Spotlight On: Psych’s Maggie Lawson

Working steadily since landing her first television appearance in the mid-1990’s, Maggie Lawson has been slyly scene-stealing for the past 15 years. After a string of guest appearances in shows like “Unhappily Ever After,” “Step by Step,” Cybill,” “Boy Meets World,” and “Home Improvement,” she began testing the feature film waters with appearances in the films “I’ve Been Waiting for You” with Sarah Chalke and Markie Post and “Pleasantville” with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.

Working around some top notch comedians and drama film stars only continued to shape Maggie into the engaging actress she is today. With a few more quick stops to appear in the cult favorite “Felicity” and the dramatic juggernaut “ER,” Maggie next landed a seven episode arc on the series “Party of Five” starring Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Scott Wolf (“V”), as well as a role alongside Justin Timberlake in the film “Model Behavior.” With an eye for cool leading men, Maggie continued her lightening streak working on the television series “Inside Schwartz” with Breckin Meyer and a brief appearance in the series “Smallville” with Tom Welling.

Then, in 2002, after landing the lead role in the film “Nancy Drew,” Maggie went on to star in the films “Winter Break” with Milo Ventimiglia, “Spellbound” with Dave Annable and “Love Rules” with Joey Lawrence. She also managed to score the leading role on the comedy series “It’s All Relative.” Then, once it ended, she appeared briefly on the cult series “Tru Calling” which starred Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse”) and Matt Bomer (“White Collar”), and the series “Crumbs” which starred Fred Savage and Eddie McClintock (“Warehouse 13”).

After her role on “Crumbs” wrapped, Maggie’s career hit the jackpot when she was cast as Detective Juliet O’Hara in the comedy series “Psych” alongside James Roday and Dule Hill. On “Psych,” Maggie constantly walks a tight-rope of playing both straight-guy to James Roday and Dule Hill’s hysterical antics and funny-guy to Omundson’s by-the-book Detective Carlton Lassiter. But it is a role she clearly relishes and plays with aplomb and humor. With “Psych” entering its 5th season, the show continues to dabble with the backstories of the characters and the slow dance to see if Shawn and Juliet will end up together.

In the meantime, Maggie has taken the opportunity to use her hiatus breaks to pursue a few film projects and starred in the 2-part Lifetime film series “Killer Hair” and “Hostile Makeover” based on the “Crime of Fashion” mystery books by Ellen Byerrum. Playing fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian with a nose for rooting out murder, Maggie stepped outside the shadow of her comedic co-stars on “Psych” and has shown once again that she can light up the screen with both charm and witty repartee. Maggie is a rare gem that makes any television show or film for which she graces with her presence much more fun and fascinating to watch.

Watch our interview with Maggie at last year’s Comic Con, and catch Maggie in the season finale of “Psych”, tonight at 10/9c on USA Network. (“Psych” returns for its 5th season next summer.)

James Roday and Dulé Hill Do Live Webchat

PSYCH co-stars James Roday and Dulé Hill will use their powers of persuasion as hosts of WWE® Monday Night RAW on January 25th live from The Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH at 9 PM ET / 8 PM CT on USA Network.  Known as the crime-solving dynamic duo Shawn (Roday) and Gus (Hill) on the USA Network original hit series, these partners predict shocking results as they conspire to manipulate WWE® Superstars into truly magnificent Monday night matches.

Before the PSYCH duo enters the WWE Universe; Roday, Hill and WWE® Superstar John Cena will participate in a live webchat on psych.usanetwork.com on January 25^th at 3pm ET / 2 PM CT.  USA Network has partnered with Ustream, the leader in live video on the internet, to deliver the live interactive experience.

The PSYCH season premiere, “You Can’t Handle This Episode” guest starring WWE® Superstar John Cena debuts on its new night, Wednesday, January 27^th at 10/9c.    Starring James Roday, Dulé Hill, Corbin Bernsen, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson, PSYCH centers on a young police consultant who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he’s psychic.  WWE® Superstar John Cena guest stars in the premiere as Juliet’s (Lawson) brother Ewan, a solder in the military.  Robert Patrick also guest stars and Rachael Leigh Cook returns as Shawn’s girlfriend, Abigail.

 

Psych’s Maggie Lawson & Timothy Omundson: The Comic Con Interview

At Comic Con we had the opportunity to chat with Psych’s Maggie Lawson (Juliet) and Timothy Omundson (Lassie) about the new season. Check out what they had to say about guest stars this season, Tim’s favorite prop, Maggie’s non-favorite shoes, and which table is the coolest in the press room.

Psych’s fourth season premieres on USA Network Friday, August 7 at 10/9c.

‘Killer Hair’ Brings Crime and Crimes of Fashion to Lifetime

The first of, we hope, several adaptations of Ellen Byerrum’s popular Crime of Fashion mystery series debuts on the Lifetime Movie Network Sunday evening as Maggie Lawson (PSYCH) takes on the role of fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian in Killer Hair. Lacey is an investigative reporter by training, stuck with the fashion column in a third-rate Washington, D.C. newspaper. When a hair stylist turns up dead, with a terrible haircut, the police rule it a suicide, but Lacey’s friend Stella is convinced that her fellow stylist was murdered and coaxes Lacey into digging deeper to find the real cause of death.

I am a fan of Maggie Lawson’s work on PSYCH and was excited to see her take on a leading role in Killer Hair. Lawson has the potential to be the next Sandra Bullock, an endearing girl-next-door who can balance dramatic chops with comedic timing. Although Lawson is an engaging actor, Lacey feels just a bit flat in this first outing, particularly when she has to act the wronged lover to Victor Webster’s Vic Donovan. I found it difficult to believe that ambitious, witty, confident Lacey would be attracted to someone so bland. To be fair, Vic’s character gets short shrift in the books as well, so Webster didn’t have a lot to work with. He is also overshadowed by Mark Consuelos as crime reporter Tony Trujillo. Now there’s some sizzle! Watching Lawson and Consuelos together brought to mind the Hepburn-Tracey pairings of yore. Perhaps not everything has to follow the novels? I’m definitely on board the Lacey/Tony ’ship!

In addition to the men in her life, Lacey also has the requisite girlfriends with whom to talk funeral fashion etiquette (“This isn’t a nightclub”), men, murder and everything in between. Sadie LeBlanc’s Stella, the stylist, is supposed to be the “quirky” friend, as evidenced by her wacky hair styles and slightly oddball quotes. Lacey and Stella together often seemed forced, like they used to be best friends in high school but don’t have much in common any more and don’t want to admit it. Fortunately, the third member of their girl group, Sarah Edmondson’s Brooke, is pretty adorable and has good chemistry with Lawson. Brooke is a conspiracy theorist in addition to being a rockin’ lawyer on Capitol Hill. She helps Lacey connect a couple of dots in the murder investigation, and, in one of the best scenes of the night, comes to her aid when Lacey needs a lawyer. Seriously, Brooke’s re-entrance as Lacey’s lawyer in the interrogation scene was brilliant and, I hope, an indication of what’s to come in future installments.

Also of note are performances by Rider Strong as the salon owner’s son who has a crush on Lacey; the always delightful Mario Cantone as the salon’s smarmy but sought after top stylist; Jocelyne Loewen as Felicity Pickles, the food editor who has it in for Lacey’s hips; James McDaniel as the perpetually dour editor-in-chief; and Finola Hughes as a Heidi Fleiss-type whose upcoming trial may be linked to the murder. We also get just a glimpse of Mary McDonnell as Lacey’s mother, who will appear in a larger capacity in Hostile Makeover.

No review of Killer Hair would be complete without mentioning the fashion, especially Lacey’s vintage couture. Poor Lacey, so unappreciated by the neutral-clad Washingtonians. She has some lovely pieces, and her shoes are to die for. I wonder if Lawson gets to keep her wardrobe, because then I might have to hate her for being so cute, working with James Roday and Dule Hill, and having such great pieces in her closet. But I digress. Killer Hair is a good piece of summer fun with the potential to turn into a very popular franchise as well as a showcase for Lawson. A couple of the relationships aren’t firing on all cylinders yet, but I’m willing to overlook them as part of the growing pains of a new series. Especially if Lacey and Tony get more scenes together.

Killer Hair premieres on the Lifetime Movie Network at 8/7c on Sunday, June 21.