Truth is stranger than fiction in new comedy staring Fran Drescher

What do you do when you’ve been married for 18 years, divorce and then a year later come out to your wife? Well, if you’re a television producer and your ex-wife just happens to be Fran Drescher, you make a pilot and sell it to TV Land.

So, that’s what Peter Marc Jacobson did. His new show, co-written and produced with Drescher (she’s also the star), Happily Divorced, premiered at 8:30 p.m. June 15.

Co-staring John Michael Higgins as Peter (Jacobson’s fictionalized self), Tichina Arnold (Judi, Fran’s BFF), and Rita Moreno (Dori, Fran’s mother), Divorce will discover what happens when a husband and wife love each other more than anyone else but this whole gay thing gets in the way.

Jacobson and Drescher, divorced in 1990, are still best friends (Jacobson uses the term “soul mates”) and business partners, were the duo responsible for the CBS comedy The Nanny. But this time, they’re flipping the scripts on their own relationship – more or less.

In the pilot episode, Peter comes out to Fran after a restless night of sleep, divorce is eminent.

“We had to take a lot of dramatic license with the pilot, we had to tell the story of a lifetime in 20 minutes,” Jacobson said.

And while the chemistry between Drescher and Higgins is immediate and captivating, you can’t help but feel rushed with their emotions.

But Jacobson promises more of the under-currents will be fleshed out as the season progresses.

“In future episodes, Fran will go back a little bit and realizes the intensity of what happened. But in a pilot, you have to give viewers a basic overview of what the series is going to be. And we wanted to give it as much drama to it as possible,” he said.

The plot thickens even more when Peter and Fran realize neither can afford to move out.

“The economy sucked when we started writing the show,” Jacobson said. “And I hope for everybody the economy will get better.”

But for the moment, the show is taking advantage of economic woes. A lot of real life couples that have recently divorced are still living together because of the economy and the home market, Jacobson said.

As far as Peter and Fran’s relationship goes, it will be tested, Jacobson previews. But we have a feeling love will conquer all, but what that looks like will be entirely up to Drescher and Jacobson.

“One is new at being single, one is new at being gay, so they’re both on these new journeys of life,” he said. “We’re taking Peter’s growth slowly so it lasts for a while. (But for right now) all the two of them know how to be is husband and wife.”