Merrin Dungey

I'm not even a Grey's Anatomy ...

• Oct 29, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: I'm not even a Grey's Anatomy watcher, but it was the star power that drew me to the backdoor pilot of Private Practice. I am very disappointed in the recasting of Merrin Dungey, who I thought was just fine when she played Naomi. Audra McDonald does take things too far. As for Amy Brenneman and Paul Adelstein, they are brilliant. I too remember his creepiness on Prison Break, especially his torturing Sarah Wayne Callies last year. His hidden depth in Practice is really great. I enjoy seeing how his love for kids and his work opens him up, and he and Amy have a better shot than Tim Daly and Kate Walsh at the "untouched chemistry" card. I've found myself in situations similar to what his character is struggling with, and it's written perfectly. The nervousness, the desire to not ruin the friendship and the feelings of inadequacy with someone who's having trouble letting go of an ex. It's good stuff, and if they kicked up Violet's interest in Cooper and then hit pause, it would ... read more

The thing that really annoys ...

• Oct 22, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Audra McDonald, Private Practice

Question: The thing that really annoys me about Private Practice is that every actor is well known already. In fact, many of them have already been leading men or leading ladies on their own TV shows! There won't be any surprise breakout stars with this series, like there were on Grey's Anatomy. Had anyone even heard of Ellen Pompeo, T.R. Knight, Chandra Wilson or Katherine Heigl before that show's first season? It's like we're watching a veteran actor's workshop or something with Private Practice, and that just isn't fun for me. Answer: Interesting point, although for my money, it's the writing that sets my teeth on edge most weeks. But this brings up the perennial issue about how TV is so much better at creating new stars (and Grey's Anatomy created a bunch of them) than it is at repackaging familiar faces and asking us to accept favorite actors in roles we may feel are beneath them (Amy Brenneman as the wretched Violet, anyone?). So far, my favorite character is Paul Adelstein's ... read more

Exclusive: Grey's Spin-off Recast Shocker!

• Jun 29, 2007 11:08 PM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Audra McDonald by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Apparently, Addison goes through girlfriends as fast as she does boyfriends: When Private Practice debuts this fall, Kate Walsh's character will have a new BFF — Audra McDonald. A spokesperson for ABC Studios confirms that the four-time Tony winner has been tapped to replace Merrin Dungey in the role of Dr. Naomi Bennet, Doc Montgomery's confidante. The decision was made for creative reasons. Earlier this month, there were rumblings that execs had concerns that the Private lineup wasn't perfect, especially after some of the actors didn't "pop" with audiences. "Grey's Anatomy was cast off whoever seemed to fit the parts best and have good chemistry," says a well-placed source. "The spin-off was cast with actors the network and studio already had under contract." Nevertheless, there are not expected to be any further cast changes coming before the show goes into production next month. Personally, as much as I love Dungey — particulary her kick-ass stint on Alias — I ... read more

Seen and Heard at the Upfronts

• May 16, 2007 09:35 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

Daly's Primetime PracticeWhile Tim Daly is excited about his new show Private Practice, he can't help but be a little skeptical. Can you blame him? The last three series he's been on — The Fugitive, Eyes, The Nine — all got nixed during their first seasons. "I approach everything with a healthy amount of optimism," he said while hanging out at the Lucky Suite, where he picked up some Cosabella lingerie and True Religion jeans for his wife and daughter. "I just don't want to get my heart broken again. You just never know." Still, Private Practice is one of the most buzzed about shows this season. "We all figured it would do great since the pilot was embedded in a Grey's Anatomy episode," said Daly. "But it's really exciting." His costar Merrin Dungey is a little more enthusiastic about being cast on the Grey's spin-off. "I actually screamed when I saw myself on next week's clips," Dungey said at ABC's Upfront party. "It's like being cast on your favorite show. I feel like I... read more

Anatomy of a Spin-off: A Rocky Start

• May 4, 2007 05:18 PM ET
• by Matt Roush

Tim Daly and Kate Walsh by Ron Tom/ABC

Watching Thursday night's underwhelming, overly frenetic "backdoor pilot" setup for the seemingly inevitable Grey's Anatomy spin-off, I was reminded how blown away I wasn't by the original Grey's pilot as well. The Grey's pilot had its problems, but this glossy new twist on the formula seems much more problematic.When Grey's first appeared, with the pilot held for mid-season in a year when Lost and Desperate Housewives exploded on the scene and turned ABC's fortunes around, my initial thoughts were: Loved the cast. Liked the characters. But at first look, the reliance on heavy-handed voice-over (since dialed back a bit) and woe-is-me, life-as-an-intern-is-hard whining obscured many of the charms that would soon emerge, and it felt a bit generic.By the end of that first half-season, though, I was hooked. The heightened mix of hospital drama and romantic comedy, lathered in torrid and twisty soap operatics, was infectious, and the wonderfully blended (by sex and race) cast pulled it o... read more

Fall 2007: Christina Applegate Draws a Blank

• Mar 13, 2007 01:23 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Who's doing what for whom this pilot season (per Variety and the Reporter):• Emmy winner Christina Applegate, long wooed to return to network TV, has opted to star as an amnesiac woman in the ABC comedy Sam I Am. Jean Smart is Sam's mom, and Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager) is also in the cast.• As first scooped by the Ausiello Report, Judging Amy Brenneman and Merrin Dungey (Alias) have come on board the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, playing Violet and Naomi.• Melanie Griffith will guest on the pilot for the CBS musical drama Viva Laughlin. A conniving sexpot, Griffith's character could go recurring.• Drew Carey's Diedrich Bader is the loyal friend of CBS' Skip Tracer.• Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: CI) is a wife-beater turned zombie in CBS' Babylon Fields.• Stephanie Childers (Studio 60) is the mother of ABC's American Family.• Ty Burrell (Out of Practice, indeed) is an ace reporter for Fox's Action News. read more

Big Scoop! Grey's 2.0 Adds Alias Grad and "Amy"

• Mar 12, 2007 05:37 PM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Grey's 2.0 just got a major infusion of girl power. Sources confirm that Alias' Merrin Dungey and Judging Amy's Amy Brenneman have joined the cast of the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, er, I mean "the enhanced two-hour Grey's Anatomy episode with a potential for afterlife." Based on recent intel, my guess is Dungey will be playing a psychiatrist, and Brenneman a fertility specialist. But it could be the other way around. The duo's hiring puts to rest speculation (or concern?) that Kate Walsh would find herself surrounded by a mostly-male ensemble -- buzz that only intensified with the recent casting of Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Paul Adelstein and Chris Lowell.Pretty ftaktastic cast, if you ask me. This thing is really gonna have to suck to fail. You agree? read more

Please tell me something ...

• Apr 26, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: Please tell me something about Alias, or I am going to die! I need to know something, anything!

Answer: Merrin Dungey will appear in the finale. As whom, you ask? No clue.

I am dying for Alias scoop!

• Apr 19, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: I am dying for Alias scoop!

Answer: It's official: Merrin Dungey will be back.

Any news if Merrin Dungey ...

• Mar 22, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Michael Ausiello

Question: Any news if Merrin Dungey will be returning to Alias?

Answer: Still nothing official to report.