 2021), although her exact character is not now just yet.
Short answer – Debra Winger, who played the role of Maggie Bennett on the Netflix series “The Ranch,” had hinted at her departure from the show as early as 2018. The specific reason for her departure was not explicitly stated in the sources provided. However, it’s known that after leaving the show in 2020, she lined up several new projects both in film and television.
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