September 2007 News Archive (Page 2)

One day before the premiere of Private Practice, Taye Diggs sat down with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show to discuss the new series and what it's like being a new kid on the medical block. A critical excerpt ...

Ellen DeGeneres: "All right so there's McSteamy, McDreamy, is there going to be a McSomething for you? Are you going to have a nickname?"

Taye Diggs: "I think that they're trying to steer away from all those nicknames to try and give us our own style on Private Practice. I always thought if they did go in that direction I could be McChocolatey."

Ellen DeGeneres: "Well, from now, you will always be McChocolatey to me. That's what I shall call you."

There you go. Taye Diggs: McChocolatey. End of story.

Private Practice star Taye Diggs showed up at a charity event on Monday night with a striking brunette on his arm - his wife! Although the 36-year-old Diggs has been seen hitting the club scene alone of late, he and his spouse, the beautiful Broadway star Idina Menzel, were all smiles on this night at least. See below ...

Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel met while starring in the Broadway hit "Rent" and have been married for over four years. Talk about a beautiful couple!

It's been two years since she starred on the successful Judging Amy. Now Amy Brenneman is back on prime time, playing the Oceanside Wellness Center's resident psychiatrist, Dr. Violet Turner, on Private Practice.

In this terrific interview, TV Guide caught up with Amy Brenneman, a five-time Emmy Award nominee, to talk about raising kids, returning to TV after time off, and who inspired her to play an obsessive ex-girlfriend.

TV Guide: Why did you decide to return to TV after mostly making movies for the past two years?
Amy Brenneman: Shonda Rhimes. I'm ADD enough and I have these little kids so it's rare that I get sucked into a show. I did it with Grey's Anatomy, especially with Izzie and Denny. I got completely swept up in it and all the chances the [writers and actors] were taking. At that point, I really didn't have any interest in returning to television. But I remember thinking, "That looks like a blast!"

TV Guide: Did you know Shonda before she approached you for this show?
Amy Brenneman: I had not met Shonda, but we share people in common. My husband [director Brad Silberling] did a movie with Ellen Pompeo called Moonlight Mile. Shonda really loved that movie. That's where she first saw Ellen and got excited to work with her. Her producing partner Betsy Beers and Brad developed something, too, so the world gets smaller and smaller. So no, I had not met her. But when I sat down with her and Betsy, I really did feel like they were old friends.

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Good news for the future prospects of Private Practice, in the early going anyway. People at least seem willing to give the Grey's Anatomy spin-off a chance, a recent AOL poll shows. Over 93,000 respondents chimed in to AOL regarding the programs they plan to watch Wednesday.

As you can see, Private Practice has the lead in this sampling of potential viewers, leading both CBS' established and successful crime show Criminal Minds, and NBC's much-anticipated remake of the sci-fi series Bionic Woman.

Another buzzed-about new show, The CW's Gossip Girl, is also in this time slot and finished a distant fifth. If this poll is any indication, Kate Walsh and her co-stars have a good chance to stick this fall!

It's predicted to win its time slot, and many critics call it a safe bet to last at least a full season. But Joanne Ostrow of the Denver Post is not as sure, calling Private Practice a medical emergency that might not be able to be stabilized.

Last spring's two-hour "back-door pilot" introducing the spinoff series for Dr. Addison Montgomery's (Kate Walsh) character was harshly panned by many.

As a result, creator Shonda Rhimes wanted a do-over.

What you saw wasn't really the pilot for the new show, Private Practice, she told critics, it was an introduction to these new characters as "the first true episode" of Private Practice is the one airing Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) and Pete Wilder (Tim Daly).

Rhimes earned our trust, so we were hopeful for "In Which We Meet Addison..." - yet now we're standing by with the paddles, watching it flatline. Clear!

As self-consciously precious as the episode title, the tone of the spinoff takes a sharp turn away from Seattle and Grey's Anatomy.

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Fans already had a little taste of Private Practice in a two-part episode of Grey's Anatomy earlier this year, and got to meet Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman) and Violet's love interest, Alan (D.W. Moffett).

But D.W. Moffett has his own show on the CW, Life is Wild, so Amy Brenneman doesn't know what's up for her character's romance. Still, here's what this acclaimed actress had to say about the upcoming series.

"Remember Carlton the doorman?" she joked.

"I don't know. I know that [Violet] is hung up on Alan in a pretty serious way for the foreseeable future so I really don't know if it's going to be re-cast. I have a great imagination so if you don't want to spend the money, that's okay. No, I think that is her mother lode right there."

Amy Brenneman used to headline her own successful TV series (Judging Amy), so she didn't really need to go back down that road, she says.

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If ever TV needed a few new hits, it's this fall.

Viewership fell to record lows this summer as reality TV shows featuring pirates, filmmakers and sports stars all fouled out.

The Emmys returned last week to their second lowest ratings ever. Viewers bored with TV seem to have migrated over to new diversions such as YouTube.

What new shows will hit the mark this fall, and what series are destined for the scrap heap?

After the success of "Heroes" last year, a group of everyday individuals are here to save the day - and the networks, as well.

Can they pull it off? We'll see.

Here are the Canadian Press' picks for the fall:

SUREST BET: "Private Practice." Kate Walsh brings Dr. Addison Montgomery to L.A. Tim Daly and Taye Diggs are among the new hot docs. How can "Private Practice - a "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff - ever fail? Well, there was "AfterMASH," and "Joey" ... although there also was "CSI: Miami" and 17 "Law & Orders."

MOST ORIGINAL: "Pushing Daisies." Like a lot of shows this fall, the premise is simple: a pie maker named Ned discovers he can bring the dead back to life with a single touch. The catch: if he touches them again, they stay dead forever. In the pilot, which is irresistible, he brings back a women he's adored all his life - only to realize that, now that he's found her, he can never touch her again.

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With Private Practice set to premiere this Wednesday, TV Guide is getting down to business with interviews with the hot new series' cast members.

We've already heard from KaDee Strickland and Taye Diggs. Now let's take a look at what young hunk Chris Lowell - who plays receptionist / surfer boy Dell - has to say about jumping on the Grey's Anatomy bandwagon.

TV Guide: What attracted you to Private Practice?
Chris Lowell: Well, a bunch of my friends are in medical school and I often feel shallow in comparison to them. So I figured if I at least got on a doctor show I would feel a little better about myself.

TV Guide: Have you asked them for advice about practicing medicine?
Chris Lowell: Yeah. One of my friends was a midwife in Madagascar. She had quite a lot of input. I've definitely spoken with a lot of friends about it. I've had several conversations with practicing midwives. I found out there's all different kinds. I think the midwifery that Dell is studying is the degree that you get after you get your nursing degree. If you stay for another year of school, you can get a midwifery license so you can practice in a hospital.

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She had a short stint as a wedding planner on the Fox sitcom Wedding Bells. Now KaDee Strickland is trading stilettos for scrubs as Dr. Charlotte King, the chief of staff at St. Ambrose Hospital on Private Practice.

KaDee Strickland, 31, may clash with her Private Practice co-stars on screen, but unlike her uptight alter ego, she's laid-back as her warm Southern drawl.

The Patterson, Ga., native recently talked to TV Guide about Grey's Anatomy marathons and what she loves most about her latest role.

TV Guide: What attracted you to Private Practice?
KaDee Strickland: Well, the obvious talent of Shonda Rhimes and what she's been able to do with television in terms of developing rich and interesting characters. Frankly, when you sit down with her and she says she's going to write something for you, there's nothing more flattering in the world. To do it and have it be so much fun is just remarkable. It's a dream job!

TV Guide: Did Shonda write Charlotte King with you in mind?
KaDee Strickland: To a degree, one never knows. This stuff is so mysterious the way it all comes to pass when you get a job. I took a meeting with Shonda and I didn't know what show it was for or what the character was. I just knew it was a female doctor. We sat down and just really hit it off. A few weeks later, I got a phone call saying Shonda Rhimes would like to offer you the role of Charlotte King. I was absolutely thrilled. It was the first time I've ever taken a job in my life without seeing the script first. But I knew it would be great. Then she told me she liked me having a Southern accent and I thought, "God, we're going to have so much fun!"

TV Guide: So nobody actually auditioned for this show?
KaDee Strickland: From what I understand, that's kind of the way it went down for everybody. This stuff is very chemical. It either makes sense or it doesn't. I think that's a gift she has with Grey's Anatomy, as a case in point. That ensemble is extraordinarily talented. I've had the good fortune of working with her and being surprised when scripts come in. You never know what to expect. You just know she's excited about it and, when we sit down and do the table readings, we're all excited about it. It's a wonderful process.

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She's compiled an impressive, lengthy resume, including many years as the lead character on Judging Amy, but former NYPD Blue star Amy Brenneman fears her famous nude scene on the hit TV cop series will come back to haunt her.

The actress became one of the first women to bare it all on prime time TV in the United States back in 1993, and although her saucy scene was brief, she knows there are hundreds of outtakes still in existence.

Amy Brenneman says of the shot: "They shot lots of unused stuff for that nude scene ... which I'm convinced is now on Swedish TV somewhere."

With all the attention given to nude photo scandals these days, it's hard to say if such a thing could happen to the Private Practice star. However, it was filmed for prime time television, making it only so scandalous.