Fall TV Press Tour: What Has Jerry O'Connell Disturb'd?

Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of the new Fox sitcom Do Not Disturb!
[ Awkward silence from roomful of press.]
" Sure enough, the questions start coming, the gamut of which revisit the so-so recent sitcom pasts of cast members Jerry O'Connell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. "I know [ Carpoolers] was not successful, but I had a wonderful experience," O'Connell says, defending his decision to latch onto another laffer. "Life is funny - that show ends, I get depressed, I don't leave my house. But then [ Do Not Disturb director] Jason Bateman and [series creator] Abraham [Higginbotham] see it and one thing leads to another. No regrets, man!"
" J.O. is asked why he didn't opt for another drama. "I got bit with the comedy bug," he explains. " Crossing Jordan was in a morgue and everything was sad... totally depressing! I'd come home and be like, 'What's life all about?!' [Doing a sitcom] makes you a generally happier person."
" Higginbotham is put on the spot about Jesse Tyler Ferguson's ( The Class) married, gay character and his somewhat stereotyped behavior in the pilot. "To me the originality of that character comes from that he's the only one in a relationship," says the producer, who describes himself as "grumpy, gay and married." "We don't want the fact that he's gay and likes giant penises to be the most interesting thing about him" - as T.R. Knight would put it, quips Ferguson.
" O'Connell plays dumb when asked if he has heard from Tom Cruise about the Scientology-spoofing viral video he starred in a few months back. "That's the first time I'm hearing that [comparison]," he says with a wink, noting that neither the mega-movie star nor a specific religion was singled out by name. O'Connell adds, "I was shocked how popular that video was [getting two million hits]. I don't think we wanted that kind of popularity. It was just sort of an inside joke for us on strike out in L.A. I'm sorry to anyone who was offended.... But will we be doing more of that? Yeah, because it's fun!"
More TCA press tour coverage:
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" Fall TV Press Tour: 24, Fringe, Truth Talk & More
" Fall TV Press Tour: Prison Break's Big Reunion, Spin-off News, More