E! Online
January 10, 2003
Watch With Wanda: Worthy Midseason Swaps, a Chance for Sex--and Weiss, Weiss, Baby
SPOILERS!
I'll admit it: I'm a Felicity nut. On Wednesday nights, I still feel a pang of longing for "hey"s of yesterseason.
Which is why, when I received the screener tapes for new midseason shows, I really did try to push aside my bias, given that two stars of the new contenders were the artists formerly known as Noel and Sean.
That said, I must tell you, after pouring over tape after tape: Felicity alums Scott Foley and Greg Grunberg happen to star in the two of the best new comedies to roll out so far this season--in my humble opinion.
Not all of the midseason screeners are available yet. But the minute they are, I'll be sure to give you the full rundown on what to see--and what to skip.
But, in the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to three shows worth getting excited about. (The third actually has no Felicity connection.) Two of the following series don't yet have time slots, so I am doing my part by sending this message to network executives: Schedule these shows. Pronto.
A.U.S.A. (NBC; premieres Tues., Feb. 4, 9:30 p.m.): Some people were erroneously calling this one Scrubs with lawyers. And by "people," I mean me. When I saw Scott Foley at the Catch Me If You Can premiere--he showed up to support Jennifer Garner (his lovely wife) as did Alias costars Bradley Cooper and Merrin Dungey--he set me straight. "That's not really it," he explained. "Ours is more of a sitcom rather than a single-camera show. It's very different."
Regardless, the show, which costars Amanda Detmer and Eddie McClintock, is about a neophyte lawyer (Foley), and it is funny--most likely because the executive producer is Richard Appel, whom you know from The Simpsons. It's so funny, in fact, that NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker stayed through the entire taping of the pilot. The network clearly has a lot of faith in this show--word is it will air twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays (buh-bye, Good Morning), when it debuts.
To that end, Foley talked about feeling the Must-See heat. "Oh gosh, I feel a ton of pressure, please keep your fingers crossed. But we have a great show, people are going to love it. I hope."
It's Not About Me (NBC; no start date scheduled): Like his Feli friend, Greg Grunberg also stars in an NBC show about lawyers. But this one has a different twist. "It's more of a buddy comedy about best friends," Grunberg explains. "They practice law together, and then one of them (Jason Bateman) decides to become a teacher. I'm his best friend, and I try to convince him to come back, so he can help me get laid."
The show has more than sex appeal going for it--it's well-written and has that single-cam look many of us TV fans have grown to love. Unfortunately, though, Grunberg says that could be working against them.
"Our show is a little bit up in the air," he explains. "We taped seven episodes but don't have a start date yet. I think networks are a little more wary of single-camera now. But we've heard rumblings of possibly going on in the Hidden Hills time slot, which would be great.
"It's funny, because I talked to Foley, and he's getting a huge push. I'm like, 'You bastard!' [Laughs.] No, really, I think his show is going to be hilarious...Dammit."
So, keep your fingers crossed on I.N.A.M.. In the meantime, Alias fans know exactly where Greg will be.
Weiss Guy: "Guess who's back. Back again. Weiss is back. Tell a friend. Guess who's back. Guess who's back. Guess who's back. Guess who's back. Guess who's back. Guess who's back..."
Step aside, Slim. There's a new shady character rhymin' his way through Hollywood--or at least through my voice mail. When Greg Grunberg called me last week for an interview, he beat-boxed his way through a whole Shady-style version announcing his return to Alias. Love him. Which is why I'm thrilled at this news: Greg will return to Alias this Sunday, at 9 p.m., on ABC. However, there is a downside: It's not for good.
"Weiss is back," explains Greg (this time sans beat box), "but I have to wait and see how many NBC will let me do, because of my show (It's Not About Me). Jeff Zucker doesn't want me opposite myself on another network. It's like Leo opening two movies at the same time--you just don't know what to watch! [Laughs.] So for now, I'm doing three [episodes of Alias]--and thank god one of them is the Super Bowl episode."
For those of you who haven't heard me going ape-dung about this post-Super Bowl ep, it is the one that stars Ethan Hawke and has the big surprise I've been so cruelly teasing you about. Greg was on the set shooting that ep the day we spoke, so, naturally, I tried to milk him.
"I don't want to ruin anything!" Greg replied. "But I have to say, Ethan Hawke is unbelievable on the show. [Executive Producer] JJ [Abrams] is freaking out. Completely. I mean, Ethan's such a great actor, but in this part, he's just going to blow you away."
And what can we expect from Weiss? Will he be taking it easy? "No, no, no. I'm back in full force. And I think they're giving me a little more of a voice. It's like, when you go through a near-death experience, you look at life a differently. So I'm going to have a new lease on life."
And from what we've heard, that carpe diem 'tude just might rub off on Vaughn when it comes to a certain lucky lady. Mmmm, mama.
Riddle of the Week: Since it's the question of the hour, I'll skip the usual spoiler guessing game and give you a brainteaser on the surprise in Alias's Super-Bowl ep: We find out someone is a wolf in sheep's skin.
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