Tony Danza slams cancellation of ‘Who’s the Boss’ spinoff, sitcom with Sebastian Maniscalco
It would have been a boss move.
Tony Danza was a little competitive by removing his apron and reprising his iconic role on “Who’s the Boss” opposite TV’s daughter Alyssa Milano in a panel about the two living in the waking world.
“We got it. I thought it was possible,” Danza, 74, told The Post.
“I thought we had a real opportunity because of its time, to talk about what’s happening in the culture. Because you have Alyssa, who knows what’s going on, and I’m confused.”
The proposed series, which was announced by the on-screen father and daughter in 2020, would feature Danza’s character, Tony Micelli, as a retired homemaker, and Samantha Milano as a single mother, living in the original home of the hit sitcom, which ended its eight season in 1992.
“We had a really good script,” Danza said of the show, which was promoted on Amazon Freevee. No reasons were given when news broke that the project was canceled in 2024.
“I think it would be funny,” Danza said.
The East New York, Brooklyn native, who now lives on the Upper West Side, also filmed a never-before-aired pilot for NBC with Sebastian Maniscalco, in which he played the comedian’s father.
“Let me tell you, it was funny,” Danza said of the cast, called “Sebastian Says.”
“After that [Maniscalco] sold out four nights at Madison Square Garden. I thought there might be [potential]. But I think you get one shot at those things… too bad. TV, I think. “
Although she may not be acting in any sitcoms, Danza is busy with the nonprofit she co-founded, The Stars of Tomorrow Project, a free acting, voice and dance program for 14- to 25-year-olds from low-income communities in the five boroughs.
Danza, a former professional boxer who was discovered by a TV producer at Gleason’s Gym on West 30th Street and Eighth Avenue, said the Murray Hill-based nonprofit, which he founded in 2012 with actor Brian D. Hills, was inspired by his past.
“Most of this comes from my background, I was a fighter in New York and ended up in ‘Taxini.’ And I needed development,” said Danza, who starred with Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd, and Andy Kaufman on the Emmy-winning sitcom, which ended in 1983.
“It was one of the best acting schools you could go to because I was surrounded by people.”
The motto of his program is: “If you teach a child to do, you teach a child how to do.”
“There’s a lot you have to do as an actor and it’s related to life in general. You have to be a part of something bigger than yourself, look people in the eye, speak clearly, behave appropriately, keep time,” he said.
Danza recalled the story of one of the 1,105 students who went through his program – who told him he wasn’t interested in acting.
“I said, ‘Well, why did you ask?’ He says, ‘Because it’s free and I thought there might be girls … and I don’t like going to college because my father makes a living for our family and me without going.’
That young man, Daniel Bravo Hernandez, not only graduated from SUNY Purchase, but starred on Broadway in “Romeo + Juliet.”
Many of Danza’s students — who will be performing in a variety show at the Triad Theater on the Upper West Side on Feb. 26 – they had never seen their mentor on “Taxi” or “Who’s the Boss.”
“They’re still young about that,” he said.
“I have a recognition rate … if I go to a restaurant, if a 40-year-old guy seats people, I get a table. If it’s a 22-year-old, I don’t know.”
