Melissa McCarthy Was Almost Rejected From 'Mike & Molly' Because of Her Weight, Creator Chuck Lorre Reveals

Melissa McCarthy almost missed out on her starring role in Mike & Molly after CBS executives reportedly questioned her casting because of her weight.

According to series creator Chuck Lorre, network executives considered hiring a thinner actress to play Molly Flynn in a fat suit instead. However, Lorre refused to back down, fighting to cast McCarthy in the role that would become one of her most memorable performances.

In an interview, Lorre opened up about the behind-the-scenes battle to cast McCarthy in the hit 2010 sitcom.

In his new memoir, Sitcom, he recalled that executives wanted someone else. "Believe it or not, they wanted a hot young woman to play a woman struggling with her weight," he said. "It was even suggested by one exec — a female exec — that I consider casting a more attractive actress and put her in a fat suit."

The proposal would have dramatically altered the show's casting, despite McCarthy having already impressed its creators.

During the same interview, Lorre admitted that the network's "reluctance was quite something."

However, he was no longer interested in compromising the casting decision he was confident about.

"But by that point in my career, I'd finally grown a pair and said, ‘No, that's my Molly, and I can live with your unhappiness. That's Molly,'" he said.

For Lorre, the decision came down to McCarthy's talent rather than whether she fit conventional television beauty standards. His confidence in her abilities ultimately helped secure her role as Molly Flynn opposite Billy Gardell, who portrayed police officer Mike Biggs.

Mike & Molly was released in 2010, which followed the relationship between Mike, a Chicago police officer, and Molly, a schoolteacher. The couple faced notable challenges in their personal and professional lives throughout the series.

The sitcom concluded in 2016 after six successful seasons, having broken ground by placing two plus-size characters at the center of a network comedy rather than relegating them to supporting roles.

During a 2010 panel discussion, Lorre explained, "This show isn’t about weight, it’s about people who are just people, trying to make their lives better and find someone that they can have a committed relationship with. And it’s an ensemble show. (Weight) is not enough to make a series on."

Lorre added, "Television would normally have cast Chris O’Donnell and Courteney Cox as the people who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. In this case, (we) had the courage and the wisdom to cast people as just people. It may be odd for television, but I hope it’s reflective of some kind of reality."

McCarthy's portrayal of Molly earned widespread praise and won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011.

That same year, she appeared in Bridesmaids as Megan Price, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Looking back at the casting decision, Lorre said, “We were so lucky that we happened to get her at a moment in time just before she became a superstar. She's a once in a generation actor. She's a supremely gifted actress."