White Collar Season Finale – Tonight!

The entire season has been leading up to this final episode of White Collar on USA. Are you ready for it?

In the premiere of “Out of the Box,” Neal teams up with Alex in order to retrieve the ever-elusive music box at an Italian Consulate. Meanwhile, Peter enlists the help of Diana to help take down Fowler. Don’t miss the explosive Season One Finale tonight at 10/9C! Take a look:

Also, check out the Live Chat with Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay as they answer your questions!

An Evening with the Cast and Crew of NCIS

The cast and crew of NCIS were honored at the 27th Annual Paley Festival held at the Saban Theatre on Monday March 1. The evening started with the Paley Center’s welcome video, followed by a short clip of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. from 1966, which starred David McCallum, who is, of course, the senior member of NCIS.

Immediately following that clip and just like the previous nights, Craig Hitchcock, Vice President and Executive Director of the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, greeted the audience and excitedly stated, “I just meet David McCallum back stage. He talked to me.”

Co-Executive Producer and Writer Gary Glasberg was then brought on stage to introduce the episode that was to be screened: “Mother’s Day”, guest starring Gena Rowlands, Rena Sofer, Leann Hunley and Adam Kaufman, which aired on CBS the following night.

Once the screening was complete, the night’s moderator – Kevin Frazier from Entertainment Tonight (ET) – came on stage and told the audience that he loves being the ET correspondent who reports on NCIS because he loves the food provided on set, he believes the cast are the best group of people and he likes it that the show’s set is far removed from Hollywood to give a break from all the craziness.

Then the crew and cast of the number one rated program on television were introduced, starting with Executive Producers Mark Horowitz, Chas. Floyd Johnson and the aforementioned Gary Glasberg. Then each cast member was brought out: Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, David McCallum, Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo and Sean Murray. Much to the disappointment of the audience Pauley Perrette was not part of the panel, as she was in Paris for a photo shoot.

The group  settled in with some ripping on the unusual sweater that Michael was wearing, a good-natured head slap by Mark to Michael after making a boating reference toward his character Gibbs and platitudes to David’s longevity in the industry – with him stating, “I’m probably the luckiest person in this whole room; I truly mean that.” – the Q&A session went into full swing.

The cast and crew shared the following:

• The show does very well internationally with fans recognizing the cast immediately; yet here in the States when Michael states he works on NCIS some reactions are, “You work for a radio station?”;

• Sean hopes the novelist part of McGee comes back, but he couldn’t recall what McGee’s books were about to which Michael reminded him in great detail how McGee made up characters exactly like the NCIS team;

• Cote was surprised by the fan reaction to ‘Tiva’ (the pairing of her character Ziva and Michael’s character Tony) as “it was not something we ever planned” and that “as long as we keep that unfulfilled sexual tension” it will be better;

• If Brian had any say in the casting of the very attractive actress who starred as the “morgue girl” who agreed to go on a date with his character Jimmy in the episode that was screened – to which he said he didn’t, but that it is “nice to see Jimmy get back in the saddle”;

• The cast talked about all the great guest stars the show has featured over the years, including Hal Holbrooke, Ralph Waite, Charles Durning, recent guest star Gena Rowlands who wanted to be on the show because she watches it every day on USA and even High School Musical star Zac Efron, who Cote mentioned numerous times;

• Cote still gets lost in translation, much like her character Ziva, even though she came to “this country when she was 10”;

• Michael and Cote shared a silly game they frequently play where he states a city and she is suppose to name their sports team (despite her not knowing sports), but gets them wrong nearly every time such as the following conversation shows:

Michael: “Baltimore”
Cote: “Bats”
Michael: “Seattle”
Cote: “Sox”
Michael: “New Mexico”
Cote: “Nuggets”
Michael: “Miami:
Cote: (after a slight struggle) “Dolphins”

• This exchange prompts Chaz Johnson to announce that a board game for the show should be out this summer, which prompts Cote to ask if there are action figures included in the game, which leads her to joke about bobble heads of the cast being part of the game and that prompts her to shake her head back-and-forth like a bobble head and joke with Michael much to the enjoyment of the audience;

• Kevin joked with Sean about if his character McGee will ever stop being called “Probie” by Tony – to which he answered, “No, it’s a nickname, a term of endearment”;

• Michael shared his thoughts on the show’s longevity by stating at the end of Season 4 he thought “one more” (as in can we get one more season) and then at the end of Season 5 it was “we’re still alive”;

• Rocky then chimed in that he told Mark he would like to see the show “run longer than Gunsmoke”, joking that “I just got here”; but then with sincerity Rocky stated the cast is a “real family unit” and Cote whole-heartedly agreed saying, “we really are like a family, and sometimes we…” only to be interrupted by Michael saying (all in jest), “Shut up”.

Before the audience is invited to ask questions, Gary, Chaz and Mark Horowitz give credit to the writers who are in the audience and then each cast member states their favorite episode:

Sean – “Probie”
Cote – “Hiatus”
Michael – “Every show when it finishes I just think, that’s my favorite”
Mark – “Call of Silence”
David – “Heartland”
Brian – “Requiem
Rocky – “Faith”

Some of the better audience questions fielded by the cast and crew were:

• What’s the deal with CafPow (the drink that Abby – Pauley Perrette – always has)? – to which Mark Horowitz states that came from show creator Donald Bellisario, as he wanted Abby to drink “something that had a lot of caffeine similar to the Big Gulp”;

• Is Mark Harmon more comfortable with computers than Gibbs? – to which he answered, “ I can do email; I’m a little better”;

• What is David’s grand wish? – to which he stated, “I have a funny dream, and that is when I die and go to heaven, every single character I’ve ever played is waiting for me.”

With that being said, the night’s panel came to a close and the fans swarmed the stage for autographs, which the cast was more than happy to provide.

NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

Psych Finale Giveaway

This season of Psych will come to its dramatic conclusion with the return of Ally Sheedy in an episode directed by James Roday. The episode is called Mr. Yin Presents and will air Wednesday, March 10, at 10/9 central on USA. How will we celebrate a fantastic season? The only way Nice Girls can: by giving something away!

Beginning today, you can enter to win a Psych Prize Bag filled with:
–        Psych Season 3 DVD Set     
–        Psych Talking Bobbleheads
–        Psych Book: Call of the Mild
–        Psych Pineapple T-Shirt
–        Psych Pineapple Stress Toy

How to Enter:

• in the comments below, tell us what episode from this season was your favorite
• one (1) entry per person
• open to anyone, anywhere
• enter by 11:59 p.m. central time on March 10
• prize courtesy of USA Network
• prize valued at $135
• be sure to use a valid email address when you comment.
• three (3) names will be drawn from eligible entries and notified via email

Don’t miss the most shocking PSYCH finale ever as a killer targets Shawn using scenarios from classic Hitchcock films. Ally Sheedy guest-stars in Psych’s season finale, directed by James Roday — “Mr. Yin Presents” — premiering Wednesday at 10/9C!

Good luck!

Nice Boy of the Week: Tom Schanley

This week’s Nice Boy fell into our laps as a very pleasant surprise. Tom Schanley is scheduled to appear in the next episode of Castle entitled The Mistress Always Spanks Twice. In this epsidoe, William Carraway, played by Schanley, becomes a suspect when one of his known sexual “turn-ons” matches the evidence in the homicide of a New York dominatrix.

As an Actor, Tom Schanley is known mostly for his work in television, on shows like Criminal Minds, Dexter and the CSI’s, but he has also had the privilege of working with some of the cinematic icons of our time:  Academy Award winning director Ed Zwick and Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire,  Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts in Conspiracy Theory among others.   Along with his writing partner Jon Lindstrom, Tom wrote and executive produced the feature film The Hard Easy, starring David Boreanaz, Bruce Dern and Vera Farmiga.

Watch Tom on Castle, Monday, Mar. 8, 10/9 central, on ABC.

“White Collar” Webchat Tonight!

White Collar’s Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay will participate in a Live Chat Q & A with fans tonight. Ustream and USA Network teamed up to bring you the opportunity to ask Matt and Tim your questions about the show and their characters.

Join in tonight at 7/6 p.m. central for this one hour long special event. Just go to USA Network for White Collar. Don’t be late!

New Dancing With the Stars Cast Announced; Nice Girl Finally Lured Into Watching

When the latest round of Dancing With the Stars competitors were announced, I went to skim through as usual, expecting to draw a blank on most of them, a chuckle on a couple, then shrug and not think about the show again until the next cast list was announced.

I’ve never watched a single episode of DWTS, but ABC got me this time. Here’s pretty much how it went down: Oh look, Kate Gosselin, that should be terrible. Pamela Anderson? Ew. Who is Jake Pavelka? Buzz Aldrin, that’s pretty cool, but can he dance? Evan Lysa…WHAT?!?!? <censored for non-Nice Girl language>

That’s right, the ABC juggernaut snagged my Olympic boyfriend, Evan Lysacek, for this round of dancing. And you know he’s got the moves, so he’ll probably be around for a while. If they’d announced this in another week or so, I probably would have been able to shrug it off, but this soon after the Olympics? Still crushing on the gold medal winner? Well played, ABC, well played. DWTS will get a season pass on my DVR, but just so you know, I’ll be fast forwarding to Evan’s performances and skipping everything else. Except maybe Buzz Aldrin. A Nice Girl’s gotta have standards, after all.

DWTS premieres Monday, March 22. Watch Chuck first, then feel free to join me in cheering for Evan and/or mock my crush.

Below, Evan Lysacek presents the Top 10 list on last night’s Late Show With David Letterman:

An Evening with “Modern Family” at the Paley Festival

An evening with the cast and creative team of ABC’s Modern Family produces plenty of laughs.

As one would expect attending an evening with one of the most ridiculously talented bunch of comedians currently on television, the Paley Festival presentation in honor of Modern Family was filled with laughter. Riding high off of their recent wins for Best Episodic Comedy and Best New Series from the Writer’s Guild and for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series from the Director’s Guild, as well as nominations for Outstanding Performance by Ensemble in a Comedy Series by the Screen Actors Guild, Best Television Series – Comedy by the Golden Globes, and Best Comedy by the Writer’s Guild, Modern Family has lived up to its reputation as the best new show on television. Critically lauded as the “must watch” show of the fall season, Modern Family has consistently won its time-slot with viewers and only continues to garner more and more attention, not to mention rave reviews.

Watching a clip from the pilot episode of Married . . . With Children, the show credited with launching the as yet unknown comedy actor Ed O’Neill, it was startling to see how young he looked. But it was also clear where he perfected his comedic skills. With that blast from the past setting up the evening, and after quick introductions by co-creator Steven Levitan, those of us in attendance were lucky enough to see a yet unaired episode of Modern Family entitled, “Fears.” Without spoiling too much, the fears addressed included: buried treasure, roller coasters and a driving test. Trust me when I say, this will all make sense once you have seen the show! As a fan of show, this was a wonderful treat. It was also perhaps the best episode to date and the entire auditorium was soon holding their sides with laughter.

Once the episode ended and the laughter died down, introductions were made and the cast was brought out. Moderating the Q&A portion of the event was Billy Bush from Access Hollywood. Understanding that we were all anxious to see the real stars of the show, he quickly introduced Steven Levitan, Jason Winer, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet. It should be noted that, besides being one of the co-creators of the show, Steven Levitan also wrote the episode “Fears,” and Jason Winer is one of the series’ directors. Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet make up the adult cast members on the show, but, sadly, the younger cast could not attend and were sorely missed.

To start the moderated Q&A portion of the evening, Billy threw out a softball question by asking the cast if any of them do not like seeing themselves on screen. To get things rolling, Ty Burrell volunteered, “I don’t ever like to see my Franken-brow.” His candor and willingness to poke fun at himself earned a round of laughter and, with the ice broken, it became an evening where they tried to one up one another and played to the audience for laughs.

In response to the comment that Modern Family has been called the savior of sitcom, Steven Levitan merely grinned and modestly said that, while a high compliment, he simply had no idea when he was creating the show that it was going to be as big a hit as it is. He added that, while there is no way to gauge what is going to be the next big hit, he is extremely honored by the warm reception and hopes they can live up to the bar now set for themselves. As he said, “This is so far one of those rare cases where it just felt right as soon as we started bringing these people together. It just felt good pretty immediately. And you can’t predict this. It’s impossible. . . .We’re just happy to be happy – we’re so thrilled – we’re so happy to be even in the game that we’re just embracing every minute of it.”

When asked about the genesis of the series, Steven shared that, after their prior television series had been cancelled, Modern Family was born of a sit-down meeting he had with co-creator Christopher Lloyd. They had been sitting around brainstorming ideas for a television show when they discovered that all they wanted to talk about were the funny things going on in their lives –and it was those funny stories that laid the foundation for Modern Family. Steven summed it up with, “I think when you start from a place like that, which is real and honest, good things tend to happen.” And because of the show’s success, Steven admitted that he just keeps pinching himself and now he’s black and blue all over. “We walk around hugging each other, then we’re terrified we can’t keep it up.”

Turning to casting, each cast member shared a bit about how they came to be involved with the show. Ed O’Neill shared that initially he had no intention of ever doing another half-hour comedy after the monumental success and long run of Married . . . With Children, but after reading the script for Modern Family, he immediately thought, “Oh my God, I’ve gotta go back to work.” Plus, he tossed out with aplomb that there was the added bonus of being cast to play the husband of Sofia Vergara. He also shared that, “Then when I started to work with these guys, I thought ‘my god, where did they these find these people’ – I mean it was just joy – it is, I have to pinch myself.”

According to Eric Stonestreet, who plays one half of the married gay couple on the show, he said that this was his dream show with a dream cast and a dream writer. As far as playing a gay character, while he himself is not, he humorously clarified, “I’m appreciative of all my fans, no matter how much hair they have on their back.” Though in his personal life, he admitted, “I have a little bit of a hole to dig myself out of with the ladies.” He also confirmed that, as perhaps a tribute to his own wonderful mother, he incorporates some of his mother’s characteristics when playing Cameron. He explained that, “She’s very passionate. She’s a real person — she’s just excitable.” Eric also shared a bit about the now famous “moon landing” scene and how a friend of his actually flew in to watch the filming just so that he could witness Eric film the “moon landing” with Ed O’Neill. So, as Eric nonchalantly said, “You know, work hard, believe in yourself — and maybe one day you too can touch asses with a television icon.”

The other half of the Cameron-Mitchell couple is played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson who shared from his own personal experience what it was like trying out for the role of Mitchell. While auditioning, Jesse never thought he would actually get the part, but it was in the forefront of his mind that he wanted this role badly: “I got this script and it was just one of those things where it just falls in your lap and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’” So when he and Eric tested together for the studio to see if they had any chemistry, he threw himself into it with determination and gusto. So much so in fact that he was completely oblivious to the fact that when he and Eric had set up to meet at a nearby coffee shop for a script read through that it was Valentine’s Day. It was a funny moment like their characters would have had and it immediately set the tone for them working together as their characters. Jesse also shared that he loves working with the darling baby who plays Lily, Cam and Mitchell’s adopted daughter – despite the fact it is nearly impossible to make her cry which meant they had to bring in a teenager on the studio lot with the wildest hair just to get her to cry. But other than having a baby that likes to smile more than she likes to cry, Jesse was clearly ecstatic to be a part of both his fictional and real-life studio families.

No less delighted to be working on the show, Sofia Vergara was beaming with pride and happiness as well. When asked what drew her to the show, Sofia slyly announced, “I never thought I would be married to Al Bundy!” Stemming from her deeply rooted admiration for Ed, Sofia also loves working with him because they have the same work ethic and tend to work the same way. Their motto is, “Let’s do this fast and then go home.” While they love working together, they also value their time with their families. Sofia also commented that as far as the relationship between Gloria and Jay, “You start understanding perfectly why they are perfect for each other because they do get something out of each other — I mean, it’s obvious what he gets from me!” Then as if that comment was not outrageous enough, Ed shared a story how on the Ellen Show when Sofia was asked the question of when she learned she was beautiful, she responded with a mischievous glint in her eye, “I always knew it!” Sofia summed up her happiness with the the show by saying, “I love the character. It’s fantastic. . . I have so much fun on the set. . . It’s a pleasure. I love everybody on the show and we really like each other, so I think it is like a dream come true to be part of something that everybody loves.”

Next, sharing from his own experience, Ty Burrell said as far as his character Phil is concerned, it is like he is playing a happy puppy dog and it feels like a nice vacation from his own neurotic life. For Phil is one of those people who wears you down with his relentless, militant positive attitude. He explained that Phil may not appeal to people who meet him just once, but those kind of people will eventually worm their way into your good graces. “They annoy the crap out of you, but they wear you down.” Plus, as Steven pointed out, he based Phil upon himself and, as a result, “I have a warm place in my heart for the dorky dad who scores a hot wife.” (Steven made sure to point out his own very lovely wife as he said this and he is clearly a very happily married man who scored his own hot wife!) When asked about what it is like to now be recognized everywhere he goes, Ty shared an anecdotal story about a homeless guy in Central Park who
stopped him to talk to him about the show — clearly, you know you have made it when the homeless have seen your show! He also said it is the biggest compliment when people stop to tell him that they love to watch the show as a family.

As for Julie Bowen, she was simply astonished to hear that during this current pilot season she is the most requested type during auditions, for apparently all the casting directors want a “Julie Bowen” for their show. But, as for how she came to be attached to Modern Family, she shared that for her the primary appeal was the fact that the show was a half-hour comedy. Coming off of working on hour-long dramas like Ed and Boston Legal, she was ready for an easier work day – particularly as at the time they filmed the pilot episode, she was nine months pregnant. In fact, in order to hide her pregnancy, they worked really hard to use all the kids to the best strategic advantage and that the actor who plays Claire’s son, Luke, was just the right height to help conceal her baby-bump. Another key factor for Julie is that working on a fast-paced show makes her performance fresher and more interesting, “You don’t get to the end of the day feeling you’ve beaten the scene to death, looking for the jokes over and over again. . . [On Modern Family] we just find it very quickly and we’re done. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.” So Julie likes both the freedom and refreshing change of pace. Then, responding to the question as to why women are not perceived as funny and before Julie could respond, Sofia laughed and said, “I think it’s important not to be afraid to look like a fool,” prompting Julie to look at her incredulously and retort, “When do mean ‘you look like a fool?’ Does ‘fool’ in English mean the same thing in Spanish? [Mimicking Sofia’s accent] ‘Fool’ is a beautiful lady!” As the laughter subsided, Julie Bowen also let it slip that in one of the upcoming episodes her character has an all-out brawl with a security guard, which she had enormous fun filming. It was a chance to just go all out and she just loved it.

Shedding some light on the character of Claire, Steven noted that Claire needs Phil to balance out her wild-side. As for the kids on the show, Julie shared that they are constantly full of surprises and are a delight to them all, for the kids are a very “gifty” bunch and are constantly making gifts for everyone. Thus, it is especially fun to have them all together, which is rare, like at table reads. Because they are so happy to see each other and because of the familial atmosphere, it makes it such a joy to be there.

When asked how much of the show really is based on experiences in his own life, Steven shared that like in a prior episode, he one day came home to find the television remote in a million pieces by the front door and that one time he walked into his daughter’s room in his underwear while she was on a video conference with friends on her computer. He also shared that Barkley the Dog Butler has been relocated into their writing offices and it is constantly scaring or startling people who are not aware that it is there or who have forgotten about it. He also sheepishly confessed to writing the lyrics to the infamous “I just want to do you” song that the character Dylan sang on the show. He explained that he felt the lyrics needed to be shocking yet believable as it had to be something that Dylan felt was okay in his mind. He also noted that Reed, who plays Dylan, wrote the music for the song.

Steven also made sure to emphasize that all the jokes in each episode are actually written into each script. “It’s 100% the script. We start with nice solid script and then we start playing with it and fortunately we’ve cast people who are very smart and very funny. Your worst nightmare as a writer is ‘let’s improv a little bit’ and then you watch what they do and then it’s ‘let’s go back to the script.’ Instead, what we have here are people making things funnier and quite often we get in a situation where that doesn’t quite work, we’ll just start playing, and they do – and they make it better and we discover moments – and I think we have a lot of fun doing it.” Jason Winer said that, while they do have some improvisation, he feels that greater improv comes from knowing the characters better, particularly as the show is still so new. However, they did like the one scene in which Jay apologized for running his model airplane into Phil’s face and Julie Bowen instinctively kissed Ed on the top of the head at the end of the episode and said, “Thanks, Dad,” which surprised Ed greatly as it was not in the script. But it felt so natural. One reason the show is written with such a fast pace is to keep the scenes moving quickly so that everyone is not so exhausted and helps keep the viewer engaged.

Steven also clarified that Modern Family is a family show told documentary-style, rather than a show that is pretending to be a real documentary. Levitan said, “The simple reason is that I love these characters. I’m very protective of these characters and, if these characters allowed cameras into their homes and into their children’s rooms and into their bathroom, I wouldn’t like them.” As for the role of the camera on Modern Family, Ty Burrell said “I like that we don’t explain it.” He noted that only the family typically acknowledges the camera, so this is like inviting the audience to be a family member – more intimate that way. And what a marvelous family it is to be a part of – it shines like a beacon on Wednesday nights and it is a joy to tune-in and share in their exuberant antics for awhile.

Modern Family airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Spotlight On: Ana Ortiz

Seemingly coming out of nowhere in the early 2000’s, Ana Ortiz was soon outshining her bigger name co-stars, Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”) and Jon Tenny (“The Closer”) in the television series “Kristin.” It was quickly apparent that the theatrically trained starlet was bound and determined to make a name for herself in television, particularly after her initial attempts to make an entrance only landed a few nameless roles in shows such as “Condition Red” and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.” So when the opportunity arose to demonstrate her comedic chops and screen presence, Ana rose to the occasion. While the role on “Kristin” was short-lived because the series lasted only 11 episodes, Ana was off and running, and quickly moved on to a series of guest appearances on shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Greetings from Tucson,” “NYPD Blue” “Strong Medicine,” “ER,” “A.U.S.A.,” “North Shore,” “Blind Justice,” and “Freddie.” Along the way she also took the time to appear in the films “Mr. St. Nick” with Kelsey Grammer and “Carolina” with Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine.

Finally after four years of persistence, Ana’s unique ability to bring a light comedic touch to dramatic roles landed her a seven episode arc on the Iraq war drama “Over There” alongside Sprague Grayden (known for her roles in cult favorites “John Doe” and “Jericho”) and Luke MacFarlane (who now plays Scotty on “Brothers & Sisters”). Once her story arc concluded, Ana quickly snagged a plum guest appearance role
as a tenacious ADA on the David E. Kelley legal drama, “Boston Legal.”

But these were but stepping stones to the role of a lifetime as immediately afterward Ana landed the role of Hilda Suarez, Betty’s sister in the ABC fashion sensation “Ugly Betty.” Playing a young mother struggling to provide for her precocious son, Ana’s natural grace and razor-sharp delivery of side-splitting one-liners was
captivating. She managed to bring warmth and poignancy to a role that could have easily been a caricature. Instead she brought to life a character that many young women could identify with and even aspire to.

During “Ugly Betty’s” four year run, Ana also found the time to work on a few film projects as well, such as “Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story” with A. Martinez and “Labor Pains” with Lindsay Lohan. Clearly, Ana is not one to sit still and moves with apparent effortless ease between comedy and drama.

It has been a privilege to watch Ana blossom into the captivating actress she is today and we can only hope to see her in other such unique and inspiring roles in the future.

“Ugly Betty” airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on ABC.

They Deserve Their Own Show (Part 39)

Here is the next installment of actors and actresses who are under-appreciated, deserving of more attention or perhaps even their own show:

Romola Garai – Romola is probably best known for her roles in the Australian movie Mary Bryant, that also starred Alex O’Loughlin, and the box office release Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. She has also appeared in the movies Nicolas Nickelby, Atonement and Vanity Fair and recently appeared in the made-for-TV movie Emma, starring alongside Jonny Lee Miller.

Siena Goines – Siena started out in guest appearances in The Big Easy and Chicago Hope before landing a role in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. She then appeared in episodes of Charmed, The Division and Judging Amy. She is probably best known for her recurring role in the short-lived series Jericho and appeared in a number of episodes of Passions. Her movie roles include The Sweetest Thing and The 40 Year Old Virgin. Most recently she appeared in episodes of Castle and Private Practice.

Zoe McClellan – Zoe (pronounced Zo)  got her start in episodes of Nowhere Man, Sliders and Diagnosis Murder. She then made the leap over to episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and The Invisible Man before landing a recurring role in the long-running series JAG. Most recently she appeared in the short-lived ABC series Dirty Sexy Money and her movie roles include Inventing the Abbotts and Dungeons & Dragons. She has three projects in the works, including House Rules, Deadly Honeymoon with Summer Glau and One Fall.

Christopher Egan – This Australian actor got his start on the Aussie series Home and Away and then appeared in the mini-series Empire. He made a guest appearance in Everwood before moving on to the movies Eragon and Resident Evil: Extinction. He also appeared in both short-lived series Vanished and Kings. He will next be seen in the box office movie Letters to Juliet alongside Amanda Seyfried.

Jeff Hephner – Jeff first got noticed in a recurring role on The O.C. and appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Water is Wide. He appeared in episodes of CSI: Miami, Nip/Tuck, House and Cold Case. Since then he has appeared in the short-lived series Easy Money and made several appearances in Mercy. He also guest starred in episodes of NCIS and CSI.

Tyler Hoechlin – Tyler made his feature film debut in the movie Road to Perdition alongside Tom Hanks and the late (great) Paul Newman. He then moved to the small screen starring in several seasons of 7th Heaven. Since then he has appeared in episodes of CSI: Miami, Castle, My Boys and Lincoln Heights. His next project is the TV version of Teen Wolf.

Do you agree? Disagree? Do you recognize any or are they all unknowns to you? NGTV would love to hear your thoughts. The next installment will be posted on Wednesday.

Meet the “Parenthood”

Parenthood premieres tonight on NBC and won’t it be fantastic to see Lauren Graham on television again? Lauren is joined by a wonderful lineup of talent, including former Nice Boy, Peter Krause (Dirty Sexy Money). In the following video clips you can get to know the main cast and here what they have to say about Parenthood.

Mae Whitman talks Amber Braverman

Bonnie Bedilia talks Camille

Dax Shepard talks Crosby

Erika Christensen talks Julia

Monica Potter talks Kristina

Lauren Graham talks Sarah

Craig T. Nelson talks Zeek

Peter Krause talks Adam

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer talk Parenthood

Parenthood premieres tonight at 10/9 central, on NBC.

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