Demi Lovato Drops Out Of Starring Role In ‘Hungry’ Sitcom For NBC

Demi Lovato was all smiles last summer working alongside Valerie Bertinelli on the pilot for their NBC sitcom, Hungry… But you won’t see their smiles on camera should the sitcom make it to air, as Lovato has pulled out of the potential sitcom, citing scheduling issues. Their role will be recast.

The singer and pop star had been set to star in Hungry ever since NBC initially ordered the pilot in April 2021, which follows friends in a food-issues group helping each other in their common goals of recovery, success and love. Bertinelli was supposed to play Lovato’s mother on the show, a restaurant owner. In real-life, both Lovato and Bertinelli have gone public about their struggles with food, weight and eating disorders.

While announcing cast additions of Gabriel Iglesias and Ryan McPartlin on Feb. 24, the show also brought in James Burrows to direct the pilot as a multi-cam. Filming last summer had focused on a single-cam version of Hungry.

Lovato reportedly will remain on board behind the scenes as an executive producer along with their manager, Scooter Braun, Suzanne Martin, Scott Manson, James Shin, and the team of Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, whose Hazy Mills studio is producing.