Melissa McCarthy reacts to "Mike & Molly" ending: "I was shocked and heartbroken"
Melissa McCarthy is reluctantly saying goodbye to her TV alter ego, Molly Flynn.
The 45-year-old actress took to Twitter on Monday to confirm the news that her sitcom, "Mike & Molly," is ending.
"I was shocked and heartbroken when @CBS canceled #MikeAndMolly. I would have shot this show for 50 more years. I'll miss my 2nd family," she wrote.
Katy Mixon and Reno Wilson -- who play Molly's sister, Victoria Flynn, and Mike's partner, Officer Carl McMillan, respectively -- re-tweeted McCarthy just moments after she posted her statement.
Wilson sent out his own tweet earlier Monday that seemed directed at the news and the Chicago-set comedy's fans.
"Mike & Molly" executive producer Chuck Lorre echoed McCarthy's sentiments when he spoke to The Insider on Monday.
"I'm sad. It's a great group of people," he said. "We had a six-year run, which is a very honorable experience in television, but I wasn't ready for it to end. So, it's hard. It's a little bittersweet."
Lorre had nothing but praise for the show and its leading lady.
"It's a great, great ensemble led by, perhaps, the greatest comic actress of our time in Melissa McCarthy," he said. "It's just heartbreaking. I've not quite wrapped my head around the idea that it's going to be over."
"Six years together with a group of people, it does become a family experience," he added. "And babies are born, marriages happen. Marriages end, you know? German cars are purchased. A lot happens."
McCarthy's on-screen husband, Billy Gardell (Mike Biggs), was the first to acknowledge the show's end on social media on Dec. 3.
"Mike and Molly" returns Jan 6, it will be our last episodes. There are 13 of them. Thank you everyone who supported us," he tweeted, along with prayer hand and heart emojis.
Actress Rondi Reed, who plays Mike's mother, followed with a very detailed Facebook post on Dec. 9.
"Before you hear it elsewhere (and some already have) this is the Final and 6th Season of MIKE & MOLLY on CBS," she wrote. "It is also a shortened season (13 episodes) after the announced full renewal of 22 episodes back in March by the network... The network has it's reasons, and I will not get into a debate, discussion, or campaign to get them to change their minds."
"I remain extremely grateful to have been a part of this and to have worked with a fabulous bunch of folks over the years," she continued. "I have learned a lot about many things, including the Business we call Show. Also grateful for all the fans and for the personal support I have received over the (almost) 6 seasons."
"Mike & Molly" will kick off its final season on Jan. 6. The series began airing shortly before "Bridesmaids" hit theaters in 2011 and made McCarthy a household name.
Lorre also told The Insider that the cast and crew will give the program proper closure at the end of its last 13 episodes.