The first season focused on Paul being left in charge of the children after Cate takes a full-time job as a nurse, with comedic emphasis on his often strict rules concerning his daughters and dating.

[1] While 8 Simple Rules was renewed for a second season and production had begun, Ritter's sudden death on September 11, 2003, left the series in an uncertain position.

[7] Crew members took him to a nearby hospital, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he was misdiagnosed as having a heart attack and, as a result, his condition had worsened when physicians later diagnosed him with an aortic dissection.

[8][9][10] Two days after Ritter’s emotional funeral, Disney CEO, Michael Eisner weighed in with an email to ABC Entertainment Chairman, Lloyd Braun, and President, Susan Lyne, outlining how they should resume the series; Eisner proposed that Cate, Ritter’s wife in the show, played by Katey Sagal, be pregnant (she’d had a pregnancy scare in an earlier episode).

Before the TV executives could respond, Eisner’s number-two (Disney’s President and COO), Bob Iger, weighed in with an email, cheerleading his boss’s proposal.

After highly emotional arguments between both factions, where Eisner accused Braun and Lyne of behaving as elitists, the pregnancy pitch eventually faded.

Garner and Spade later received starring roles in order to fill the void left by Ritter for the remainder of the series' run.

After Ritter's death, it had slipped to 50th, but was renewed for a third season, in which ABC moved the series to Friday at 8:00 p.m. as part of its TGIF comedy line-up.

Gamble was replaced by Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who had performed the same role in the final season of Spade's sitcom Just Shoot Me!.

Even before the third-season finale's airing, rumors began circulating that 8 Simple Rules was facing cancellation because of Ritter's death and poor ratings.

The finale received a 3.9/8 rating share, which gave ABC a third-place finish behind NBC's Dateline (5.8/11) and CBS's Joan of Arcadia (4.9/10), which starred Ritter's son, Jason.

On February 8, 2010, the series was added back to ABC Family's weekday lineup, airing from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, replacing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

In Israel, the show aired on satellite provider yes, using its shortened title 8 Simple Rules in Hebrew ("8 כללים פשוטים").

Going for the mass appeal, bow's reach goes a little too far, trying to appease every single potential audience member off the bat with standard-fare jokes about clothing, dating and busy spouses.