‘8 Simple Rules’ signs on Pleshette

Veteran television actress Suzanne Pleshette will join “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” to help fill the void left by the death of the show’s star, John Ritter, ABC said Friday.

In an hourlong episode scheduled to air Nov. 4, Pleshette, costar of the 1970s series “The Bob Newhart Show,” and James Garner, star of “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files,” will appear as the parents of Cate Hennessy (played by Katey Sagal) to help her and their grandchildren deal with the death of Ritter’s character.

Producers and network executives are still deciding where the series will go after that.

“We don’t have the ultimate fix,” said Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group.

While the stories, tone and casting for the first four episodes without Ritter have been decided, he said, “beyond that, we’re not sure yet what the ultimate construct is going to be.” He said ABC wants to get the show back on its feet and “see how it feels after the first episode or two.”